June 2018 CPN

CPN

Community Pharmacy News – June 2018

Quality Payments review date approaches l Online

portal for the 2018/19 Quality Payments declaration opens l PSNC provides top tips CPAF screening survey | PSNC promotes pharmacy | Pharmacy flu vaccination data

SERVICES AND COMMISSIONING

THE HEALTHCARE LANDSCAPE

LPCS

Quality Payments: Are you ready for the review point?

As online declaration portal opens for Quality Payments, the PSNC Services Team guides contractors through the declaration process.

Community pharmacy contractors can now start entering data for their Quality Payments declaration on the NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA) website, but the final submission must be made before the portal closes on 13th July 2018 at 11.59pm.

Important: Once a contractor has submitted their online declaration, it cannot be altered. As the contractor is responsible for the information declared, it is recommended that they check the declaration thoroughly before submission.

Use this summary checklist to monitor your progress: Gateway Criteria

I meet this criterion

Provision of one specified Advanced Service.

More info at: psnc.org.uk/QPAdvanced

Quality Criteria

I meet this criterion

Written patient safety report available for inspection.

More info at: psnc.org.uk/QPsafetyreport 80% of pharmacy professionals have achieved level 2 safeguarding status.

More info at: psnc.org.uk/safeguarding Latest Community Pharmacy Patient Questionnaire results are publicly available on NHS Choices.

More info at: psnc.org.uk/QPCPPQ The pharmacy has achieved Healthy Living Pharmacy level 1 status.

More info at: psnc.org.uk/QPHLP The pharmacy has demonstrated a total increase in access to Summary Care Records (between period 1 and period 2). More info at: psnc.org.uk/QPSCR

NHS Choices entry updated and/or verified, including opening hours for Bank Holidays.

More info at: psnc.org.uk/QPNHSChoices

The pharmacy’s NHS 111 Directory of Service entry is up to date. More info at: psnc.org.uk/QPDoS

Pharmacy staff able to send and receive NHSmail from a shared NHSmail account.

More info at: psnc.org.uk/QPNHSmail

The pharmacy has evidence of referring eligible patients for an asthma review.

More info at: psnc.org.uk/QPasthma

Ongoing utilisation of the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS). More info at: psnc.org.uk/QPEPS

Important: If you do not meet all the gateway criteria, you are not eligible for any quality payment, even if you meet other criteria.

80% of all pharmacy staff working in patient facing roles are ‘Dementia Friends’.

More info at: psnc.org.uk/QPdementiafriends

Top tips for contractors Do… Retain any emails regarding queries you have raised about the Quality Payments Scheme, for example emails to the NHSmail helpdesk. This written evidence may help in case your declaration is queried.

Ensure that the opening hours (including Bank Holidays), services and facilities pages on your NHS Choices profile are updated and/or verified.

If you are providing MURs and/ or NMS, ensure these services are shown on your NHS Choices profile services page.

Print out or take a screenshot of your public pharmacy profile pages on the NHS Choices website when you have updated and/or verified the content.

Don’t…

Submit your Healthy Living Pharmacy registration to the Royal Society for Public Health too close to the day of the review, as without the logo and e-certificate you are not certified.

Upload your Community Pharmacy Patient Questionnaire (CPPQ) results as a Word document; you must follow the instructions set out in the NHS England guidance for naming and uploading your CPPQ results on NHS Choices as a PDF. Let your NHSmail account become dormant as inactive accounts will get de-activated or removed from the service if passwords are not changed at least every 90 days.

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Remember… l Distance Selling Pharmacies (DSPs) have a different process for the NHS Choices gateway criterion – please follow PSNC guidance (available from psnc.org.uk/QPNHSChoices). l All criteria must be met by the review point of 29th June 2018, which is different to the closing date of the declaration process. l Contractors can submit their declaration before the review point, if they know they will definitely meet the criteria they are claiming for. It is for the contractor to decide if it is appropriate to submit their declaration before the review point. l If you have a Quality Payments query, check out PSNC’s library of FAQs at: psnc.org.uk/QPSFAQs

Further support for completing the Quality Payments declaration is available at: psnc.org.uk/qualitypayments

2 Community Pharmacy News – June 2018

PSNC’S WORK

FUNDING AND STATISTICS

CONTRACT AND IT

DISPENSING AND SUPPLY

Reaching out to stakeholders Last month PSNC staff and committee members represented community pharmacy at a meeting of MPs and a national public health conference.

PRIMARY CARE AND PUBLIC HEALTH CONFERENCE ted to the Primary Care and PSNC’s Director of NHS Services, Alastair Buxton, presen te community pharmacy integra Public Health conference, speaking about the need to and describing how plans, (STP) ship Partner n rmatio within Sustainability and Transfo pharmacy fits in with current national health priorities. busy throughout with Meanwhile, PSNC’s exhibition stand at the conference was and other primary care project Shoes My visits from GPs interested in the Walk in in areas such as more do could cies pharma how to as ng professionals enquiri team also spoke PSNC’s eption. footcare, woundcare and the provision of contrac that community role ant import the of them remind to s with a number of charitie nt. represe pharmacy teams play in helping the patients they

GDPR support

Over the past few months the PSNC website has featured a series of articles about the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the associated UK Data Protection Act 2018.

