June 2015 CPN
description
Transcript of June 2015 CPN
CPNCommunity Pharmacy News – June 2015
In a muddle with MUR target groups?Check which groups your patients fall into with our cut
out and keep factsheet
EPS live status checker | Drug Tariff latest | Test your endorsing knowledge
2 Community Pharmacy News – June 2015
Resources: look out for updated local lobbying toolkit Following the general election LPCs may wish to be making
contact with any newly elected or continuing MPs. The weeks
before Parliament breaks for summer can be a good opportunity
to make contact with MPs and to educate them about pharmacy
or restate key messages about the sector. This will build on any
previous work and LPCs may see it as a good time to invite MPs to
visit a local community pharmacy to showcase any new services.
PSNC is working with other pharmacy organisations to ensure
that LPCs have all the resources they need to help with this – look
out for information on template letters, briefings, key messages
and more on our website and in our email newsletters.
We are also working with the other pharmacy organisations to
support the reconstitution of the All-Party Pharmacy Group
(APPG). This group has raised a number of issues concerning
community pharmacy in Parliament in the past and we hope it will
continue to do so in the future.
Last month’s cabinet reshuffle has seen a few changes in the Department of
Health, including the minister in charge of pharmacy. Following Earl Howe’s
move out of the Department and the loss of the Liberal Democrat members
of government, three new Health ministers have been appointed: Alistair
Burt MP, Ben Gummer MP and David Prior (a newly appointed Lord). Jeremy
Hunt MP, Jane Ellison MP and George Freeman MP remain in their positions.
Alistair Burt has been appointed Minister of State, replacing Liberal Democrat
Norman Lamb, taking on most of the same responsibilities, such as mental
health, but also picking up the primary care brief which includes pharmacy.
Mr Burt’s brief also includes older people, local government, and integration.
Mr Burt first became an MP back in 1983
and is currently MP for North East
Bedfordshire. He has previously held
ministerial roles in the Department of
Communities and Local Government, and
the Department of Social Security,
and the Foreign and Commonwealth
Office.
PSNC Chief Executive Sue Sharpe said:
“Earl Howe was a front bench health team
member for very many years and he has
consistently been supportive of community
pharmacy. He was, among other things,
responsible for agreeing the
implementation of the New Medicine
Service despite the financial crisis at the
time; and he will be missed. However; the
opportunity and value that community
pharmacy represents is now well
recognised and I am confident that the new
minister will pick up the baton. We look
forward to working with Alistair Burt and
are pleased to note that his responsibilities
also include care for older people and
integration, both of which are important
areas for community pharmacy.”
New pharmacy minister appointedReshuffle sees former communities and local government minister take on
responsibility for pharmacy and primary care
the healthcare landscape lpcs psnc’s work
Ebola: Update from Department ofHealthSince the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Ebola an
international public health emergency in August 2014, the
Ebola outbreak in West Africa has claimed over 10,000 lives.
While the risk in the UK remains low, Ebola has not gone away.
More than 7,000 people have been screened for Ebola at UK
ports of entry, with 228 UK Ebola tests carried out in Public
Health England (PHE)’s specialist lab. So pharmacy teams need
to be prepared and remain vigilant. It is vitally important that
staff continue to follow the established procedure should a
suspected case present at a local pharmacy.
The most up-to-date information and guidance for community
pharmacy teams is available on the PSNC website:
psnc.org.uk/ebola
Unsure where to get a newSmartcard?PSNC often receives telephone calls and emails
concerning how to apply for, or how to make changes to
profiles of, Smartcards.
Local NHS England teams are responsible for
commissioning local ‘Registration Authorities’ to provide
and oversee Smartcard issues. Pharmacy teams should
contact these authorities to apply for or amend
Smartcard details. Your Registration Authority contact
information may be available from your local NHS
England team, or it might be listed on your LPC site (see
lpc-online.org.uk).
Further details about using Smartcards is available at:
psnc.org.uk/smartcards
psnc.org.uk 3
contract and it dispensing and supply services and commissioningfunding and statistics
Are you unsure of how to endorse and submit your prescriptions correctly? Are you
guilty of over-endorsing your prescriptions because you’re not quite sure of what to
include? Do you find the Drug Tariff difficult to understand?
If you answered “yes” to any of these questions then sign up to PSNC’s online workshop
this month, on Tuesday 30th June at 7:30pm, where our in-house Drug Tariff experts
will talk you through the dos and don’ts of endorsing and submitting your prescriptions.
Work through our series of prescription examples before the event to test your and your
pharmacy team’s knowledge then log in to our workshop to learn how to endorse and
sort the examples correctly. Through a series of sample prescriptions seen by the PSNC
Pricing Audit Centre the team will show you how to avoid common errors, as well as
giving top tips and answering your endorsement and pricing related questions.
