Prescribing Data Extract File - Publication Date 11 July 2017
The data extract is presented as downloadable text (.csv) file. Each monthly dataset is large, over 1 million rows. It contains details of items dispensed in the community at prescribing location code level for General Practice data and aggregated by NHS Board for other prescriber location types. Items are described at British National Formulary (BNF) item description level.
Class of Preparation added to Open Data files (09/05/2017)
An additional field will be added to the February 2017 open data file on 9th May 2017 due to customer demand. The class of preparation variable has been added to the file which indicates if the drug was prescribed as generic ('G') or proprietary ('P'). This field is contained in the February 2017 Open Data file onwards.
Revisions made to Open Data files (14/06/2016)
Three revisions were made to the open data files on 14th June 2016. These revisions were applied to all of the open data files published on the ISD website from October 2015 data onwards.
- Items with no BNF item code attributed have been added to the dataset. For a sample month this equated to 0.4% of all items. These items are displayed in the data file as having a blank BNF item code.
- Health board codes have been updated from 2006 Health Board codes to 2014 Health Board codes.
- A quantity measure has been added to the dataset in order to reflect customer demand. There are inconsistencies with this measure which should be noted, please see our Frequently Asked Questions. It has been assessed that the effect of inconsistencies is likely to be small and over time, variable in nature.
Warning: These files are very large and may take a considerable time to download.
- 201704 Prescribing Data
[91.7mb] - 201703 Prescribing Data [95.2mb]
- 201702 Prescribing Data [91.3mb]
- 201701 Prescribing Data [86.3mb]
- 201612 Prescribing Data [88.6mb]
- 201611 Prescribing Data [86.2mb]
- 201610 Prescribing Data [86.9mb]
- 201609 Prescribing Data [86.9mb]
- 201608 Prescribing Data [88.8mb]
- 201607 Prescribing Data [89.5mb]
- 201606 Prescribing Data [88.5mb]
- 201605 Prescribing Data [88.5mb]
- 201604 Prescribing Data [88.5mb]
- 201603 Prescribing Data [88.5mb]
- 201602 Prescribing Data
[86.5mb] - 201601 Prescribing Data [85.5mb]
- 201512 Prescribing Data [84.1mb]
- 201511 Prescribing Data [80.6mb]
- 201510 Prescribing Data [82.7mb]
OGL Content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0
Supporting Documentation for prescribing data extract file
- Publication of Prescribing Data Summary Report
- Feedback, impact and webstats - evaluation of Practice level prescribing data
- Publication of Prescribing Data - Practice level prescribing data
- Glossary of Terms - Practice level prescribing data
- Frequently Asked Questions
- Privacy Risk Assessment - Practice level prescribing data
- Metadata file
- Field names and descriptions
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