These articles were intended to provide support for community pharmacy contractors and to accompany the GDPR guidance and contractor workbook.

In addition to this, Gordon Hockey, PSNC Director of Operations and Support, also wrote an article for P3 Magazine outlining the 13 steps to GDPR and picking out the key actions required by contractors.

N SPECIA LS INV EST IGATIO the costs to the NHS of unlicensed

APPG MEETING

The All-Party Pharmacy Group (APPG) met to consider how the community pharmacy contractual arrangements could be changed to enable pharmacies to better support patients with long-term conditions.

During the session evidence was given by the national pharmacy organisations, including contributions from the Chair of PSNC’s Service Development Subcommittee, Gary Warner, who discussed PSNC’s proposals for a Universal Community Pharmacy Care Framework and Care Plan.

This meeting followed a series of APPG roundtables with charity and patient representatives, in which MPs sought their views on the role that pharmacies could play in helping people with long-term conditions. The APPG is now working on a report based on the findings from these sessions.

The Times featured an investigation into ely overpaying for these specials, finding that the health service is routin about £47 million last NHS the cost have to ated drugs. They were estim n. year, when they could have cost under £17 millio

for unlicensed medicines, Calling for an overhaul in the way the NHS pays charities, plus a quote the piece featured comments from politicians and al newspapers. The nation other in from PSNC. Similar stories also appeared unity pharmacy comm and LPCs rted suppo has PSNC Communications Team . gation investi contractors who were contacted in relation to this

psnc.org.uk 3

CONTRACT AND IT

DISPENSING AND SUPPLY

SERVICES AND COMMISSIONING

CPAF screening process begins The 2018/19 CPAF screening survey is available for completion until 1st July 2018.

The 2018/19 Community Pharmacy Assurance Framework (CPAF) screening questionnaire is now available for completion for four weeks, closing on Sunday 1st July 2018.

Now in its fourth year, the process asks all NHS community pharmacy contractors to complete a short screening questionnaire consisting of 10 questions; NHS England will then select a small number of pharmacies for a monitoring visit and/or to complete the full CPAF questionnaire.

At the request of NHS England, this year the screening questionnaire has been revised as follows: • Retire two questions – prescribed medicines advice (question 2) and owings (question 5); • Add two new questions – safeguarding

(question 11) and pharmacy-based audit (question 12); and • Revise one question – repeat dispensing (question 4).

Like previous years, there remains 10 active questions, with level 2 the minimum standard expected to demonstrate general compliance with the terms of service.

All pharmacies should have received a link to complete the screening questionnaire either via email from the NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA) or from their own Head Office.

Contractors are advised to contact NHS BSA by emailing nhsbsa.cpaf@nhs.net if they have any problems or queries.

PSNC has published PSNC Briefing 032/18: CPAF screening questionnaire

Investigation into generic medicines pricing issues

changes which explains the changes and provides clarification on some of the questions asked. The appendix contains the screening questionnaire in full so that contractors can view all the information prior to completing it.

Further information, along with links to the PSNC Briefing and guidance on the NHS BSA website, is available from: ow.ly/E2aq30kkdrO

GDPR legislation comes into force

The National Audit Office (NAO) has published the findings of an investigation into NHS spending on generic medicines in primary care.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into force on 25th May 2018, and the associated provisions in the UK Data Protection Act 2018 are also now in effect.

The NAO was investigating the unexpected increase in prices of certain medicines purchased to fulfil NHS prescriptions seen last year, which caused much additional work and worry for community pharmacy contractors, with purchase prices for medicines often varying widely.

Whilst welcoming the new rights for individuals, Information Commissioner Elizabeth Denham has also sought to reassure organisations that her Office’s (the ICO) focus would be on companies that “deliberately, persistently or negligently misuse data”.

PSNC fed into the NAO investigation, including highlighting concerns about the impact of price increases on the community pharmacy sector.

PSNC recommends that community pharmacy contractors complete the following tasks immediately, if they have not already done so.

1. Notify the ICO about your Data Protection Officer (see ow.ly/owX730klm1T) 2. Review your system supplier’s GDPR information (see ow.ly/PEa230k8SuZ) 3. Use PSNC’s model Impact Assessment (see ow.ly/vVER30k8RrQ)

The NAO found that there had been a seven-fold increase between the net spend on price concessions in 2017/18 compared with the previous year, and that this had put pressure on Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) budgets.

The report also noted that feedback on generic medicine supply issues rose significantly from fewer than 150 contacts per month before May 2017 to a peak of more than 3,000 in November 2017. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has granted nine out of 10 requests from PSNC on average.