Please visit psnc.org.uk/webinar for more information and details of how to register.
Missed the webinar?
Don’t worry, you can watch a recording of the event on the PSNC website from a few days afterwards.
Endorsing and Submission Good Practice Workshop – sign up nowPSNC‘s online workshop will guide viewers through the process of endorsing
and submitting prescriptions correctly to help ensure correct payment.
WORKSHOP DETAILSWhen is it?Tuesday 30th June at 7:30pm
Who should sign up?Anyone involved in the dispensing and end-of-month process
How do I register?Please visit psnc.org.uk/webinar
Can this count towards CPD?Yes – for pharmacists and pharmacytechnicians
All community pharmacy accounts that
were open between April and December
2014, and submitted a claim for payment
for the March 2015 dispensing month, will
by now have automatically received the
additional payment agreed between PSNC
and NHS England earlier this year.
This additional fee, paid in recognition of
the reduced level of margin available to
contractors in the early months of the
2014/15 financial year, was paid as part of
the final payment for the March 2015
dispensing month. This was made in late
May/ early June. The payment was
calculated as 3.3 pence for each
professional fee paid to a pharmacy
account between April and December
2014.
Any pharmacies which were open during
this period but had a change in F code
during that time must contact the Pricing
Authority to determine whether they are
eligible for the additional payment.
Contractors should write to the address
published in the Drug Tariff Part IIIA(3)
(see address below) as soon as possible
and, if a payment is due, it will be made
with a subsequent month’s payment
instead.
Contractors are reminded that the
deadline for any payment queries is 18
months after the month in question,
therefore in this
instance queries
must be received by
the Pricing Authority
by 30th September
2016. However, the
sooner a notification
of a change in F code is sent to the Pricing
Authority, the sooner any required
adjustments and payments can be made.
The team at the Pricing Authority to write
to is as follows:
NHS Business Services Authority
Customer Payment Team, Stella House,
Goldcrest Way, Newburn Riverside,
Newcastle upon Tyne, NE15 8NY
Q. Where does the payment appear on
my FP34 Schedule of Payment?
A. The fee is listed on the Schedule of
Payment for the March 2015 dispensing
month, received in late May or early June,
as part of the ‘Adjustment – Fees’ line,
under the section ‘Details of Other
Amounts authorised’.
Q. Will Welsh pharmacy contractors
receive the additional payment for
March 2015?
A. Part IIIA of the April 2015 edition of the
Drug Tariff explicitly states that this
additional payment is applicable to both
English and Welsh contractors.
Q. How much is this payment worth in
total and to each pharmacy?
A. Across the sector the additional payment
will be worth around £25m. The amount
each pharmacy receives depends on the
number of items dispensed from April to
December 2014. For example, a contractor
dispensing around 7,000 items per month
will receive approximately £2,000.
Frequently Asked Questions
Reminder: Additional payment
4 Community Pharmacy News – June 2015
services and commissioning the healthcare landscape lpcs
Service exchangeIn this section of Community Pharmacy News we highlight the latest innovation,
outcomes and resources for community pharmacy services. If you have ideas or
stories for inclusion next time, please email [email protected]
The Health Service Journal (HSJ) and Local
Government Chronicle (LGC) have
published a supplement focusing
exclusively on community pharmacy
services and the benefits that pharmacy
can offer patients and commissioners. The
supplement has been sponsored by PSNC
as part of our work to promote service
developments and persuade
commissioners of the value of community
pharmacy services.
HSJ and the LGC are highly respected and
well-read journals in the NHS and social
care sector and the supplement will reach
many of the key decision makers that
community pharmacy needs to influence.
Featuring interviews with commissioners,
LPCs, officials from Public Health England
and influential GPs, the supplement is
designed to showcase pharmacy services
and should alert public health and CCG
teams to some of the possibilities of using
community pharmacy to deliver more
services in the future.
The articles in the supplement explore the
roles that pharmacy can play in areas such
as promotion of healthy living,
vaccinations, supporting independent
living and managing patients with long-
term conditions. They cover some key
success stories, such as flu vaccinations in
London, as well as setting out the benefits
of possible future developments.
PSNC will be sending copies of the
supplement to LPCs to use in their local
discussions with
NHS commissioners
and local
authorities. We are
also supporting the
launch of the
supplement with
the refresh of the
commissioners page
on the PSNC
website. This can be
accessed at psnc.org.uk/commissioners
and directs commissioners to useful
information about pharmacy services. In
addition, we will begin sending emails
directly to commissioners to highlight
relevant pharmacy news to them – look
out for more details on this in upcoming
email newsletters.
