CPNCommunity Pharmacy News – January 2016

PSNC criticises Government proposals forpharmacyPSNC CEO calls for the community pharmacy sector to pulltogether to help ensure patients won't suffer

New Check34 features | EPS process changes | Drug Tariff factsheet

On 17th December 2015, in an open

letter to PSNC from the Department of

Health and NHS England, the Government

announced that it would reduce

community pharmacy funding in 2016/17

by at least £170m. You can find a link to

the letter and PSNC’s response at

dld.bz/eew9Z. Publication of an ‘offer’ is

without precedent, and the reason is only

clear when the rest of the letter is

studied.

The letter is not exactly coherent, and lacks

detail in critical areas, but it is evident that

the Government is set on reducing

pharmacy numbers and costs. The letter

states the Government’s belief that the

“efficiencies” (their word for the cut in

funding) “can be made within community

pharmacy without compromising the

quality of services or public access to

them”. It speaks about current locations of

pharmacies and clusters, and says that “in

some parts of the country there are more

pharmacies than are necessary to maintain

good access”. But it is silent on protecting

patient choice, other than the choice to use

online pharmacies which it wishes to drive.

It is also silent on appreciation of the social

value of community pharmacy and the

extent to which pharmacies are a safety

valve for a beleaguered NHS. Then on

Boxing Day the media publicised heavily

urgent pleas to the public to only visit A+E

if absolutely essential, and instead to

consult a community pharmacist.

We face a very difficult year. The

contractors who represent you on PSNC,

who are your colleagues, will work with me

and my team to battle for your interests,

and those of the patients you care for. They

have a great responsibility and will fight to

secure the best outcome possible.

Community pharmacy must work together,

and PSNC will work with the LPCs, and with

other pharmacy organisations to ensure we

all cooperate to play our different parts. We

need your support.

2 Community Pharmacy News – January 2016

psnc’s work funDing anD statistics contract anD it

A message from Sue Sharpe,PSNC Chief Executive OfficerPSNC’s CEO responds to an open letter from the

Government setting out a variety of proposals for

community pharmacy services as well as

announcing a 6% funding cut in 2016/17

“My team and I will

battle for your

interests in the face of

a very difficult year”

RPS Fellowship for PSNC MembersPSNC members Mark Burdon and Peter Cattee have both been appointed Fellows of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS).

The Fellowships recognise distinctions that RPS members have attained in their pharmacy careers and they are based on

nominations from other members.

Mark is an elected PSNC Regional Representative and chairs PSNC’s Resource, Development and Finance Subcommittee. Also an

independent contractor, Mark maintains close links to the school of pharmacy at the University of Sunderland and sitting on

PSNC’s Drug Tariff working group.

Peter was elected to PSNC from the non-Company Chemists’ Association multiples. As the Chief Executive Officer of PCT

Healthcare, parent company for two community pharmacy chains operating in Derbyshire and Manchester, he is well placed to

Chair PSNC’s Funding and Contract Subcommittee.

These are uncertain times and this latest Government

announcement will be particularly worrying for pharmacy

contractors. PSNC therefore urges any contractor who is

concerned about the impact of large dispensing units on patients

to share these concerns now with their MP.

When writing to or emailing your MP be sure to highlight any

particular examples of the ways in which you and your pharmacy

team have helped your patients and local community recently.

You should also ask what the MP can do to reassure you that your

patients won't suffer.

Contact details for your MP can be found on the Houses of

Parliament website (www.parliament.uk/findyourmp) and

please contact PSNC if you need any help or support.

Look out for further details of how you can support our work in

this area on the PSNC website.

Are you concerned about the cuts?

psnc.org.uk 3

services anD commissioning the healthcare lanDscape lpcsDispensing anD supply

Brand new features for Check34 analysis toolEPS nominations, flu vaccination fees and script source analysis are the

latest additions to PSNC’s Check34 prescription payment analysis tool.

Three new key performance indicators

(KPI) are now available for community

pharmacy contractors using Check34.

Contractors with Check34 accounts will

now be able to log in and see:

1. Flu vaccination fees – how many

fees/vaccinations you have been paid

for (from September 2015 onwards);

2. Script source analysis – which GP

practices your prescriptions are coming

from (top three surgeries each month –

number of scripts + percentage of

total); and

3. EPS nominations – total number of

nominations for your pharmacy each

month (this information appears on the

Paper vs EPS KPI.)

