FOI-02239

##Request

You asked us:

I want a complete list of all Pharmacies / Online Pharmacies / Dispensing Doctors in United Kingdom along with their orders
Following are the details required : 

1. Pharmacy Code
2. Pharmacy Name
3. Pharmacy Trading Name
4. Pharmacy Post Code
5. Pharmacy Detailed Address - With region and county
6. Single / Multiple Pharmacies - Number of Pharmacies
7. Contractor type
8. Contractor name
9. Type of items ordered
10. Number of items ordered 
 
January 2024 to Latest Data available.
 
You subsequently clarified your request with the following points:

1. ‘Orders’ refers to ‘Items’ and ‘Drug Tariff Special Order Products / Part VIIID Drug Tariff Special Order Products / Special Order Products’
2. Data should be aggregated monthly
2. Data should include prescribing anywhere in the UK, dispensed anywhere in the UK. No dispensing / prescribing country to be indicated. 

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) received your clarified request on 25 September 2024. 

We have handled your request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000.

##Our response

Prescriptions Prescribed and Dispensed in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

I am writing to advise you that following a search of our paper and electronic records,
I have established that the information you requested for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is not held by the NHS Business Services Authority. We only hold information for prescriptions prescribed in England. For details of other home countries please use the following contacts.


__Information for Scotland can be obtained by contacting:__

Customer Service Desk

NHS National Services Scotland

Gyle Square

1 South Gyle Crescent

Edinburgh

EH12 9EB

Tel: 0131 275 6665 

Email: NSS.Communications@nhs.net

Website: www.isdscotland.org

Web form 

http://www.nhsnss.org/pages/corporate/foi_request_form.php

FOISA Disclosure log 

http://www.nhsnss.org/pages/publications/foi_disclosures.php

__Information for Wales can be obtained by contacting:__

NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership

Freedom of Information Requests

NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership,

4-5 Charnwood Court,

Heol Billingsley,

Parc Nantgarw,

Cardiff

CF15 7QZ

E-mail: shared.services@wales.nhs.uk

__Information for Northern Ireland can be obtained by contacting:__

Corporate Services Department

HSC Business Services Organisation

2 Franklin Street

Belfast

BT2 8DQ

Tel: 028 9032 4431 Website: http://www.hscbusiness.hscni.net/

Email Foi.bso@hscni.net

FOI Disclosure log 
http://www.hscbusiness.hscni.net/information/2107.htm 

###Remaining Information 

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. 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: January 2024 - July 2024. July 2024 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 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.

##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 2024” 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, Pharmacies
Organization: Freedom of Information Disclosure Log