FOI-01345

##Request

I would like to know the number of prescription items dispensed for Viscum album (mistletoe) by month if possible, or by year, since 1st January 2017. This includes Iscador, Abnoba, or any other mistletoe products, including (but not exhaustively):

1. Iscador Qu (oak mistletoe)
a. Series 0 (or 1 or 2 or 3) solution for injection ampoules.
b. Oral drops: 
100micrograms per ml, 10mg per ml, 10micrograms per ml, 1mg per ml, 20mg per ml, 30mg per ml.
c. Solution for injection ampoules [with or without mercuric sulfate (Qu c Hg)/ silver carbonate (Qu c Arg)/ copper carbonate (Qu c Cu)]:
1micrograms per ml, 5mg per 1ml.

2. Iscador M (apple mistletoe)
a. Oral drops: 100micrograms/ml, 10mg/ml, 10micrograms/ml, 1mg/ml, 20mg/ml,  30mg/ml
b. Solution for injection ampoules [with or without mercuric sulfate (M c Hg)/ silver carbonate (M c Arg)/ copper carbonate (M c Cu)]: 100micrograms/1ml, 100nanograms/1ml, 10mg/1ml, 10micrograms/1ml, 1mg/1ml, 5mg/1ml, 20mg/1ml

3. Iscador P (pine mistletoe)
a. Oral drops: 100micrograms/ml, 10mg/ml, 10micrograms/ml, 1mg/ml, 20mg/ml, 30mg/ml
b. Solution for injection ampoules [with or without mercuric sulfate (P c Hg)/ silver carbonate (P c Arg)/ copper carbonate (P c Cu)]: 10mg/1ml solution, 1mg/1ml, 1micrograms/1ml, 20mg/1ml

4.Abnoba viscum M (apple misteletoe)
a. Solution for injection ampoules: 200micrograms/1ml, 20mg/1ml, 20micrograms/1ml, 2mg/1ml 

5. Abnoba viscum F (ash mistletoe)
Solution for injection ampoules: 200micrograms/1ml, 20mg/1ml, 20micrograms/1ml, 2mg/1ml 

6. Abnoba viscum Q (oak mistletoe)
Solution for injection ampoules: 200micrograms/1ml, 20mg/1ml, 20micrograms/1ml, 2mg/1ml 

7. Abnoba viscum A (pine mistletoe)
Solution for injection ampoules: 200micrograms/1ml, 20mg/1ml, 20micrograms/1ml, 2mg/1ml

##Response

A copy of the information is attached.

Number of Items dispensed for Mistletoe products at presentation level showing prescribing and dispensing country from January 2017 to June 2023.

NHSBSA

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 data: January 2017 – June 2023 (latest data available). 
Please note November 2022 was the last month any prescriptions have been presented for reimbursement to the NHSBSA for the requested products. 

Organisation Data 

Prescribing Country - Items prescribed in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Guernsey / Alderney, Jersey, and Isle of Man which have been dispensed in the community in England.
Please note prescribing only in England and Scotland for the requested dataset.
Dispensing Country - English prescribing that has been dispensed in Wales, Scotland, Guernsey / Alderney, Jersey, and Isle of Man.
Please note only dispensed in England for the requested dataset.

Dataset

The data is limited to all mistletoe products within Homeopathic preparation BNF code 190203000BBAAA0 at presentation level.

DM+D Presentation Description

This is the description which is held on the Dictionary of medicines and devices (dm+d) of the product dispensed, which also indicates the supplier. (Ref. link below). 

https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/pharmacies-gp-practices-and-appliance-contractors/dictionary-medicines-and-devices-dmd 

VMP (Generic link) to DM+D Presentation Description

This is the description which is held on the dm+d for the Virtual Medicinal Product (VMP) (generic link) of the product dispensed. 

dm+d is an NHS dictionary containing unique identifiers (codes) and associated textual descriptions for representing medicines and medical devices in information systems and electronic communications. It has been developed for use throughout the NHS as a means of uniquely identifying the specific medicines and medical devices used in the diagnosis or treatment of patients.

Items - Items shows the number of times a product appears on a prescription form not the quantity prescribed.

Please note that this request and our response is published on our Freedom of Information disclosure log at:

https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-01345


Tags: NHS Prescriptions, Viscum album
Organization: Freedom of Information Disclosure Log