The latest additions to the Check34 service

allow you to track your fee income from

offering a flu vaccination service, and

compare your performance with other

pharmacies that are offering the service

locally and nationally.

The EPS nomination KPI means you can

monitor the number of patients who are

nominating your pharmacy for EPS

prescriptions as the switch from paper to

EPS gathers pace. How fast are your EPS

nominations growing? Does this reflect

your share of prescriptions from local

surgeries?

The script source analysis lets you see which

GP practices provide the majority of your

scripts and allows you to track changes in

script number from each surgery month by

month. The KPI shows the addresses of

your main surgeries, the total number of

scripts/items from each month and the

percentage of your total items.

As well as new KPIs there are some other

changes to help you get more out of

Check34:

• The red/amber/green traffic light

system has been revised so that good

results are now coded blue instead of

red (‘good’ means where the figure for

the month appears above the trend

line and higher than the 90%

confidence limit).

• An option now exists for you to print

out KPI graphs direct to your printer.

• For those who use the reporting tool

on a regular basis to extract figures,

you can now save your search criteria,

so you can pull off the same report

month after month without having to

rekey all the parameters.

• For single pharmacy accounts the KPI

dashboard will now display as your

homepage when you first sign in. If you

want to go to the administration area,

use the link in the menu on the left of

the screen.

Check34 webinar now available on-demand

Community pharmacy contractors can now access an online

recording of PSNC’s recent webinar which explained how to get

the most benefit from the Check34 prescription payment

analysis tool.

More than 150 people tuned in to the webinar on 30th

November when PSNC’s Check34 Project Manager Patrick Grice

and Head of Pricing Harpreet Chana demonstrated how you can

use Check34 to analyse the performance of your prescription

business and answered viewers’ questions.

Did you miss out or do you just want to watch again?

The webinar is now available to watch at: psnc.org.uk/webinar. To

view the recording you will need to register (or input the email

address you registered with previously).

More than 150 people tuned in on thenight (41% of those who hadregistered)

The presenterswere asked a

total of 23questions

on the night

?The average viewing time was54 minutes (out of a possible 90 minutes)

Category M price changesThe new Category M prices from the Department of Health (DH) for prescriptions dispensed from January until March 2016

represent a reduction of £15m per month.

Available information for 2015/16 suggests that an over-delivery of margin is being made in the current financial year; therefore

DH and PSNC have agreed it is prudent to seek to reduce margins now. This will smooth the delivery of margin and minimise the

need for any future adjustments. View the January 2016 Category M prices at: dld.bz/edY2z

4 Community Pharmacy News – January 2016

contract anD it Dispensing anD supply services anD commissioning th

EPS prescription process changes

The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) has

announced alterations to the Electronic Prescription Service

(EPS) prescriber cancellation and repeat dispensing processes.

Prescriber cancellationFrom February 2016, a change will be made

relating to the cancellation of items that have been

marked as Not Dispensed (ND) by the pharmacy

team.

The cancellation process is used when a prescriber

decides that they need to cancel an EPS

prescription which they have issued, for example,

because of a decision to change the prescription to

a different product. The EPS process can only occur

if the prescription has not been downloaded by a

pharmacy. If it has been downloaded the prescriber

will need to contact the pharmacy or the patient.

However, when a member of the pharmacy team

uses the ND endorsement on an item following a

practice request for cancellation, the GP system

will not confirm successful cancellation. This may

lead to inaccuracies within the patient medical

record on the prescriber’s system and the

pharmacy team may then be asked to return the

prescription to the central NHS Spine.

The change to the EPS system, from February 2016

onwards, will mean that where a GP practice

requests EPS cancellation of an item and the item

is marked as ND, the GP system will be updated to

reflect the successful cancellation.

CPPE launch Apps for pharmacy guide

The Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education (CPPE) has launched their latest edition of the Apps for pharmacy guide.

The guide is updated on a yearly basis and contains details of a number of health-related apps for

pharmacy professionals and their patients. The guide includes icons to show if apps are available

for Apple or Android devices or both, and lists health apps as those that can be used:

• as a source of information for pharmacy professionals;

• during consultations with patients; and

• to signpost patients to use to support a healthy lifestyle.

