FOI-03128 - FOI03128_202504_001 - Open Data Portal

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Alert 29 August 2025

Deployment completed.

The follow-up deployment on the NHSBSA Open Data Portal has now been completed. This release addresses outstanding actions from the previous update and delivers improvements as detailed in this news article.

If you encounter any issues or require support, please contact us at DataServicesSupport@nhsbsa.nhs.uk.

Additional Info

Field	Value
Data last updated	16 October 2025
Metadata last updated	16 October 2025
Created	16 October 2025
Format	text/csv
Licence	Open Government Licence 3.0 (United Kingdom)

Data Dictionary

Column	Title	Type	Description
YEAR_MONTH	Year and Month	integer	The year and month for which the claim for dispensed items has been submitted to NHSBSA in the format YYYYMM.
SICBL_CODE	SICBL Code	string	SICBL code is the unique identifying code attributed to a Sub-ICB Location (SICBL).
SICBL_NAME	SICBL Name	string	SICBL Name
BNF_PRESENTATION_CODE	BNF Code	integer	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).
BNF_PRESENTATION_NAME	BNF Presentation Description	string	The individual preparation name of the drug, which may be proprietary or generic, followed by strength and form.
AGE_BAND	Age Band	string	Indicates the age band for identifiable patients. If a patient's age has not been able to be verified, the age band will be indicated as unknown.
GENDER	Gender	string	Patient gender has been reported using the latest patient gender information held by the NHSBSA Information Services data warehouse at the time that the data was extracted. This uses information from either the most recent Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) message or from the last time that NHSBSA received data about the patient's gender from NHS Personal Demographics Service. Gender is either: Male, Female, Not Known (where no information is held) or Indeterminate (where information is held which does not confirm either Male or Female).
ITEMS	Items	integer	Items shows the number of times a product appears on a prescription form not the quantity prescribed.
NIC_GBP	Net Ingredient Cost (NIC (£))	string	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 VIII 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. NIC is given in Pounds Sterling.
TOTAL_QUANTITY	Total Quantity	integer	Total quantity is the number of items multiplied by the quantity prescribed. e.g. 2 items prescribed, one with a quantity of 2 and one with a quantity of 3, the total quantity would show as 5 (1 item x quantity of 2) + (1 item x quantity of 3)