FOI-02564

##Request

You asked us:

For the period July to December 2024 inclusive, for prescriptions prescribed in England and dispensed in England by Dispensing Doctors could you please provide figures for:

The total number of prescription items reimbursed

The total number of prescription items with a quantity of 7

The total number of prescription items with a quantity of 14

The total number of prescription items with a quantity of 28

The total number of prescription items with a quantity of 56

The total number of prescription items with a quantity of 84

The total number of prescription items with a quantity of 112

Your request was clarified as follows:

•	Omit special containers and just have those items as prescribed

•	I don’t need a breakdown by product, it’s just the number of items

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) received your clarified request on 13 February 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.

###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

Aggregated monthly data for July 2024 – December 2024

###Organisation Data

The data is for items prescribed and dispensed in England by English Dispensing Doctors.

###Data

This dataset is limited to show all items and also those items where the quantities of 7, 14, 28, 56, 84 and 112 were prescribed along with the formulation of those items.

###Formulation Description

Indicates the formulation for a product prescribed, as assigned by the NHS BSA’s Dictionary of Medicines and Devices.

###Quantity

Quantity normally shows the quantity of a product prescribed. However, where a product is packed in a 'special container'(see Drug Tariff Part II Clause 10) the dispenser is not required to split the pack and may supply the number of containers or original packs which provide the quantity nearest to that prescribed. In some circumstances these items show quantity as the number of units supplied i.e. 1 or 2 even though a pack may contain 56 tablets. 

###Items

Shows 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: NHS Prescription Services, Prescribing
Organization: Freedom of Information Disclosure Log