The guide can be downloaded from: dld.bz/efDrr

Currentprocess forEPS RDissuetiming

Newprocess(late Feb2016onwards)

Pharmacy can use the EPS reference to pulldown batch issues early where needed 3 3

Spine allows early download of subsequentbatch issues to pharmacy associated with dateprevious issue had its dispense message sent

3 7

Spine allows early download of subsequentbatch issues to pharmacy associated with GPissue/appropriate date

7 3

Then check out our new ‘CPPEcorner’ feature which containsmuch more about CPPE’s workand can be found on page 6.

Found thisinteresting?

ElectronicPrescriptionService

Repeat dispensing logicFrom February 2016, a change will be made relating to the timing for which

subsequent repeat dispensing (RD) batch issues can be downloaded.

The current logic uses timing linked with the sending of dispense messages.

This can lead to delays in the automatic download of subsequent issues if a

previous dispense message is sent late. Any delay may risk items not being

prepared in time.

Following the change, the timing for when the next batch issue is available

to download from the Spine will be linked with the GP practice’s intended

date. A dispense message should still be sent in accordance with your

processes, but this will not delay the start of the automatic countdown to

the next issue.

Please check the PSNC website for further

information on these changes, including

the exact date of implementation.

PSNC websiteFor up to date information and news on community pharmacy issues, visit the PSNC website at psnc.org.uk

PSNC Community Pharmacy News is published by:The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee, Times House, 5 Bravingtons Walk, London N1 9AWCommunity Pharmacy News is edited by:Melinda Mabbutt who can be contacted at the above address or by email at: mmabbutt@psnc.org.uk © PSNCPSNC Office: 0844 381 4180 or 0203 122 0810

psnc.org.uk 5

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PSNC’s Regulations and Support Team are often asked questions about the requirements in the terms of service relating to opening

hours. We have therefore produced this quick reference guide for 2016.

Contract Factsheet: Pharmacy opening hours in 2016

Are you aware of pharmacy opening hour requirements in the terms of

service? Here we explain all you need to know for the public holidays in 2016.

1. Can I close my pharmacy on these

days?

Yes. Community pharmacy contractors can

close their pharmacies on days which are

specifically mentioned in the Regulations

(namely Christmas Day, Good Friday,

Easter Sunday) or a day which has been

designated as a “bank holiday” unless

directed to open by NHS England.

2. What about my core contractual

hours?

A pharmacy will be treated as having been

open for its usual hours on that day for

the purpose of counting the core

contractual hours that week. Therefore

the contractor can close their pharmacy

on the days indicated without giving

notice or making an application to change

their core hours.

3. Are there exceptional circumstances

when I must open on these days?

Yes. If a contractor has been directed to

open their pharmacy by NHS England.

4. Can I close my pharmacy early any

other time?

Sometimes contractors may wish to close

an hour or so earlier than usual on a

particular day for any reason. If the hours

that the contractor wishes to close early

are supplementary hours, then notice of

that intention should be given at least

three months in advance. If the hours are

core hours, then an application is needed,

and the contractor would have to be able

to satisfy NHS England that there have

been changes to the needs of people in the

area, otherwise the application would likely

to be refused.

Unless you have notified NHS England of

changes to your supplementary hours at

least three months before the date or

applied successfully for amendment of

core hours, the contractor will not be able

to close early.

5. Do I need to notify NHS England of

opening intentions on bank holidays?

Contractors are encouraged to inform NHS

England whether their premises will be

open on bank holidays.

This information is of critical importance to

NHS England in order that it is able to plan

pharmacy provision during holiday periods.

If NHS England is not able to determine the

opening hours of pharmacies with a high

degree of certainty, its only option may be

to issue directions to one or more

pharmacies requiring them to open.

This clearly is not in the best interests of

pharmacies if there are other suitable

pharmacies that would have been open; so

PSNC recommends that all contractors

notify their intentions and then open as

they have notified.

NHS England has published template forms

which can be used for notification of

opening intentions; these are available at:

tinyurl.com/zwtgvrc

For more information, including a

comprehensive list of FAQs, please visit:

psnc.org.uk/hours

Name of holiday Date in 2016Day of

the weekCovered by the

Regulations?Can the pharmacy closewithout giving notice?

