Additional Info

Field Value
Data last updated 28 May 2026
Metadata last updated 28 May 2026
Created 28 May 2026
Format text/csv
Licence Open Government Licence 3.0 (United Kingdom)

Data Dictionary

Column Title Type Description
FINANCIAL_YEAR Financial Year string The financial year for which the claim for dispensed items has been submitted to NHSBSA, from April to March in any given year.
BNF_PARAGRAPH_CODE BNF Paragraph Code string The first six digits of the 15-digit BNF Code, which indicate the chemical substance under which the drug or appliance is categorised.
BNF_PARAGRAPH_NAME BNF Paragraph Name string The name of the BNF paragraph where the drug is categorised.
ITEMS Items number Items shows the number of times a product appears on a prescription form not the quantity prescribed.
UNIQUE_PATIENT_COUNT Unique Patients number A count of identified patients whose NHS Number was recorded during prescription processing, where each patient is counted once per row in which they appear, regardless of the number of prescriptions matching these criteria.
PATIENT_IDENTIFIED Patient Identified Flag string A Y/N field which describes whether the patient's NHS number could be read from the prescription form or EPS message. "Y" indicates that the NHS number was read and the patient identified and "N" indicates that it wasn't.