Thank you for your request for information about the following:

Hello, thank you for responding to my previous query at https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/foi-25452 Could I please request information on the number of GP CPCS referrals by month. Could this be in a spreadsheet format, with columns of "month", "ODS code of prescribing organisation", "ODS code of dispensing organisation" and "count". If this is possible, then could the data please be provided as far back as the data exists.

May I please request an update on this data please, with the latest available figures, e.g. between April 2022 and January 2024. Thank you.

Your request was received on 19 February 2024 and has been dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Response

Please be advised that it has come to our attention that the previous issued response for FOI 25452 is incorrect. This was due to an error in calculation methodology. We apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused. The data has been provided under this FOI for all time periods available.

A copy of the information is attached.

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.

Exclusions

The Data excludes: Items not dispensed, disallowed and those returned to the contractor for further clarification. Prescriptions prescribed and dispensed in Prisons, Hospitals and Private prescriptions. * Items prescribed but not presented for dispensing or not submitted to NHS Prescription Services by the dispenser.

Data Source

The data source was the NHSBSA Information Services Data Warehouse.

Time Period

November 2019 to December 2023 inclusive. Data was correct as held in the NHSBSA data Warehouse on March 1st 2024.

Organisation Data

The data provided is limited to pharmacies using the CPCS service in the community in England.

Referral Organisation

Data is limited to where the referrer organisation type has been recorded as either 'GP_ONLINE' or 'GP_PRACTICE'.

Year_month

The year month is based on the time period the claim was processed. For example 202312 means that data was processed in the claim window in the following month, in this case 202401. The majority of activity will have happened in the given month, some activity may be from earlier time periods with a late claim.

GP Name, Address and Postcode

We do not hold the prescribing organisation. The data supplied is ‘the name of the patient’s GP surgery (not mandatory). This can be the ODS code of the practice and not of the branch surgery.’ This is as entered into the point of care system by the contractor.

Request count

The number of times a fee of 14 pounds Stirling has been paid.

Data Queries

If you have any queries regarding the data provided, or if you plan on publishing the data, please contact foidata@nhsbsa.nhs.uk ensuring you quote the above reference. This is important to ensure that the figures are not misunderstood or misrepresented.

If you plan on producing a press or broadcast story based upon the data please contact communicationsteam@nhsbsa.nhs.uk 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: “NHSBSA Information Services Data Warehouse, NHSBSA Copyright 2023” This information is licenced under the terms of the Open Government Licence:

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

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.