Good Friday 25th March 2016 Friday 3 3

Easter Sunday 27th March 2016 Sunday 3 3

Easter Monday* 28th March 2016 Monday 3 3

Early May Bank Holiday* 2nd May 2016 Monday 3 3

Spring Bank Holiday* 30th May 2016 Monday 3 3

Summer Bank Holiday* 29th August 2016 Monday 3 3

Christmas Day 25th December 2016 Sunday 3 3

Christmas Day (substitute day)*

27th December 2016 (substitute daydeclared bank holiday as Christmas Dayfalls on a Sunday this year)

Tuesday 3 3

Boxing Day* 26th December 2016 Monday 3 3

New Years’ Day 2017 1st January 2017 Sunday 7 7

New Years’ Day 2017(substitute day)*

2nd January 2017 Monday 3 3

*These dates are not specifically mentioned by name but because they are official “bank holidays” they will be covered by the Regulations

Frequently Asked Questions

6 Community Pharmacy News – January 2016

services anD commissioning the healthcare lanDscape lpcs

CPPE Corner: Summary Care Records

Our first offering centres on our new e-learning programme –

Summary Care Records (SCR) in community pharmacy. Community

pharmacy access to SCR will begin early this year, allowing us as

pharmacy professionals to make better and more informed decisions

about patient care.

Providing key clinical information about patients from their GP

records, SCR has important information governance controls

regarding privacy of patients’ records (confidentiality) and permission

to view them (consent).

CPPE has produced this e-learning programme and associated

assessment covering the important aspects of accessing and using

SCR, presenting case studies and practice points so you can see how

access can enhance your own practice.

We also look at how to make good records following consultations,

development of a standard operating procedure and the role of the

privacy officer.

The assessment is a prerequisite for role-based access on your NHS

Smartcard. You can access the programme on our website at:

tinyurl.com/SCRcourse

The Benevolent Fund was first established 175 years ago by the Royal

Pharmaceutical Society and, since the charity's relaunch as Pharmacist

Support in 2008, it has provided over 7,000 individual acts of support.

Whilst celebrating this significant milestone, Pharmacist Support continues to provide relevant and effective support to those in the

profession through its Health Support Programme and the Listening Friends stress helpline.

However, as a charity, Pharmacist Support relies on the generosity of pharmacists and pharmacy organisations to be able to continue

their work. Find out about the way you can support their work or make a donation at: www.justgiving.com/pharmacistsupport/donate

For further information visit www.pharmacistsupport.org, email info@pharmacistsupport.org or call 0808 168 2233.

Latest courses from CPPEThe contraception e-learning programme guides

pharmacy professionals through common scenarios

encountered when delivering contraceptive services to

help them confidently provide advice to patients. Find

out more at: dld.bz/eefd2

Alcohol misuse: support and advice from the

pharmacy team aims to help pharmacy professionals

develop the knowledge and skills needed to provide an

alcohol identification and brief advice service. The

course looks at the impact of alcohol misuse on health,

personal relationships and wider society. Find out more

at: dld.bz/eg72h

Consulting with people with mental health problems

is a new e-learning programme which teaches pharmacy

professionals how to prepare and approach these

consultations so that people will get the most benefit

from them. Find out more at: dld.bz/ec8XU

Pharmacist Support – Your charity

Pharmacy and vulnerable groups eventOn 24th February, The King’s Fund are hosting a conference that aims to address the crucial role that pharmacy plays in

alleviating pressures on primary and secondary care, supporting higher quality patient care and improving efficiency by

reducing NHS costs.

The tailored conference sessions will provide you with a key opportunity to discuss and debate how imaginative commissioners

are increasingly getting real benefits from investing in pharmacists’ expertise. Speakers include Alistair Burt MP (Community

and Social Care Minister), Sandra Gidley (RPS Chair), and Gary Warner (Chair of PSNC’s Service Development Committee).

Find out more about the event at: kingsfund.org.uk/vulnerablegroups

Welcome to the Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate

Education (CPPE)’s new feature in CPN, which will

appear here every month. We will focus on additions

to our learning portfolio which will benefit community

pharmacy professionals.

psnc.org.uk 7

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In this section of Community Pharmacy News we have highlighted some keynotices for you and your team to be aware of in the coming weeks and months.

Pharmacy notice board

IG toolkit submissionThe deadline for submission of theinformation governance (IG) toolkit is 31stMarch 2016. Guidance on completing thetoolkit is available from: psnc.org.uk/ig

PSNC also recommends that communitypharmacy contractors use thisopportunity to comprehensively reviewIG processes. See our top tips at:dld.bz/ege8P

Views sought for public health surveyThe Royal Society for Public Health and Public HealthEngland are working together to understand the potentialopportunities and challenges for pharmacy in deliveringpublic health services, and they want your views.