HSJ supplement showcases pharmacy services
Minor ailments queries: key messages for pharmacy teamsCommunity pharmacy minor ailment
schemes have been discussed on a number
of social media websites and in the national
media over the last few weeks and patients
in some areas have been asking their
pharmacy teams questions about what they
are entitled to. In some cases there has
been confusion about what patients can
receive free of charge; and pharmacies may
still be receiving questions.
PSNC and Pharmacy Voice have issued the
following key messages which may be of
use to LPCs and pharmacies if this issue
continues to come up locally. LPCs and
pharmacy teams will of course also need to
advise patients in accordance with any local
schemes.
Key messages for LPCs and pharmacy
teams
• Minor ailments services are designed to
give people with certain conditions easier
access to advice and medicines.
• They offer help at a convenient location,
without the need to see a doctor.
• The services are not a chance to simply
stock up on medicines free of charge and
some patients will still have to pay for
medicines even if they can receive advice
under a scheme.
• In England there is no national scheme
and so the services vary by region.
You can read the full PSNC and Pharmacy
Voice statement at psnc.org.uk/news
New resources for servicedevelopment hubThe service development hub page on thePSNC website is regularly updated andincludes links to new tools and informationthat LPCs may find valuable in their workto negotiate and develop services.
Resource links added to the hub thismonth include: • The Local Alcohol Profiles for England
data update for June 2015 published
by Public Health England (PHE);• The Health and Social Care Information
Centre (HSCIC)’s Statistics on Smoking,England – 2015; and
• PHE’s new 2015 Local Health Profiles,which have been added to the HealthProfiles website.
The hub will continue to be updated asand when tools, data and publicationsbecome available. The hub can be foundat: psnc.org.uk/servicehub
HLP webpageupdatedPSNC has beenworking with theHealthy LivingPharmacy (HLP)InnovationGroup and as a
result we have updated our HLP page.New documents include prospectusescreated by LPCs and commissioners toprovide more details on HLP in their area,
Resources Roundup
psnc.org.uk 5
funding and statistics contract and it dispensing and supplypsnc’s work
The PSNC Services Database now has over 700 services listed on it
giving LPC members access to a huge amount of useful information
about locally commissioned services.
But while we are delighted with this progress, we are aware that some
services are still missing and so we are now asking LPCs to check the
Database for any missing services and to let us have details of those.
LPCs are asked to review the service information listed on the Services
Database and if the list of services for your LPC is incomplete, please
contact Rosie Taylor on [email protected] so she can update
your services list.
Having more services listed brings many benefits; it provides a great
picture of the number of commissioned services across England, it
allows LPCs to see what is happening in other areas and it also allows
PSNC to conduct analysis on the types of services being commissioned.
and an action plan template. Moredocuments are planned to help supportLPCs and contractors – these will beadded to the page as and when theybecome available.
The updated page can be viewed at:psnc.org.uk/hlp
Improved Medicines OptimisationDashboardNHS England has launched an updated
Medicines Optimisation Dashboard tohelp Clinical Commissioning Groups(CCGs) focus on how well patients acrossthe country are being supported to usetheir medicines, and it may also be auseful stimulus for them to considercommunity pharmacy’s role in this area.
LPCs may find the data useful inidentifying local service opportunitiesand/ or they could use it as supportingevidence when working to get services
commissioned locally. The ‘CommunitySupport’ tab may also be interesting forLPCs and contractors as this includes dataper CCG on the percentage of EPS items,percentage of pharmacies conductingMURs, percentage of pharmaciesconducting NMS and other usefulinformation.
The improved dashboard is available at:tinyurl.com/modashboard
An Avon LPC dementia project funded by
Pinnacle Health Partnership has identified
150 patients experiencing memory
problems which affected their lifestyle. It
also found that 82% of those patients had
not yet raised their memory loss concerns
with their GP.
The successful service aimed to make
pharmacies more dementia aware and to
improve early identification of dementia
through pharmacy interventions, as well as
optimising treatment for patients with
dementia through medicines reviews.
The project was a three tiered service,
which included an initial assessment using
the CQUIN question, a Mini-Cog test and a
medicines review. A follow-up assessment
was also conducted four to eight weeks
later.
In total 180 patients registered to
participate in the dementia identification
service. Of these, 169 participated in the
tier 1 service with 89% saying their memory
had affected their lifestyle over the last 12
months.
The tier 2 service (Mini-Cog test) was
offered to 152 patients with 18% scoring
positively for dementia. 63% of those
patients had not yet spoken to their GP
about their memory.
The tier 3 service (review of medicines) was
offered to 31 patients with 75 medicines
being reviewed and 12 out of 13 patients
who were followed up saying they had
benefited from the review.
Extended benefits of the service also
included creating over 150 Dementia
Friends, raised awareness of dementia in
over 70 pharmacies in Avon and their
communities, as well as the development
of closer links to support organisations such
as Alzheimer’s Society and Carers Trust.
