FOI-03838

Thank you for your request for information about the following:

##Request

You asked us:

<i>I would like to request the following data which covers BNF Chapters 20-23.

The data is from the data source NHSBSA Information Services Data Warehouse’ with the columns:
 
YEAR_MONTH<br>
PRACTICE_CODE<br>
DISPENSER_CODE<br>
BNF_CHAPTER_CODE<br>
BNF_CODE<br>
PRODUCT_ORDER_NUMBER<br>
PACK_ORDER_NUMBER<br>
EPD_BNF_20_21_22<br>
EPD_BNF_23<br>
AC_FLAG<br>
ENG_PRESC_BNF20_23<br>
NIC_GBP<br>
ITEMS<br>
TOTAL_QUANTITY.<br>
I would like data for all items in BNF Chapters 20-23 to include both the prescriber and dispenser details.
 
The data should relate to items that have been prescribed in England and dispensed in England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey. It should not include items that have been dispensed in England but prescribed in another country.
 
Prescribing is limited to GP Practices and Cost Centres in England
 
I would like the data for January 2026 to March 2026.</i>

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) received your request on 19 may 2026.

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.

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	
The data source was the NHSBSA Information Services Data Warehouse.
 
##Time Period
January - March 2026
 
Please note drugs flagged in our database as Schedule 2 and 3 controlled drugs have been excluded from this dataset for information security reasons to prevent the identification of organisations with high levels of controlled drug dispensing. 
 
This data is limited to prescriptions prescribed in England and dispensed in either England, Scotland or Wales. 
 
The dataset also excludes items supplied as part of a Pharmacy First consultation or service 
 
##Exclusions

The Data excludes: <br>
•	Items not dispensed, disallowed and those returned to the contractor for further clarification. <br>
•	Prescriptions prescribed and dispensed in Prisons, Hospitals and Private prescriptions.<br>
•	Items prescribed but not presented for dispensing or not submitted to NHS Prescription Services by the dispenser.

##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