PharmacyData source guide · Reviewed 23 September 2026
Pharmacy Dispensing Data: How Many Items Do Pharmacies Dispense?
How many NHS items a typical England pharmacy dispenses each month, with percentile bands, a free pharmacy lookup, and where official dispensing data comes from.
How many items does a pharmacy dispense a month?
In June 2026, the typical (median) England community pharmacy dispensed 8,502 NHS prescription items. The middle half of pharmacies dispensed between 6,019 and 11,852 items. The average was 9,862, pulled up by a small number of very high-volume and distance-selling pharmacies.
| Band | Items per month · June 2026 |
|---|---|
| Bottom 10% dispensed fewer than | 4,068 |
| Bottom quarter dispensed fewer than | 6,019 |
| Median (typical pharmacy) | 8,502 |
| Top quarter dispensed more than | 11,852 |
| Top 10% dispensed more than | 15,962 |
Source: NHSBSA dispensing contractors' data, June 2026. 10,383 England pharmacies with published items. Pharmacies without a published figure are excluded, not counted as zero.
Check a pharmacy’s monthly items
Search by pharmacy name, postcode or ODS code. Each profile shows its latest published NHS items and its rank in its ICB, free.
What the official data measures
Pharmacy dispensing publications contain aggregate activity submitted or processed for identified contractor types. Depending on the publication, fields can include items, forms, fees and declared pharmacy-service activity. They do not contain PharmacyData patient-level records.
Why the data is delayed
Dispensing has to occur, claims must be submitted and the publishing body must process the records before a contractor-level file is released. The reporting month is therefore more important than the day a page was viewed. PharmacyData shows the period beside metrics rather than describing periodic data as real-time.
Coverage differs across the UK
England
NHSBSA contractor dispensing, service and EPS publications provide the richest branch-level metric set.
Scotland
Public Health Scotland publications use a different field set and release timetable.
Wales
NHS Wales contractor/activity publications expose nation-specific forms, fees and service fields.
Northern Ireland
BSO/OpenDataNI sources provide contractor and practice-flow activity where published.
Primary England source
The NHSBSA dispensing data hub describes the available reports. The contractor-data guidance also explains that identified-dispensing files can be revised. Always retain the source period and any caveat supplied with a result.
What the data cannot prove
- current medicine stock or prescription readiness;
- clinical quality or patient outcomes;
- profitability, revenue or private-prescription activity;
- service capacity where a field is zero or missing;
- direct comparability between nation-specific fields.