This project was funded by a £5,000 grant
awarded to Avon LPC by Pinnacle Health
Partnership in 2013. The project has now
come to an end, but Bath and North East
Somerset CCG have expressed interest in
the project so this may not be the end for
this service.
Richard Brown, Chief Officer of Avon LPC,
said:
“This project helped raise awareness of
dementia whilst also reducing the stigma
surrounding the subject. The mass
screening process attempting to identify
those experiencing memory loss, with
subsequent Mini-Cog assessment, was a
huge success as pharmacy teams reported
that it was the patients they least expected
who were most in need of support.”
Service documents, including the full
service outcomes report are available to
view on our Services Database at:
psnc.org.uk/database
LPCs: Do your services appear on our Database?
Avon dementia project identifies 150 people affected by memory loss
Over 700service entries on our database
81 commissionedsupervised administrationservices – the most of any service type
57evaluations available for 11 different
types of services
42different types of services
listed
6 Community Pharmacy News – June 2015
services and commissioning the healthcare landscape lpcs
National target groups for MURsCommunity pharmacy contractors must carry out at least 70% of their
Medicine Use Reviews (MURs) within any given financial year on patients in
one or more of the target groups outlined below
The patient is taking atleast ONE medicine
One of the patient's prescribed medicines or the patient'sonly prescribed medicine is listed in the following BNFchapter/sub-sections:
2.2 Diuretics
2.8.1 & 2.8.2 Anticoagulants (including low molecularweight heparin)
2.9 Antiplatelets
10.1.1 NSAIDs
One of the patient's prescribed medicines is listed in thefollowing BNF chapter/sub-sections:
3.1.1 Adrenoceptor agonists
3.1.2 Antimuscarinic bronchodilators
3.1.3 Theophylline
3.1.4 Compound bronchodilator preparations
3.2 Corticosteroids
3.3 Cromoglicate and related therapy, leukotriene receptorantagonists and phosphodiesterase type-4 inhibitors
Patient has been discharged from hospital within theprevious eight weeks AND has had changes to themedicines they are taking while in hospital (patients in thistarget group should ideally be offered an MUR within fourweeks of discharge)
At least one of the patient's regularly prescribed medicinesis listed in the following BNF chapter/sub-sections:
2 Cardiovascular System
6.1 Drugs used in Diabetes
6.2 Thyroid and Anti Thyroid Drugs
The patient falls intotarget group: Highrisk medicines
The patient falls intotarget group: Post-discharge
The patient falls intotarget group:Respiratory
The patient falls intotarget group:Cardiovascular risk
The patient is takingTWO OR MOREmedicines
The patient is takingTWO OR MOREmedicines
The patient is takingFOUR OR MOREmedicines
70%
H
psnc.org.uk 7
funding and statistics contract and it dispensing and supplypsnc’s work
Increased access to online GP services
Almost every GP surgery in England is now offering appointments,
repeat prescriptions and access to summary information in medical
records online. The number tripled in the first three months of the
year meaning that 55 million people now have access.
The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) has
published data (dld.bz/dFbkR) which shows that over 97% of
patients in England can now access online GP services, a huge
increase from the 3% in April 2014. The ambition is that by 2018
every citizen will be able to access their full health records at the
click of a button.
With such a large number of patients in England now able to
manage their repeat prescriptions themselves, community
pharmacy teams may wish to ensure they know which online
services their local GP practices offer and where to direct patients
who want to learn more or sign up to them.
Pharmacy teams may wish to contact GP practice managers in their
area to discuss what options are available and where they can
direct patients to find out more information. Staff at the GP
practice will be able to set up a patient’s access and it’s worth
knowing how the registration procedure works for patients.
“Bold action needed to make NHS fit for the future”
NHS England Chief Executive Simon Stevens has called for bold
action on prevention, the redesign of care and efficiency to help
the NHS through the most challenging period in its history.
In his first speech since the general election (dld.bz/dFbmd), Mr
Stevens, referring to the NHS Five Year Forward View
(dld.bz/d9FK5), said: “Last Autumn the Health Service came
together to chart a shared direction for our country’s NHS. Patients
groups, caring professionals, national leaders – uniting behind the
NHS’ own ‘manifesto’ for the next five years. It’s a plan for better
health, more personalised care, and a financially sustainable Health
Service, which we’re now getting going on.”
Pointing to the realities of current service pressures, he argued
that the Health Service is entering probably the most challenging
period in its 67 year history. Alongside action this year to stabilise
NHS finances, Mr Stevens argued for a new partnership between
the public, government and health service, involving concrete and
sometimes controversial action on three broad fronts – prevention,
care redesign, and efficiency linked to new investment.