They need pharmacy team members, commissioners andLPC Chief Officers to complete a survey, which shouldtake no longer than 10 minutes, by Friday 29th January2016.

Complete the online survey at: tinyurl.com/gwy579v

How many flu vaccinations have you been paid for ... which GP practice do yourprescriptions come from ... and how are you doing with EPS nominations?

Find out with THREE NEW KPIs at www.check34.com

Understand your NHS business better with Check34Not yet got an account? Email check34admin@psnc.org.uk for more information.

Updated specials guidanceThe Royal Pharmaceutical Society has published updated guidance on the procurement and supply ofspecials.

It aims to support pharmacists and their teams to work with prescribers, patients and carers toensure the safe and appropriate procurement and supply of specials and optimising patient treatment.Read and download the updated guidance at: dld.bz/eeM7F

PSNC regularly receives questions from LPCs and pharmacy

contractors about what is going on in the wider health and care

landscape beyond community pharmacy. For a more

comprehensive round-up, please visit: psnc.org.uk/hclbriefings

There are over 10,000 more hospitaladmissions a day than 10 years ago

Patients will order 15 millionrepeat prescriptions online

this financial year

NHS England has allocated£560 billion of funding to

deliver Five Year Forward View

Approximately half of CCGs will havedelegated responsibility for commissioningGP services from April 2016

Ask PSNCThe PSNC Dispensing and Supply Team give pharmacy teams support and

advice on a range of topics related to the Drug Tariff and reimbursement.

Questions asked in recent months have included:

1. How long is an NHS prescription valid for?

This depends on the type of prescription. The table below

summarises the length of validity of different types of NHS

prescription:

*from the ‘appropriate date’ (either the date the prescription was

signed or the date indicated as the start date)

2. I have a prescription for Lacosamide 100mg tablets. This is

not an item I regularly dispense and I cannot obtain these

without incurring additional expenses for postage and

packaging; can I claim out of pocket expenses (OOP)?

Yes, Lacosamide 100mg tablets are eligible for an OOP claim. This

product is in Part VIIIA of the Drug Tariff and is a Category C line.

OOP expenses can be claimed, where in exceptional

circumstances, the community pharmacy contractor has incurred

expenses in obtaining the eligible products (see chart below) and

where the product is not required to be frequently supplied by

the contractor.

The products on which OOP expenses can be claimed are as

follows:

* The ‘SP’ fixed fee for dispensing unlicensed specials and imports is

a separate arrangement (see Part IIIA of the Drug Tariff).

To ensure payment, contractors must endorse “OOP” (or “XP”

for electronic prescription submission) with details of the claim

being made (e.g. postage and packaging) along with the total

amount being claimed.

For more information please visit: psnc.org.uk/oop

3. I have a prescription for Benzylpenicillin 1.2g powder for

solution for injection vials, the prescriber has requested a

quantity of 5 but they are only available in packs of 25. This is

not an item I normally dispense and so I will not be able to use

the remaining balance; can I claim broken bulk (BB)?

Yes, Benzylpenicillin 1.2g powder for solution for injection vials

are eligible for a BB claim. This product is listed in Part VIIIA of

the Drug Tariff and is a Category A line with the smallest listed

pack size being over £50.

The products for which BB can be claimed are as follows:

* Unless claiming for ingredients used to prepare an unlicensed

special extemporaneously dispensed.

For a claim to be accepted, contractors must dispense from the

pack or combination of packs that minimises the residual

balance. Contractors should only claim BB where it is unlikely

that they will be able to dispense the remainder within the

following six months.

To ensure reimbursement, contractors must endorse BB and the

quantity dispensed over pack size used.

For more information please visit: psnc.org.uk/bb

Look out for more frequently asked questions next month…

If you would like more information on any of the topics covered,

the PSNC Dispensing and Supply Team will be happy to help

(0844 381 4180 or 0203 1220 810 or e-mail info@psnc.org.uk).

