Request

You asked us:

I am writing to kindly request access to the Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) dataset, aggregated by day, under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. I understand that this dataset may be substantial, so data from 01/01/2022 to 01/01/2024 would be sufficient.

Should the dataset still prove to be too large, I would be happy to receive it aggregated by week, although daily data would be preferred if feasible.

You clarified your response as follows:

• Could you please provide the total cost (Net Ingredient Cost).

• Please provide the total cost broken down by BNF code, date and practice code.

• Please break it down by GP practice code.

• We are only interested in chapter 23 of the drug tariff (BNF code begins with 23)

If this is still too large, please could you provide the daily aggregated data at the ICB level. In the case the reduced dataset remains too large, please could you provide data for the past 2 years only.

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) received your clarified request on 6 February 2025.

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

Our response

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.

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

The data source is the NHSBSA Information Services Data Warehouse.

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.

Time Period

Items dispensed between December 2021 and November 2024 inclusive, with each month given as a separate file.

Organisation Data

Limited to items prescribed and dispensed in England.

Medications

Limited to items that fall into Chapter 23 of the BNF.

Prescription type

Limited to prescriptions issued under the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS). The NHSBSA does not hold prescribed or dispensed dates for paper prescriptions, so these cannot be included in a daily breakdown. 88.1% of prescriptions issued over this time period for Chapter 23 items were EPS.

Please note that ‘PRESCRIBER_CODE’ refers to the prescribing practice.

BNF Code

The BNF Code is a 15 digit code in which the first seven digits are allocated according to the categories in the BNF and the last 8 digits represent the medicinal product, form, strength and the link to the generic equivalent product. NHS Prescription Services has created pseudo BNF chapters, which are not published, for items not included in BNF chapters 1 to 15. The majority of such items are dressings and appliances which NHS Prescription Services has classified into four pseudo BNF chapters (20 to 23).

Net Ingredient cost (NIC)

The Net Ingredient cost (NIC) is the basic price of a drug as stated in Part II Clause 8 of the Drug Tariff but please note that where a price concession for items listed in Part VIIIA of the Drug Tariff has been agreed between the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) and the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee the NIC will reflect the concession price rather than the Drug Tariff price.

Data Queries

Please contact foirequests@nhsbsa.nhs.uk ensuring you quote the above reference if you have any specific questions regarding this response; or, if you feel you may be misunderstanding or misinterpreting the information; or, if you plan on publishing the data.

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: “Data Warehouse, NHSBSA Copyright 2025” 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.