FOI-03330

Thank you for your request for information about the following: 

##Request 

<p><i>‘I am writing to request the following information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000.</i></p>

<p><i>Please provide data for the most recent 12-month period available on:</i></p>

<p><i>The total number of NHS prescriptions issued for Wegovy (semaglutide), Ozempic (semaglutide), and Mounjaro (tirzepatide).</i></p>

<p><i>Please break this data down by region (ICB/trust area or equivalent) and by age group (e.g. 18–29, 30–39, 40–49, 50–59, 60+ if available).</i></p>

<p><i>If possible, please indicate whether these prescriptions were issued for weight-management/obesity or for type 2 diabetes treatment purposes.’</i></p>

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) received your request on 30 October 2025.  

We have handled your request under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA). 

##Our response 

I can confirm that the NHSBSA holds the information you have requested, and a copy of the information is attached. 

Please read the below notes to ensure correct understanding of the data. 

##Question 3 

I am writing to advise you that following a search of our paper and electronic records, I have established that the information you requested is not held by the NHSBSA. The NHSBSA does not hold the reason an item was prescribed. 

##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 

September 2024 to August 2025. This is currently the most recent 12 months of prescribing data available. 

##Organisation Data 

The data includes items prescribed in England and dispensed anywhere in the UK. The data is aggregated by the stated age bands and branded products, as well as the Integrated Care Board (ICB) in which the item was prescribed. 

##Data 

This dataset is limited to prescribing for Ozempic, Wegovy or Mounjaro branded products within the BNF chemical substances of Semaglutide (BNF 0601023AW) and Tirzepatide (BNF 0601023AZ). 

##BNF Code 

The BNF Code is a 15-digit code in which the first seven digits are allocated according to the categories in the BNF, and the last 8 digits represent the medicinal product, form, strength and the link to the generic equivalent product. NHS Prescription Services has created pseudo BNF chapters, which are not published, for items not included in BNF chapters 1 to 15. Most of these items are dressings and appliances which NHS Prescription Services has classified into four pseudo BNF chapters (20 to 23). 

##Patient Identification 

Where patient identifiable figures have been reported they are based on the information captured during the prescription processing activities.  Please note, patient details cannot be captured from every prescription form and based on the criteria used for this analysis, patient information (age and nhs number) was only available for 99.24% of prescription items. 

The patient count figures are based on a distinct count of NHS number as captured from the prescription image. 

Patient ages are based on the age as captured from the prescription image and relates to the patient's age at the time of prescribing/dispensing.  Results have been restricted to only show results for patients by age bands (18-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59 and 60+).  

Please note it is possible that a single patient may be included in the results for more than one age band where a patient has received prescribing at different ages during a financial year. 

The figures for the number of identifiable patients should not be combined and reported at any other level than provided as this may result in the double-counting of patients.  For example, a single patient could appear in the results for multiple financial years, age bands and ICBs. 

##Items 

Shows the number of times a product appears on a prescription form not the quantity prescribed. 

##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: “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: Mounjaro, NHS Prescriptions, Ozempic, Wegovy
Organization: Freedom of Information Disclosure Log