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Pharmacy and appliance contractor dispensing data

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Community Prescribing & Dispensing

Datasets on the prescribing and dispensing of medicines in the community

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Licence

Open Government Licence 3.0 (United Kingdom) [Open Data]

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Pharmacy and appliance contractor dispensing data

Important: Historic Pharmacy and Appliance Contractor Dispensing Data Now Available in Updated Format

Files for April 2014 to December 2024 for the Pharmacy and Appliance Contractor dispensing data have now been provided in the updated format on the NHSBSA Open Data Portal.

Please note that column headings may vary over time.

Dataset Description

The pharmacy and appliance contractors report is a monthly dataset that details the volume of activity that has occurred from English dispensing. The information relates to prescriptions and services that are outlined in the English & Welsh drug tariff. For example, numbers of Advanced Services such as the seven conditions within the Pharmacy First Clinical Pathways.

The data provided is based on England community dispensing only and may include items prescribed in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and the Isle of Man which have been dispensed in England.

The dataset is openly available via the NHSBSA Open Data Portal, promoting transparency and enabling widespread analysis.

The Information Commissioners Office (ICO) decided it's in the public interest to release details of dispensing information for identified dispensers.

View our approach to releasing dispensing information (Word: 301KB)

Key Features

  • Organisational-Level Information: Each record is linked to a specific dispensing account, Integrated Care Board, Health and Wellbeing Board enabling analysis at various levels.
  • Data Granularity: The dataset captures the numbers associated with each submission claim by an individual dispenser (and their address) that has been passed for payment. Enabling analysis of trends.
  • Reference Point: The dataset allows for a quick view of dispensing activity within the community in England.
Use Cases and Benefits

The dispensing data supports a range of users, including healthcare professionals, policymakers, and researchers.

Key applications include:

  • Integration with Other Datasets: Can be linked with other datasets to provide a more comprehensive view of patient care and prescribing impacts.

Overview of Service

Information about our NHSBSA Prescriptions Data service can be found here - Prescription data | NHSBSA

Dataset Details

Publication Frequency

Data is uploaded on a monthly basis and is published retrospectively with a three-month delay.

For example, May data is published in August.

Data Source

NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) Data Warehouse.

Data Collection

The pharmacy and appliance contractor’s report is compiled from multiple NHSBSA data sources to ensure accuracy and consistency in prescription records.

  • Organisational Data: Derived from the NHSBSA organisational database, providing up-to-date information on NHS GP practices and primary care organisations.
  • Service Data: Includes consultations that took place under an advanced service heading and all prescription items prescribed in the community in England and submitted to NHSBSA for reimbursement and remuneration by pharmacy and appliance dispensing contractors monthly.
Time Periods

Data from January 2025 onwards is available now on the NHSBSA Open Data Portal.

We are currently working to migrate earlier data from April 2014 onwards to the Open Data Portal. This will made available incrementally and we expect the full set to be available over the next few months.

In the meantime, data covering January 2020 to March 2025 can be accessed via the Pharmacy and appliance contractor dispensing data section on the NHSBSA website:

https://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/prescription-data/dispensing-data/dispensing-contractors-data

Geography

England.

Statistical Classification

Management Information - This is not an official statistic.

Caveats

Information:

Exclusion of contractors/service information appearing in the dataset

This will exclude services that were provided but not declared/paid.

The data that appears is for the submission month and not necessarily the month in which the activity took place.

There may be services listed in the drug tariff that are not included.

Where a contractor has no submissions for a specific field this field will not appear for that contractor.

This data does not include dispensing doctors or personal administration accounts. Data for these contractors can be found at: https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/dispensing-doctor-and-personally-administered-padm-dispensing-data.

Information:

Exclusion of geographical locations

The data excludes items prescribed in England but dispensed in Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Isle of Man.

The data excludes items dispensed in prisons, hospital and private prescriptions but does include dental, prison and hospital prescriptions which are dispensed in the community.

If a prescription was issued but not presented for dispensing or was not submitted to NHSBSA Prescription Services by the dispenser, then it is not included in the data provided.

Information:

Based on submission

All data is based on the month of submission. No retrospective adjustments are made to the data.

The basis of the location where the contractor resides is determined on the payment month.

Information:

Data changes

The fields may remain consistent over time, but new ones might be added, and the definitions within those fields may change.

The data identified as abated covers services declared, and items prescribed on prescriptions from a previous month.

Information:

Type of Data

This data is the ‘number of’ and not financial values.

Enquiries

Who can I contact if I have queries relating to the data?

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 name of the dataset for reference. This is important to ensure that the figures are not misunderstood or misrepresented.

Citing and Reusing This Data

Important information regarding 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/or other applicable law. You may use the data freely, provided that you attribute the source.

Citation

NHS Business Services Authority. "Pharmacy and appliance contractor dispensing data". Accessed **[Date Accessed]**. URL: https://opendata.nhsbsa.net/dataset/pharmacy-and-appliance-contractor-dispensing-data

Data and Resources

Additional Info

Field Value
Source NHS Business Services Authority
Contact NHSBSA Data Services Support Team
Version 1.0
State active
Last Updated December 1, 2025, 10:37 (UTC)
Created June 2, 2025, 16:44 (UTC)