Request

For the month of October 2023 would it be possible to request the following data, broken down by pharmacy, dispensing doctor and appliance contractors dispensed in England.

• The number of items reimbursed, with gross and nett cost for items in IXA of the English Ireland Drug Tariff

• The number of items reimbursed, with gross and nett cost for items in IXB of the English Ireland Drug Tariff

• The number of items reimbursed, with gross and nett cost for items in IXC of the English Ireland Drug Tariff

• The number of items reimbursed, with gross and nett cost for items in IXR of the English Ireland Drug Tariff

Response

Gross Cost

I am writing to advise you that following a search of our paper and electronic records, I have established that the information you requested on gross cost is not held by the NHS Business Services Authority. We only hold information on the net cost, which is explained further below.

Remaining Information

I can confirm that the NHSBSA holds the information you have requested and a copy of the information and notes explaining it is attached.

Please read the below notes to ensure correct understanding of the data.

Total Items and NIC dispensed for presentations in Part IXA, Part IXB, Part IXC and Part IXR of the Drug Tariff by either English Appliance contractors, English Dispensing Doctors or English Pharmacy contractors.

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.

Data Source: ePACT2

Data in ePACT2 is sourced from the NHSBSA Data Warehouse and is derived from products prescribed on prescriptions and dispensed in the Community. The data captured from prescription processing is used to calculate reimbursement and remuneration. It includes items prescribed in England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Guernsey / Alderney, Jersey and Isle of Man which have been dispensed in the community in England. English prescribing that has been dispensed in Wales, Scotland, Guernsey / Alderney, Jersey and Isle of Man is also included.

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.

Time Period:

October 2023

Organisation Data:

The data is limited to items dispensed in the community by English Appliance, English Dispensing Doctor and English Pharmacy accounts regardless of where prescribed.

Drug Tariff Category:

NHS England and Wales Drug Tariff is limited to Part IXA - Appliances Part IXB - Incontinence Appliances Part IXC - Stoma Appliances Part IXR - Chemical Reagents

Items:

Items shows the number of times a product appears on a prescription form not the quantity prescribed.

Net Ingredient Cost (£):

Net Ingredient cost (NIC) is the basic price of a drug as stated in Part II Clause 8 of the Drug Tariff.

Data Queries

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

Reusing the data and copyright

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: “ePACT2” NHSBSA Copyright 2024” This information is licenced under the terms of the Open Government Licence.

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.