Bedfordshire reveals largest ever CCG deficit
Bedfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)’s deficit
reached £43.2m by the end of 2014/15, the largest recorded by
any CCG.
The CCG had predicted a £4.9m surplus at the start of 2014/15,
but by November its forecast deteriorated to a £24m deficit. In
the following months the CCG realised the deficit would be “far
larger and more complex than originally believed”.
The CCG must produce an improvement plan, subject to NHS
England approval, which includes a financial recovery plan for
how it will operate within its annual budget for the next three
years, including a scheme for repayment of its outstanding debt,
and a governance plan.
PSNC regularly receives questions from LPCs and
pharmacy contractors about what is going on in the
wider health and care landscape beyond community
pharmacy. In this round-up we cover the latest news
from the past month.
97% of patients inEngland can now accessonline GP services
the Health Service is enteringprobably the mostchallenging period in its 67 year history
Bedfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)’s deficit reached £43.2m by the end of 2014/15
Have you seen our prescription submission resources?Have you seen our page Completing Your FP34C Submission Document & Dispatching Your Prescription Bundle? Here you will find
information on the dos and don’ts of completing your FP34C and information about dispatching your bundle. You will also find
a link to our Prescription submission factsheet.
Head over to psnc.org.uk/interactive-fp34c for more information.
Where a pharmacy contractor is able to operate the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) Release 1 or Release 2, they are entitled to
receive a £200 monthly allowance to contribute towards EPS costs. This article explains the process of claiming and receiving payment
of the allowance.
Once you go live with EPS (either Release 1 or Release 2), you need to:
1. Submit a one-off claim form
The £200 monthly allowance is only initiated once the relevant claim form (available at: tinyurl.com/epsallowance) has been sent to
your local NHS England team when you first go live with EPS.
2. Check the payment is appearing on your Schedule of Payment
The £200 monthly allowance will be listed as your ‘ETP allowance’ on
your FP34 Schedule of Payment. The allowance appears in the ‘Details
of local amounts authorised’ section.
3. Submit a cancellation letter if you stop using EPS
If you ever cease operating the EPS (Release 1 or 2), you must write to your local NHS England team so that payment of the ongoing
monthly allowance is stopped. A template cancellation letter is available at: psnc.org.uk/cancelEPSallowance
8 Community Pharmacy News – June 2015
contract and it dispensing and supply services and commissioning th
The Health and Social Care Information
Centre (HSCIC) has made live service status
information available to community
pharmacy contractors through their
Smartcard. The HSCIC Service Status pages
show the availability of national
infrastructure services, such as EPS, Spine,
N3 and the Care Identity Service, which
manages Smartcard access.
This means that a pharmacy team
experiencing problems accessing or
processing an electronic prescription can
see at a glance if there is a national service
issue. If it is not a national service issue, it is
likely to be a problem with their PMR
system or with their local equipment or
internet connection. In this case, users can
be confident that they should contact their
supplier’s helpdesk for support.
Pharmacy teams are encouraged to
bookmark the link to the HSCIC service
status webpage (tinyurl.com/EPSchecker),
where they will find information about the
status of the national infrastructure
services; this includes details of any current
and recently closed incidents. There is also
information on historic incidents and
service outages.
EPS users are also encouraged to continue
to sign up to receive text or email alerts at:
tinyurl.com/spinealerts
The HSCIC has undertaken a wide review of
how incidents that affect EPS are logged,
communicated and resolved. Analysis of
the feedback from a recent questionnaire
has provided the HSCIC with a very clear
picture of the main issue, the lack of
information about incidents and outages
for users. Making the service status pages
visible to dispensers is the first step, albeit a
major one, in filling that gap.
A series of recommendations to improve
service management further are being
developed and will be tested by survey
respondents who volunteered to be further
involved with the review.
More information will be shared in the EPS
bulletin which is available online at:
tinyurl.com/EPSbulletin
EPS: New live service reportsHSCIC launch a new tool that allows pharmacy teams to check the live
working status of the Electronic Prescription Service.
Are you claiming your £200 monthly EPS allowance?
DETAILS OF LOCAL AMOUNTS AUTHORISED £
ETP Allowance 200.00
Total amount authorised 200.00
Submit a one-off claim form
Go live with EPS R1 or R2
Check the payment isappearing on your
Schedule of Payment
Submit a cancellationletter if you stop
using EPS
psnc.org.uk 9
lpcs psnc’s work funding and statisticshe healthcare landscape
What is an EPS Business Change workshop?Attending local business change workshops can help pharmacy teams and
GP practice staff get to grips with EPS before they ‘go live’ with the system
As EPS introduces changes for pharmacy teams, GP practice staff and patients, it is
important to ensure that, before the system goes live, everyone involved understands
and agrees how the new processes will work for them. Business change workshops are an
opportunity for GPs and pharmacy teams to discuss how the new EPS process will work
for them locally.
