FOI-03312

Thank you for your request for information about the following: 
 
##Request 
 
You asked us: 
 
<i>What we are looking for in essence is a variation of the Prescription Cost analysis (PCA) Monthly Administrative Data. 
Detailing the dispenser code(s) and prescriber code(s) with the following restrictions. 
  
1. only for BNF code starting 2128 

2. only for the first prescription issued to a patient who have never received a prescription for any of these items in the previous 2 years. 

3. As we feel that the chances of a patient having both a paper and EPS in the same month is remote, the level of detail we require is the month of dispensing. 
  
We would be looking for all available months from July 2025 onwards. 
Could we also request the same data without the restrictions 2/3 above.</i> 
 
The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) received your request on 27 October 2025.  
 
We have handled your request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000.  
 
##Our response 
 
I can confirm that the NHSBSA holds the information you have requested and a copy of the information and notes explaining it is attached. 
 
Please read the below notes to ensure correct understanding of the data. 
 
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. 
 
<b>Data Source </b>
 
The data source was the NHSBSA Information Services Data Warehouse. 
Files associated with this request: FOI03112_PART_1.csv - contains data for "new" patients, who have their first prescribing for this BNF section for at least 2 years, split by month. FOI03112_PART_2.csv - contains data for all patients prescribed in the time period. 
 
<b>Exclusions </b>
 
The Data excludes: <br>
•	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.  
 
•	Items supplied as part of a Pharmacy First consultation or service. 
 
<b>Time Period</b>
 
Prescriptions processed in July and August 2025 (latest available). 
For Part 1, prescriptions from August 2023 to August 2025 were considered to look for patients who had their first prescription in at least 2 years. 
 
Data in part 1 is limited to prescriptions where an NHS Number was captured during NHSBSA prescription processing. 
 
97.57% of all items for this request from August 2023 to August 2025 had an NHS number associated with them. Data in part 2 includes all prescriptions, regardless of the NHS number being captured. 
 
<b>Drugs </b>
 
Limited to the following BNF sections - 2128 Anal Irrigation System 
 
<b>Organisation Data </b>
 
Only items that were dispensed in the community in England have been included. 
 
##Data Queries 
 
Please contact <a href="mailto: foirequests@nhsbsa.nhs.uk">foirequests@nhsbsa.nhs.uk </a> ensuring you quote the above reference if you have any specific questions regarding this response; or, if you feel you may be misunderstanding or misinterpreting the information; or, if you plan on publishing the data. 

##Reusing the data and copyright 
 
If you plan on producing a press or broadcast story based upon the data please contact <a href="mailto: communicationsteam@nhsbsa.nhs.uk">communicationsteam@nhsbsa.nhs.uk</a>. 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: “Data Warehouse, NHSBSA Copyright 2025”. 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: BNF, NHS Presciption Services
Organization: Freedom of Information Disclosure Log