I am writing to confirm that I have now completed my search for the information which you requested on 21 December 2021, as outlined below:

I am writing with regard to a Freedom of Information request. I would like to make a new request under the Freedom of Information Act, for data which is held by NHSBSA in epact2.

The reference number for the previous request is 18058. I am requesting the same information in the same format for the each of the calendar months from August 2021 to October 2021.

Response

A copy of the information is attached.

Time Period

August 2021 - October 2021 dispensed prescriptions (inclusive).

Data

This data is derived from products prescribed on NHS prescriptions and dispensed in the community. The data retrieved from these prescriptions is processed to capture the prescriber, drugs, and drug costs before being summarised where applicable and then held on a database. Please note, that this means that if a prescription was issued, but not presented for dispensing or was not submitted to NHS Prescription Services by the dispenser, then it is not included in this data.

Restrictions

The data is restricted to items dispensed in England split by dispensing organisation.

Controlled Drugs

Drugs which have been flagged in our database as a "controlled drug" have been excluded from this dataset for information security reasons to prevent the identification of organisations with high levels of controlled drug dispensing.

Data Exclusions

• Not dispensed items

• Disallowed items

• Items returned for further clarification,

• Items prescribed and dispensed in prisons and hospitals

• private prescription items prescribed but not presented for dispensing or not submitted to NHS Prescription Services by the dispenser.

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.

The NHS Prescription Services has created pseudo BNF chapters, which are not published, for items not included in BNF chapters 1 to 15. Most of such items are dressings and appliances, which the NHS Prescription Services has classified into four pseudo BNF chapters (20 to 23).

Definitions

• ITEMS

o Shows the number of times a product appears on a prescription form, not the quantity prescribed.

• QUANTITY

o Shows the quantity of a product prescribed. However, where a product is packed in a 'special container'(see Drug Tariff Part II Clause 10) the pharmacist is not required to split the pack and may supply the number of containers or original packs which provide the quantity nearest to that prescribed. In some circumstances these items show quantity as the number of units supplied i.e. 1 or 2 even though a pack may contain 56 tablets. .

• NET_INGREDIENT_COST_GBP

o The basic price of a drug (in GBP) 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 the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee the NIC will reflect the concession price rather than the Drug Tariff price.

Data Queries

If you have any queries regarding the data provided, or if you plan on publishing the data please contact DataServicesSupport@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 nhsbsa.communicationsteam@nhs.net. 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: “Information Services Data Warehouse, NHSBSA Copyright 2022” 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.