Why is communication between GP practices and pharmacies so important?
When EPS Release 2 (EPS R2) goes live in the GP practice and prescriptions become
electronic, communication between the GP practice and pharmacies is very important to
ensure the smooth running of the system and to ensure that any issues are dealt with
quickly and effectively, so that the patient experience of EPS is a positive one.
When are workshops being held in my area?
Ideally business change workshops will take place prior to system training and no more
than three weeks prior to go live in the GP practice. This approach ensures that decisions
can be made in advance but also that processes are fresh in people’s minds. Any more
than three weeks in advance and some of the key messages may be forgotten.
Local pharmacy teams should be invited to the workshops. To find out if one is
happening in your area, please email [email protected] who can put you
in contact with your local EPS lead.
What will be covered?
• Raising awareness of the EPS processes amongst practice and pharmacy staff.
• Reviewing the prescribing processes and agreeing how these will operate after
EPS R2 has been enabled.
• Reviewing the dispensing processes within the pharmacy and agreeing how these
will operate after EPS R2 has been enabled.
• Raising any potential issues before the GP goes live – discussing how the practice
and pharmacy teams will work together to address issues that could arise after go live.
• Discussing the patient communication plan including what literature will be used.
• Agreeing the approach including formally ‘signing off’ the agreed processes.
Who might attend?
Anyone who will work with EPS in the GP practice or pharmacy, such as:
• GP Practice Manager
• Lead GP (and other GPs if possible)
• Member(s) of reception staff/ prescription clerks
• Practice IT lead (if applicable)
• Any other practice staff who are able to attend
• Local pharmacist(s) and dispensing technicians
• Local pharmacy locums who will be using EPS
How long will it last?
This will depend on the number of people in attendance, but be prepared to put aside at
least two to three hours for the workshop.
Further information
There are many tools that can be used to support the business process change sessions.
Ready-made tools such as business process slides, a process checklist, and
communication materials can be found at: systems.hscic.gov.uk/eps/nhs/buschange
Find out more about EPS at: hscic.gov.uk/eps or psnc.org.uk/eps
Top Tips• Identify named contact points
at the GP practice and pharmacy
for queries and to ensure
regular two-way communication.
• Allocate someone to take notes
of the session, so that everyone
has a copy of any agreed
decisions. These can be emailed
to everyone after the meeting.
• Book a series of weekly 10
minute catch-up meetings to
review the previous seven days.
These could be face-to-face
meetings or pre-booked
telephone calls.
• Arrange reciprocal visits to
walk through new processes and
improve understanding within
the GP practice and pharmacy.
• Proactively alert patients to
the introduction of new ways of
working and ask for their
support and patience during
early implementation (e.g.
reception poster).
• After your ‘go live’, have
further discussions about
utilising repeat dispensing
and catch up about any other
issues that have been
experienced. Consider if the
agreed processes work.
• Share the agreed processes
with all attendees after the
workshop.
ElectronicPrescriptionService
10 Community Pharmacy News – June 2015
dispensing and supply services and commissioning the healthcare landscape
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.
Communications International Group
Linen Hall, 162-168 Regent Street, London W1B 5TB
Tel: 020 7434 1530 Fax: 020 7437 0915
Distributedfor PSNC by:
When pharmacies receive NHS prescriptions they must check whether the items prescribed are allowed on the NHS before dispensing. If they are
not allowed, the pharmacy 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, and we have listed some products below
that we have recently received queries about.
Product Is the item Does it Is it Can it be Additional information listed in the have a ‘CE’ in the dispensed 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?
Thealoz 3% eye
drops
Cutimed Protect
cream
Earol olive oil ear
spray
Kinesiology tape
NuvaRing
0.12mg/0.015mg
per day vaginal
delivery system
No
Yes
No
No
Yes
n/a
n/a
n/a
n/a
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
Yes
No
No
Yes
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 appears 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.
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) and does not appear
in Part XVIIIA (the ‘blacklist’) of the Drug Tariff.
Midazolam 10mg/ml oral solutionremoved from the Drug Tariff
Midazolam 10mg/ml oral solution 5ml has been removed from Part VIIIB (specials
and imported unlicensed medicines) of the Drug Tariff. Therefore any prescriptions
for this product dispensed from 1st June onwards will need additional
endorsement as outlined in Part VIIIB.