3 7

• Part VIIIA Category C• Readily available medicinal

products outside of PartVIIIA (including ACBS)

• Part IXB• Part IXC

• Part VIIIA Category A and M• All unlicensed specials and

imports*• Part IXA• Part IXR

3 7• Part VIIIA Category C• Part VIIIA Category A and M

products with smallest listedpack size of £50 or over

• Readily available medicinalproducts outside of Part VIIIA

• Part IXB• Part IXC• Ingredients used to prepare an

unlicensed special(extemporaneously dispensing)

• Special containers• Part VIIIA Category A

and M products withsmallest listed pack sizeof less than £50

• All unlicensed specialsand imports*

• Part IXA• Part IXR

Type of prescription 1st issueexpiry*

Subsequent issues expiry

FP10 (excludingrequests for Schedule1, 2, 3 or 4 CDs)

6 months 12 months for repeatableprescriptions.

FP10 for Schedule 1, 2or 3 CDs

28 days N/A (Cannot be prescribedon repeatableprescriptions.)

FP10 for Schedule 4CDs

28 days 12 months for repeatableprescriptions.

FP10MDA prescription 28 days In accordance withinstalment directions, aprescriber can request upto 14 days’ supply.

Dispensing anD supply services anD commissioning the healthcare lanDscape lpcs

8 Community Pharmacy News – January 2016

Dispensing Factsheet: The Drug Tariff PrefaceThe first section of the Drug Tariff is the Preface. This section

contains valuable information relevant to both the current and the

next edition.

The Preface should ideally be checked each month because it

provides important changes to the Drug Tariff such as:

• products entering or being removed from Part VIII;

• products changing between categories;

• changes to the brand used for pricing Category C lines;

• items entering or being deleted from the discount not

deducted (DND) list;

• items entering or being deleted from other Parts such as VIIIB,

IX and ACBS; and

• price changes.

This guide explains the importance of checking the Preface

monthly and the key things to look out for.

Why it is important to check the Preface each month

Changes in the Drug Tariff affect reimbursement.

It is important to note which lines are entering, changing category

or pack size in, or being removed from, the Drug tariff as this can

affect reimbursement and endorsement requirements. For

example, only particular categories of medicines are eligible for

certain payments such as OOP expenses. Prescriptions without

the appropriate endorsement can lead to incorrect or delayed

payment.

Removal and notice of removal of appliances from Part IX is also

very important to note, as appliances not listed in the Drug Tariff

will be disallowed.

Advance Notice

The Preface begins with changes which have been planned for the

following month’s edition of the Drug Tariff. These will not come

into effect until the first day of the following month; however,

they are useful to look at to get an idea of what will be entering or

is being removed from the Drug Tariff.

N.B. Not all changes will be listed because prior notice may not be

given for all items.

Current edition changes

This follows all the “Advance Notice” changes. This part provides

you with a quick summary of changes coming into effect for this

month’s prescriptions. The table below outlines key changes to

look out for:

Part VIIIA Part VIIIB Part IX

Ad

dit

ion

s

• Which pack size(s) are being added?• Which category is it going into? (some payments such

as OOP can only be claimed against certain categories)• Is it a special container or item requiring reconstitution?• Are any endorsements required?• Has the product moved from Part VIIIB?

• Which packsize(s) arebeing added?

• What is the product?• Who will supply it?• Which pack size(s) are being added?N.B. Only Drug Tariff listed pack sizes are allowedon an NHS prescription.

De

leti

on

s

• Are all pack sizes being removed?• Has it been discontinued?• Are any endorsements required?N.B. If there are no pack sizes left in the Drug Tariff, the item willneed to be endorsed fully (i.e. brand or manufacturer name, priceand pack size) in future.

• Has theproduct movedto Part VIIIA?

• Which month will it be deleted in?(there is usually a three month notice ofdeletion)

N.B. If you dispense a deleted product,prescriptions will be returned as disallowed andpayment will not be made for dispensing the item.

Oth

er

ch

an

ge

s

• Has its special container status changed?• Is it moving to a new category?• If Category C, which brand will be used for payment?N.B. Also be aware of the category of an item when claiming certainpayments (e.g. OOP expenses).

• Has the reimbursementprice changed?

• Is the product name changing?• Will there be a dual listing?N.B. A “dual listing” is a period of grace when bothold and new names will be passed for payment soprescribers have time to change their habits.

TOP TIPSRemember:

• Incorrect endorsement can lead to incorrect or delayed payment for items.

