FOI-02889

##Request

_I want a complete list of all Pharmacies in United Kingdom that have ordered Drug Tariff Special Order / Special Order / Part VIIID Drugs / Generics / Branded Medicines along with their details. which is latest available._
  
_Following are the details required :_

_1.     Month of order_ 

_2.     Region Code_   
 
_3.     Region_ 

_4.     Code_ 

_5.     Pharmacy / Doctor dispensing code_ 

_6.     Pharmacy Name_ 

_7.     Pharmacy Trading Name_ 

_8.     Pharmacy Area Code_

_9.     Area_ 

_10.  County_ 

_11.  Pharmacy Postcode_ 

_12.  Contractor Type_

_13.  Contractor Name_ 

_14.  Type of Items - Drug Tariff Special Order Products / Part VIIID Drug Tariff Special Order Products / Special Order Products / Generics / Branded Medicines_ 

_15.  Number of items ordered_

On 9 June 2025 you clarified your request as follows:

_I would you like get data for November 2024 - March 2025. Please share as per the request._

##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.

__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. 

(Please note- for this particular dataset- data has been provided for prescriptions dispensed by English pharmacy contractors and dispensing doctors only, please refer to 'Organisation Data' for more information). 

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: November 2024 - March 2025. March 2025 is currently the most recent month of data available.

__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 03-Mar-25 ) 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 show the number of times a product appears on a prescription form, not the quantity prescribed.

__Data Queries__

Please contact foirequests@nhsbsa.nhs.uk 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 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: “ePACT2, 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: Drug Tariff, NHS Prescription Services, special order
Organization: Freedom of Information Disclosure Log