Request 

You asked us: 

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 I request data on the prescribing and dispensing of emollients in primary care in England. 

Please provide a monthly breakdown of the total number of items dispensed and the total Net Ingredient Cost NIC for the most recent 24 month period available expected to be March 2024 to February 2026. 

Please categorise the data as follows using BNF Section 13.02.01 Emollients and Barrier Preparations. 

1. Paraffin based Emollients All preparationscontainingWhite Soft Paraffin Liquid Paraffin or Yellow Soft Paraffin as primary active ingredients e.g. Epaderm Ointment Hydromol Ointment Fifty 50. 

2. Isopropyl Myristate based Preparations EmollientscontainingIsopropyl Myristate as a key component often formulated as gels or light creams e.g. Doublebase Gel Adex Gel Isopropyl Myristate Liquid Paraffin combinations. 

3. Aqueous Cream Specifically items listed as Aqueous Cream Where the data allows e.g. via the dm and d description please distinguish between those labelled or dispensed specifically as Soap Substitutes versus standard Aqueous Cream.

4. Urea based Emollients All preparationscontainingUrea e.g. Hydromol Intensive Eucerin Balneum or items in BNF section 13.02.01.1. 

5. Ceramide based and Newer Emollients Specifically brands focusing on skin barrier repair or ceramide or colloidal oatmeal formulations e.g. CeraVe AveenoDermexaand Altruist. 

Data Format Requirements 

Please provide the data in an editable electronic format such as an Excel or .csv file. 

Please provide a monthly breakdown rather than a single 24 month aggregate. 

Please confirm the specific BNF codes or chemical descriptors used to filter each category in your response. 

If the cost of providing this information exceeds the statutory limit please provide advice and assistance on how I might refine my request. 

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) received your request on 26 April 2026.  

We have handled your request under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 2000.  

Our response 

Under Section 21 of the FOIA we are not required to provide information in response to a request if it is already reasonably accessible to you.  

The information you requested is available at: 

DM+D Browser  

Please see the following link to view the section 21 in full - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2000/36/section/21 

Advice and assistance 

Go to the DM+D Browser  

• This is where you can search for medicines and ingredients. 

• Use the “Ingredient Search” function 

• Type the ingredient you are interested in. 

• For example, searching “White soft paraffin” will display a list of related items, including Virtual Medicinal Products (VMPs). 

• Select the relevant product 

• In the example above, you can click on Aqueous Cream. 

• From there, you can choose to view the Actual Medicinal Products (AMPs) linked to it. 

• If you need help with BNF/SNOMED mappings 
  You can use the official mapping document available here: https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/prescription-data/understanding-our-data/bnf-snomed-mapping 

• This dataset will allow you to look up prescribing and cost information for the products you identified using the DM+D Browser: Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) Monthly Administrative Data