• Look out for additions or deletions to Part II of the Drug Tariff; these relate to the list of “Drugs for which discount is not

deducted”.

• Double check which section of the Preface you are looking at to be certain of the date in which the change becomes effective.

Are you looking in the “Advance Notice” section or the changes to current Drug Tariff section?

• There are sometimes other additions, deletions and alterations in the Preface that are not about Part VIII and Part IX items.

These might not be directly relevant to the day-to-day running of your pharmacy, but they may help you to keep abreast of

current NHS prescribing and NHS pharmacy services.

For the online version of the Drug Tariff, please visit: psnc.org.uk/drug-tariff-resources

psnc’s work funDing anD statistics contract anD itlpcs

10 Community Pharmacy News – January 2016

Dispensing anD supply services anD commissioning the healthcare lanDscape

Drug Tariff WatchBelow is a quick summary of the changes due to take place from 1st February 2016.

When pharmacy teams receive NHS prescriptions, they must check whether the items prescribed are allowed on the NHS before dispensing. If they

are not allowed, the pharmacy contractor may not be paid for them.

Pharmacy teams may wish to check PSNC’s ‘Dispensing on an FP10 database’ (available at: psnc.org.uk/FP10database) for more information on

whether an item can be dispensed on an FP10. Below is a list of some products that we have recently received queries about.

Product Is the item Does it Is it Can it be Additional listed in the have a ‘CE’ in the dispensed information Drug Tariff? mark? blacklist? on an FP10?

Please note: If the prescription is one of the following, pharmacy staff will need to check the relevant sections of the Drug Tariff/PSNC website:

• FP10CN or FP10PN (community nurse prescriber) – Part XVIIB.

• FP10D (dental prescriber) – Part XVIIA.

• FP10MDA (instalment dispensing) – psnc.org.uk/mda

Can it be dispensed on an FP10?

Dermalex Repair Scalp

Psoriasis gel

Lidocaine 5% medicated

plasters

Sani-Cloth 70

Sigvaris initial

No

Yes

No

No

n/a

No

n/a

n/a

Yes

No

Yes

Yes

No

Yes

No

No

This item is a medical device

(CE marked) and is not listed in

Part IX of the Drug Tariff.

This item is not a medical

device (CE marked) nor does it

appear in Part XVIIIA (the

‘blacklist’) of the Drug Tariff.

This item is a medical device

(CE marked) and is not listed in

Part IX of the Drug Tariff.

This item is a medical device

(CE marked) and is not listed in

Part IX of the Drug Tariff.

All details correct at time of printing.

No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of the PSNC.

Produced for the PSNC by Communications International Group. ©. PSNC.

Colour repro and printing by Truprint Media, Margate.

The publishers accept no responsibility for any statement made in signed contributions or

in those reproduced from any other source.

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Distributedfor PSNC by:

Key: SC Special Container

Part VIIIA additions

• Ciprofloxacin 0.3% / Dexamethasone

0.1% ear drops SC (5ml), Category C -

Cilodex

• Diclofenac 140mg medicated plasters

(2), Category C - Voltarol

Part VIIIA amendments

• Amantadine 100mg capsules (56) is

changing to Category A

• Nefopam 30mg tablets (90) is changing

to Category A

Part VIIIA deletions

If a medicinal product has been removed

from Part VIIIA and has no other pack sizes

listed, it can continue to be dispensed, but

it will need to be endorsed fully (i.e. brand

or supplier name, the pack size from which

the item was dispensed and price paid) in

future.

• Dexibuprofen 300mg tablets (60),

Category C - Seractil

• Flexible collodion methylated (100ml),

Category A

• Haloperidol 5mg/1ml solution for

injection ampoules (10), Category C -

AMCo

• Kaolin mixture (200ml), Category A

• Kaolin mixture paediatric (100ml),

Category C - Thornton & Ross Ltd

Part IX deletions

It is important to take careful note of

removals from Part IX because if you

dispense a deleted product, prescriptions

will be returned as disallowed and

payment will not be made for dispensing

the item.

• Tegaderm Matrix - 5cm x 6cm

• Acticoat Absorbent - Square 5cm x 5cm

• Acticoat Absorbent - Rectangular 10cm

x 12.5cm

These changes were compiled usingthe Drug Tariff Preface.

Learn more about the Preface andits importance in our latest

Dispensing Factsheet on page 9.