In summary, unlicensed medicines which are not listed in Part VIIIB of the Drug
Tariff and are sourced under a manufacturer’s specials or importer’s licence
issued by the MHRA, must be endorsed with the following:
• Amount dispensed over pack size used
• Invoice price per pack size from which the order
was supplied less any discount or rebate
• Manufacturer’s or importer’s MHRA licence
number
• Batch number of the product supplied
• SP
Further information on dispensing and endorsing unlicensed specials and imports
can be found at psnc.org.uk/specials
NHSBSA’s Hints & TipsThe Pricing Authority produces a quarterly
newsletter called Hints & Tips for
dispensing contractors. We would like to
draw your attention to the latest edition
(Issue 19) as it contains some really useful
information and advice regarding:
• News on NHS Business Services
Authority (NHSBSA)’s FP34 Schedule of
Payments online portal.
• How to find an EPS prescription using
the prescription tracker.
• Guidance on claiming out of pocket
expenses and not dispensed
endorsements.
• Information on the new web pages for
the NHS dictionary of medicines and
devices (dm+d).
All published editions of the Hints & Tips
newsletter can be found on the NHSBSA
website: www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/3191.aspx
psnc.org.uk 11
psnc’s work funding and statistics contract and itlpcs
1. If I already operate a prescription
collection service for some patients, do I
need consent to set their electronic
prescription nominations to my pharmacy?
Yes. Explicit consent must always be
obtained from the patient or their
representative before changing a patient’s
nomination settings.
Explicit consent can be collected in
advance of the pharmacy deploying
Release 2. If there is a delay between
collecting consent and changing the
patient’s preference on the Personal
Demographics Service, the pharmacy
contractor should ensure there has been
no change in the patient’s circumstances,
including their choice of nominated
dispensing site, since the original consent
was obtained. Find out more at:
psnc.org.uk/nomination
2. Does the Pricing Authority begin pricing
electronic prescriptions as soon as they
are received in-month?
No. The Pricing Authority only begins
pricing electronic prescriptions once they
have received the bundle of paper
prescriptions with the end-of-month
submission form (FP34C). The FP34C form
covers the paper prescriptions which have
been included in the prescription bundle,
and those electronic prescriptions which
are assigned to that dispensing month (i.e.
dispense message sent in-month, and claim
message sent by the 5th of the following
month).
3. I have received an FP10 prescription for
“160 Madopar 25mg/100mg capsules”.
The lid of the product contains a
desiccant; would I be reimbursed for
supplying 2x100 capsules under special
container rules?
No. There is strict criteria, which can be
found in Part II Clause 10 of the Drug Tariff,
which the Department of Health use to
determine whether a product should be
considered to be packaged in a special
container. Although Madopar preparations
have integral desiccants in the lid, the
manufacturer Roche has not been able to
provide any evidence that these products
are hygroscopic. Therefore, no Madopar
preparations are classed as special
containers.
In this example, a contractor would be
reimbursed for supplying 160 capsules
against a prescription requesting 160
capsules. Broken bulk could be claimed on
the residual balance.
4. If a patient uses a pen with an ink
colour other than black to complete the
exemption declaration, is there a risk that
the scanner will not be able to pick this up
and will ‘switch’ the prescription to paid?
No, there is no requirement for the
exemption declaration to be completed
using a pen with a particular ink colour. All
forms are reviewed by an exception
handler before a prescription is considered
for switching, therefore, even if the CIP
scanner cannot read the signature due to
ink colour, the handler will be able to.
Look out for more frequently asked
questions next month…
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:
If you would like more information on any
of the topics covered, the PSNC Dispensing
and Supply Team will be happy to help (call
0844 381 4180 or 0203 1220 810 or e-mail
Have you seen our prescription chargeresources?Have you seen our page What Does the Patient Pay? Here you will find
links to the Prescription Charge Card and Multi Charge Card. If you don’t
already have copies why not print them out and use them as a point of
reference for dispensing staff? Other useful information can be found on
this page such as an outline of the rules on how to determine the number
of prescription charges which are payable. You will also find a collection
of ‘how many charges’ examples and some helpful FAQs.
Head over to psnc.org.uk/charges for more information.
Problems obtaining amedicine or appliance?Pharmacy teams who experience problems in
obtaining medicines (generic or branded) or
appliances are reminded to feed this back to
the PSNC Dispensing and Supply Team to
support PSNC’s ongoing representation of
issues in the supply chain to the Department
of Health. Please make sure you let us know
about any supply issues by using our online
feedback forms at psnc.org.uk/feedback
As of June 2015, Temazepam prescriptions must comply with the
following prescription writing requirements as per other
Schedule 3 Controlled Drugs:
• dose
• form
• strength (where appropriate)
• total quantity of the preparation in both words and figures
The Medicines, Ethics and Practice, published annually by the Royal
Pharmaceutical Society, provides more detailed guidance on
these requirements.
