Request

I’d like to request data on the number of prescriptions for the contraceptive pill in the UK over the past 5 years 2019 – 2023.

I would like this data broken down year by year.

Response

Under Section 21 of the Act, we are not required to provide information in response to a request if it is already reasonably accessible to you. There is Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) monthly administrative data published in the Open Data Portal that includes contraceptive prescriptions items dispensed in the community in England on a monthly basis and submitted to the NHSBSA for reimbursement. These files can be filtered by product name to locate the information you require:

Prescription cost analysis (PCA) contains information on all prescription items dispensed in England and submitted to the NHSBSA for reimbursement: https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/prescription-cost-analysis-pca-annual-statistics

The English prescribing dataset (EPD) contains information on prescriptions issued in England that have been dispensed in England, Wales, Scotland, Guernsey, Alderney, Jersey, and the Isle of Man.
https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/english-prescribing-data-epd

On the Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) Monthly Administrative Data page scroll down to Data and Resources and find the month required.

Click the explore button.

Then click Preview (to download only contraceptive data) rather than the entire (all BNF Sections) dataset.

Use the Add Filter button and choose BNF_SECTIONs Contraceptive Devices and Contraceptives.

The data includes items, total quantity, and NIC. There is a Data Dictionary describing each column of data (once you select a time period at the bottom of the screen).

Go to the Data Explorer options and select Download filtered records.

You will need this for each month required.

Please note, that to obtain the figures for contraceptive prescriptions, you will need to add a filter for the BNF_SECTIONs Contraceptive Devices and Contraceptives. The data includes items, total quantity and NIC.

There is a Data Dictionary describing each column of data once you select a time period (at the bottom of the screen).

To view a video on how to use the Open Data Portal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNC1EQJAPNY