Prescription Cost Analysis - England, 2006

The 2006 data are provided from the links below in two formats:

a) Portable Document Format

b) Downloadable spreadsheet Excel 5 or later version, or Excel 5 in zipped format .

In the PDF file, the number of prescription items dispensed for individual preparations, dressings or appliances is rounded to the nearest 100. There are a very large number of preparations/dressings/appliances where only 50 items or less were dispensed in 2006. While accounting for just under 50 per cent of the total number of preparations dispensed, such preparations covered less than 0.02 per cent of the total items dispensed. In order, therefore, to keep the publication to a manageable size, such preparations have been excluded.

The Excel file also excludes data on products where less than 50 prescription items were dispensed and aggregating data for individual products may not produce the actual totals. The Excel file therefore includes these totals for the following 6 levels of aggregation:

a) Chemical entity

b) BNF sub paragraph

c) BNF paragraph

d) BNF section

e) BNF chapter

f) Overall total The data in the file for prescription numbers, cost and quantity are given to the nearest hundred.

However we would recommend that any data extracted for use is presented to the nearest thousand. Further details about PCA data can be obtained from:

NHS Digital, 7 and 8 Wellington Place, Leeds, West Yorkshire, LS1 4AP.

Telephone: 0845 300 6016

Email: [email protected]

Please let us know at this address if you have any comments on this publication.