Further information about Controlled Drug prescription forms
and their validity can be found on the PSNC website at:
psnc.org.uk/cdforms
Prescription requirement changes for Temazepam
dispensing and supply services and commissioning the healthcare landscape
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:Zoe Smeaton who can be contacted at the above address or by email at: [email protected] © PSNCPSNC Office: 0844 381 4180 or 0203 122 0810
Drug Tariff WatchBelow is a quick summary of some of the changes due to take place from 1st July 2015
Part VIIIA Additions
Category A Additions:
SC Special Container
• Ampicillin 500mg powder for solution
for injection vials (10)
• Arachis oil 130ml enema SC (1)
• Aspirin 300mg suppositories (10)
• Atorvastatin 30mg tablets (28)
• Atorvastatin 60mg tablets (28)
• Beclometasone 0.025% cream SC (30g)
• Chloramphenicol 250mg capsules (60)
• Clobetasol 500microgram / Neomycin
5mg / Nystatin 100,000units/g cream
SC (30g)
• Clobetasol 500microgram / Neomycin
5mg / Nystatin 100,000units/g
ointment SC (30g)
• Glyceryl trinitrate 400micrograms/dose
aerosol sublingual spray SC (180 dose)
• Glyceryl trinitrate 400micrograms/dose
aerosol sublingual spray SC (200 dose)
• Mefenamic acid 50mg/5ml oral
suspension (125ml)
Category C Additions:
• Alginate raft-forming oral suspension
sugar free (150ml) - Gaviscon Original
Aniseed Relief
• Alginate raft-forming oral suspension
sugar free (300ml) - Gaviscon Original
Aniseed Relief
• Alginate raft-forming oral suspension
sugar free (500ml) - Gaviscon Original
Aniseed Relief
• Alginate raft-forming oral suspension
sugar free (600ml) - Gaviscon Original
Aniseed Relief
• Calcium acetate 475mg tablets (200) -
Renacet
• Calcium acetate 950mg tablets (200) –
Renacet
• Hyoscine hydrobromide 150microgram
tablets (12) - Kwells Kids
• Hyoscine hydrobromide 300microgram
tablets (12) - Kwells
• Lofepramine 70mg/5ml oral
suspension sugar free (150ml) - Lomont
• Loperamide 2mg orodispersible tablets
sugar free (18) - Imodium Instant Melts
• Prednisolone 2.5mg tablets (30) -
Pevanti
• Prednisolone 10mg tablets (30) -
Pevanti
• Prednisolone 20mg tablets (30) -
Pevanti
• Salicylic acid 2% ointment (450g) -
Thornton & Ross Ltd
• Sodium oxybate 500mg/ml oral
solution sugar free SC (180ml) - Xyrem
• Trospium chloride 60mg modified-
release capsules (28) - Regurin XL
Part VIIIA Amendments
SC Special Container
• Aspirin 75mg tablets (28) is changing to
Catergory A
• Atropine 1% eye drops SC (10ml) is
changing to Catergory A
• Diethylstilbestrol 5mg tablets (28) is
changing to Category C Teva UK Ltd
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 from whom the product
was purchased and the pack size from
which the item was dispensed), and where
the Prescription Authority does hold a
price on their database (DM+D) the price
paid per pack will need to be also be
endorsed.
• Loperamide 2mg oral lyophilisates sugar
free (18) Category C - Imodium Instants
• Pimozide 4mg tablets (100) Category C
– Orap
• Sodium cromoglicate 4% nasal spray
(22ml) Category C - Rynacrom
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
therefore payment will not be made for
dispensing the item.
• K Two Start - multi-layer compression
bandage kit 18-25cm
25-32cm
• UrgoSTART Contact (wound contact
layer) 11cm x 11cm
• Telfa Max 22.8cm x 38cm
38cm x 45.7cm
38cm x 60.9cm
• KoCarbon Hydrophilic 10cm x 10cm
20cm x 20cm
• KoCarbon Occlusive 4cm x 6.4cm
(non-waterproof)
4cm x 6.5cm
(waterproof)
10cm x 15cm
(waterproof)
10cm x 25cm
(waterproof)
• Allevyn Thin (adhesive)
Square 10cm x 10cm
15cm x 15cm
Rectangular 5cm x 6cm
15cm x 20cm
• Coloplast Ltd
Closed MC2000/MC2002
White 9011
Flesh 9021
Open MC2000/MC2002
White 9012
Flesh 9022
Mini Decorated Open MC2000
White 9013
Flesh 9023
URO 2002 4260 White 9014
URO 2002 4240 9015
URO 2002 4241 9016
I ILEO B (Standard) 9003
• Biotrol Integrale bag with filter & skin
protector adhesive 40mm 32-440
45mm 32-445
• Biotrol Elite bag with skin protector
adhesive and fabric backing
Beige 35mm 38-835
White 25mm 34-825
30mm 34-830
Need to know if an item can be
dispensed on an FP10? Check on our
database at: psnc.org.uk/FP10database