FOI-03489

Thank you for your request for information about the following:

##Request

You asked us:

<i>Is there any chance I could request an update for the last 12 months of this FOI from 2024?
 
Previous request – FOI-01758 https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-01758 </i>

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) received your request on 31 December 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 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.
 
<b>Exclusions</b>

The Data excludes: 

<span style="display: block; padding-left: 1em;">•	Items not dispensed, disallowed and those returned to the contractor for further clarification. </span>

<span style="display: block; padding-left: 1em;">•	Prescriptions prescribed and dispensed in Prisons, Hospitals and Private prescriptions.</span>

<span style="display: block; padding-left: 1em;">•	Items prescribed but not presented for dispensing or not submitted to NHS Prescription Services by the dispenser.</span>
 
<b>Time Period</b>	

November 2024 to October 2025 (the latest held at the time of production) inclusive aggregated

<b>Organisation Data</b>

The data provided is for prescriptions dispensed in England.

The data is limited to prescribing of products in the BNF chemical substance 2107 (Elastic Hosiery).

Where identified patient 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 (NHS number) was only available for 95.77% of prescription items.

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 presentations.

##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 2026”. 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 Presciption Services
Organization: Freedom of Information Disclosure Log