FOI-01261

Thank you for your request for information about the following:

I want a complete list of all Pharmacies in United Kingdom that have ordered Drug Tariff Special Order / Special Order / Part VIIID Drugs along with their post codes, quantity ordered, areas, etc. Find a row of details required below.

Region Code	

Region

Pharmacy 

Code

Pharmacy Name

Pharmacy Trading Name

Pharmacy Area Code

Area

Pharmacy Postcode

Cambrian Customer

Customer Status

Contractor Type	

Items

Drug Tariff Special Order Products / PartVIIID Drug Tariff Special Order Products / Special Order Products

Time Period : January 2022 to the Latest month available. Please send it to me at the earliest. I also want a list of all dispensing doctors and internet pharma information with same details. 

We asked for clarification of your request and you replied as follows:
 
Q: 
We are unable to provide the Cambrian customer or status. We can supply a re-run of F01 01020 with the same information but just for the newer dates (March & April). However, this data does not include anything to do with what a contractor orders (we do not hold that) just what was dispensed.

A: Okay, noted. Send what was dispensed.
 
Q:
Also, you mention items in the table but state quantity ordered in the text. FOI 01020 was items, can we confirm that is this still the case?

A: Yes.

Your clarified request was received on 6 July 2023 and has been dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

##Response
###Cambrian customer and status
I am writing to advise you that following a search of our paper and electronic records, I have established that the information you requested is not held by the NHS Business Services Authority.

###January 2022 to February 2023
Under Section 21 of the Act, we are not required to provide information in response to a request if it is already reasonably accessible to you. The information you requested is available from web link: 

https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-01020 

###March, April, and May 2023 
A copy of the information is attached.

NHS Prescription Services process prescriptions for Pharmacy Contractors, Appliance Contractors, Dispensing Doctors, and Personal Administration with information then used to make payments to pharmacists and appliance contractors in England for prescriptions dispensed in primary care settings (other arrangements are in place for making payments to Dispensing Doctors and Personal Administration). This involves processing over 1 billion prescription items and payments totalling over £9 billion each year. The information gathered from this process is then used to provide information on costs and trends in prescribing in England and Wales to over 25,000 registered NHS and Department of Health and Social Care users.

###Data Source – ePACT2
Data in ePACT2 is sourced from the NHSBSA Data Warehouse and is derived from products prescribed on prescriptions and dispensed in the Community. The data captured from prescription processing is used to calculate reimbursement and remuneration. It includes items prescribed in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Guernsey / Alderney, Jersey, and Isle of Man which have been dispensed in the community in England. English prescribing that has been dispensed in Wales, Scotland, Guernsey / Alderney, Jersey, and Isle of Man is also included.

The Data excludes: 

* Items not dispensed, disallowed and those returned to the contractor for further clarification. 
* Prescriptions prescribed and dispensed in prisons, hospitals, and private prescriptions.
* Items prescribed but not presented for dispensing or not submitted to NHS Prescription Services by the dispenser.

###Time Period
Monthly: March 2023 – May 2023

###Organisation Data
The data provided is for prescriptions dispensed by English Pharmacy Contractors and English Dispensing Doctors in the community in England regardless of where it was prescribed. A date with the letter 'C' in brackets - example ( C 14-Jun-23 ) against Pharmacy Name or Dispensing Doctor indicates that this organisation is closed or will close as of the date stated.

###Contractor Type
This categorises the Dispensing Contractor according to if it is one of a particular pharmacy chain, a single or multiple pharmacy. Please note the Contractor Type is based on what it was in the actual month as opposed to showing the latest Contractor Type. Contractor Types only apply to English Pharmacy Contractors.

###Dataset
This data is limited to the dispensing of Special Order Products, Drug Tariff Special Order Products and Part VIIID Drug Tariff Special Order Products dispensed by English Pharmacy Contractors or Dispensing Doctors in the community in England.

Please note:
With effect from March 2022 prescriptions, there is an addition to the Drug Tariff when Drug Tariff Special Order Products VIIID was added. (Ref. Drug Tariff Part VIIID Arrangements for payment for Specials and Imported Unlicensed Medicines with Prices Determined Relative to Commonly Identified Pack Size). These are labelled Part VIIID Drug Tariff Special Order. Drug Tariff Special Order Products listed in the Drug Tariff as Part VIIIB (Ref. Drug Tariff Part VIIIB - Arrangements for payment for Specials and Imported Unlicensed Medicines with a Price Per Unit Above a Minimum Quantity) continue to be labelled as Drug Tariff Special Order. This addition of Part VIIID means that certain products formerly categorised as Special Order / Drug Tariff Special Order products are now categorised as Part VIIID Drug Tariff Special Order. If the contractor has moved premises and therefore has a different postcode, the contractor will show in the data for each postcode.

###Items
Items shows the number of times a product appears on a prescription form not the quantity prescribed.

If you have any queries regarding the data provided, or if you plan on publishing the data, please contact foidata@nhsbsa.nhs.uk ensuring you quote the above reference. This is important to ensure that the figures are not misunderstood or misrepresented.

If you plan on producing a press or broadcast story based upon the data please contact communicationsteam@nhsbsa.nhs.uk This is important to ensure that the figures are not misunderstood or misrepresented.


The information supplied to you continues to be protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and is subject to NHSBSA copyright. This information is licenced under the terms of the Open Government Licence detailed at:
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/ 

Should you wish to re-use the information you must include the following statement:
“NHSBSA Copyright 2023” This information is licenced under the terms of the Open Government Licence:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/ 

Failure to do so is a breach of the terms of the licence.

Information you receive which is not subject to NHSBSA Copyright continues to be protected by the copyright of the person, or organisation, from which the information originated.  

Please obtain their permission before reproducing any third party (non NHSBSA Copyright) information.

Tags: Drug data, NHS Prescription Services, Pharmacies
Organization: Freedom of Information Disclosure Log