English Prescribing Dataset (EPD) - Sep 2016

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Additional Info

Field Value
Data last updated November 16, 2020
Metadata last updated November 16, 2020
Created November 16, 2020
Format CSV
License Open Government Licence 3.0 (United Kingdom)

Data Dictionary

Column Title Type Description
YEAR_MONTH Year and Month as YYYYMM integer

Example: 201401

REGIONAL_OFFICE_NAME Regional Office Name string

The name given to a geographical region by NHS England. Each region supports local systems to provide more joined up and care for patients.

REGIONAL_OFFICE_CODE Regional Office Code string

The unique code used to refer to a Regional Office.

STP_NAME Area Team Name string

The name given to a geographical area by NHS England that is a smaller division of a Region. STP stands for Sustainability and Transformation Partnership

STP_CODE Area Team Code string

The unique code used to refer to an STP. STP stands for Sustainability and Transformation Partnership.

PCO_NAME Primary Care Organisation Name string

An NHS organisation that commissions or provides care services involving prescriptions that are dispensed in the community.

For example: a Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), an NHS Trust.

PCO_CODE Primary Care Organisation Code string

The unique code used to refer to a Primary Care Organisation.

PRACTICE_NAME Practice Name string

The name of an organisation that employs one or more prescribers who issue prescriptions that may be dispensed in the community. For example: a GP Practice, an Out-of-Hours service, a hospital department within an NHS Trust.

PRACTICE_CODE Practice Code string

The unique code used to refer to a Practice.

ADDRESS_1 Address Field 1 string

The Address used by a Practice. This data is supplied by Primary Care Support England (PSCE), NHS England Area Teams or the Clinical Commissioning Group, whenever a new practice is opened or if a change of details is required.

This data is supplied by Primary Care Support England (PSCE), NHS England Area Teams or the Clinical Commissioning Group, whenever a new practice is opened or if a change of details is required.

ADDRESS_2 Address Field 2 string

The Address used by a Practice. This data is supplied by Primary Care Support England (PSCE), NHS England Area Teams or the Clinical Commissioning Group, whenever a new practice is opened or if a change of details is required.

This data is supplied by Primary Care Support England (PSCE), NHS England Area Teams or the Clinical Commissioning Group, whenever a new practice is opened or if a change of details is required.

ADDRESS_3 Address Field 3 string

The Address used by a Practice. This data is supplied by Primary Care Support England (PSCE), NHS England Area Teams or the Clinical Commissioning Group, whenever a new practice is opened or if a change of details is required.

This data is supplied by Primary Care Support England (PSCE), NHS England Area Teams or the Clinical Commissioning Group, whenever a new practice is opened or if a change of details is required.

ADDRESS_4 Address Field 4 string

The Address used by a Practice. This data is supplied by Primary Care Support England (PSCE), NHS England Area Teams or the Clinical Commissioning Group, whenever a new practice is opened or if a change of details is required.

This data is supplied by Primary Care Support England (PSCE), NHS England Area Teams or the Clinical Commissioning Group, whenever a new practice is opened or if a change of details is required.

POSTCODE Post Code string

The Address used by a Practice. This data is supplied by Primary Care Support England (PSCE), NHS England Area Teams or the Clinical Commissioning Group, whenever a new practice is opened or if a change of details is required.

This data is supplied by Primary Care Support England (PSCE), NHS England Area Teams or the Clinical Commissioning Group, whenever a new practice is opened or if a change of details is required.

BNF_CHEMICAL_SUBSTANCE British National Formulatory (BNF) Chemical Substance Code string

A unique code used to refer to a BNF Chemical Substance.

For example, 0501013B0

CHEMICAL_SUBSTANCE_BNF_DESCR British National Formulatory (BNF) Chemical Substance Description string

The name of the main active ingredient in a drug or the type of an appliance.

Determined by the British National Formulatory (BNF) for drugs, or the NHS BSA for appliances. For example, Amoxicillin

BNF_CODE British National Formulatory (BNF) Code string

The unique code used to refer to a BNF Presentation. For example, 0501013B0AAABAB

BNF_DESCRIPTION British National Formulatory (BNF) Description string

The name given to the specific type, strength, and formulation of a drug; or, the specific type of an appliance. For example, Amoxicillin 500mg capsules

BNF_CHAPTER_PLUS_CODE British National Formulatory (BNF) Description string

The name given to a British National Formulatory (BNF) Chapter that includes the prescribed product. Includes the numerical code used to refer to the chapter.

For example, 05: Infections

QUANTITY Quantity number

The quantity of a medicine, dressing or appliance for which an individual item was prescribed and dispensed, for each BNF Presentation. This represents a pseudo pack size, to illustrate the typical range of prescribed quantities of a given presentation. For example, a quantity of 28 for Amoxicillin 500mg capsules means that the pack size dispensed was 28 capsules.

ITEMS Items integer

The number of times a product appears on a prescription form. Prescription forms include both paper prescriptions and electronic messages.

TOTAL_QUANTITY Total Quantity number

The total quantity of a drug or appliance that was prescribed.

This is calculated by multiplying Quantity by Items. For example, if 2 items of Amoxicillin 500mg capsules with a quantity of 28 were prescribed, total quantity will be 56.

ADQUSAGE Average Daily Quantity (ADQ) number

Average Daily Quantity (ADQ) is the typical daily dose of a medication, prescribed to adult patients by GP Practices.

This field shows the quantity prescribed multiplied by the strength, which is then divided by the Average Daily Quantity value.

NIC Net Ingredient Cost (NIC) number

The amount that would be paid using the basic price of the prescribed drug or appliance and the quantity prescribed.

Sometimes called the 'Net Ingredient Cost' (NIC).

The basic price is given either in the Drug Tariff or is determined from prices published by manufacturers, wholesalers or suppliers. Basic price is set out in Parts 8 and 9 of the Drug Tariff.

For any drugs or appliances not in Part 8, the price is usually taken from the manufacturer, wholesaler or supplier of the product.

ACTUAL_COST Actual Cost number

The basic cost after adjustment for the national average discount and some payments to the dispenser.

See notes for details of the calculation. The calculation is:

Net Ingredient Cost - National Average Discount Percentage + (payment for consumables + out of pocket expenses + payment for containers)

UNIDENTIFIED Unidentified boolean

This field shows data from prescription forms that could not be allocated to a Practice. Please see the guidance notes for a more detailed explanation of this field, and its uses.