Read the NAO report in full at: ow.ly/2Thf30kpe9D

4 Community Pharmacy News – June 2018

Any contractor needing further support can find all of PSNC’s guidance and resources in the GDPR section of our website: psnc.org.uk/GDPR

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HE HEALTHCARE LANDSCAPE

LPCS

PSNC’S WORK

FUNDING AND STATISTICS

Judicial Review of funding changes continues PSNC’s Judicial Review Appeal was heard at the end of May. Here we provide community pharmacy contractors with a summary of what happened in court.

On 22nd and 23rd May 2018, PSNC was in the Royal Courts of Justice appealing Mr Justice Collin’s Judgment in the Judicial Review case relating to the funding reductions and changes imposed on community pharmacies.

The Appeal was heard by three Court of Appeal Judges – Lord Justice Irwin, Lord Justice Hickinbottom and Sir Jack Beatson.

On the first day of the hearing, Alison Foster QC presented PSNC’s appeal arguments, followed by David Locke QC for the National Pharmacy Association (NPA). On day two, James Eadie QC responded for the Secretary of State (SoS) for Health, after which there were replies from PSNC and the NPA. The PSNC case was essentially that: 1. The Court had recognised that the SoS had failed ‘…to obtain a satisfactory analysis of the economic effect …’ but wrongly found that the duty to obtain sufficient information had been fulfilled.

2. In concluding that the Department of Health (DH) did not rely on a 15% operating margin which was stated in the DH indicative analysis (the 15%), the Court had erred in law and ignored the extensive contemporaneous evidence. Also, that the Court had erred in assessing the significance of the failure to disclose the 15% and the Court’s decision that the non-disclosure was not such as to render the process unlawful, was inconsistent with its factual finding.

3. The Court failed to grapple in any way with our arguments that the purpose of the Drug Tariff is to specify reimbursement and remuneration and provide certainty and transparency about what contractors will be paid.

In making PSNC’s case, Alison Foster QC referred to previous Cost of Service Inquiries on which remuneration had been based. She also said that the Minister had relied on the 15% when announcing the decision on 20 October 2016 and that the clear message was that community pharmacy could afford the funding cuts.

She also referred to a 10% profit margins estimate that came from one person described as an ‘Industry Insider’ whose information had been destroyed after a meeting with DH officials; and also indicated that Tim Ogier of PwC had discredited the 15%.

Alison Foster said that DH wanted to introduce changes without primary legislation and expected that they were likely to have to impose the unprecedented funding cut; that modelling had been conducted which showed various levels of community pharmacy closures; and that PSNC had made numerous requests for this analysis but not been provided with it.

James Eadie QC, responding for the SoS, broadly argued that: 1. The test for the SoS’s decision-making was one of rationality and it was not possible to make a reliable estimate of the number of pharmacies that would be at risk of closure.

2. The 15% was but one strand of analysis, it became apparent that the work did not generate reliable results about operating margins and since the decision was not based on it, it did not require disclosure to PSNC. 3. The purpose of the funding cuts was to save money from the public purse, not to seek community pharmacy closures.

The Court of Appeal reserved Judgment, which means that we may not know the outcome of the Appeal process for some weeks. PSNC will update contractors as soon as more information is available.

PSNC Director of Operations and Support, Gordon Hockey, said: “PSNC has always regretted very much that it became necessary to take the unprecedented step of seeking a Judicial Review. We have always sought to work constructively and collaboratively with the NHS and Department of Health and hope to begin substantive discussions with them on the future of community pharmacy very soon.”

Background 20th October 2016: The Secretary of State imposes funding cuts and other changes on community pharmacy.

December 2016: PSNC and the NPA both seek a Judicial Review of the decision.

March 2017: Judicial Review cases are heard. The basis of PSNC’s case was that the Secretary of State failed to carry out a lawful consultation on the proposals for community pharmacy.

18th May 2017: Mr Justice Collins gives his judgment, finding against PSNC, but criticising the DH’s consultation process, stating that it was unfair, but not so unfair as to be unlawful.

June 2017: Mr Justice Collins gives permission for PSNC to appeal his judgment, stating: ‘While naturally I am not persuaded that I failed in any of the respects alleged … I recognise the real effect of the cuts on pharmacies and the apparent reliance on the 15% and the non-disclosure.’

Visit ow.ly/DbcW30kpctm for more information.

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SERVICES AND COMMISSIONING

THE HEALTHCARE LANDSCAPE

LPCS

Flu vaccination figures from 2017/18 Almost 9,000 community pharmacies took part in a record-breaking year for the Flu Vaccination Advanced Service, according to final figures from NHS BSA. Community pharmacists in England administered 1,344,462 flu vaccinations to patients under the national NHS Flu Vaccination Service in 2017/18.

8,987 community pharmacies provided the Flu Vaccination Service in 2017/18.

A total of 1,344,462 vaccinations were carried out under the NHS pharmacy Flu Vaccination Service.

150 was the average number of flu vaccinations per participating pharmacy.

But the most proficient pharmacy provided more than 1,000 flu vaccinations.

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA) has published the Advanced Service Flu Report 2017/18, detailing the community pharmacy contractors who signed up to provide the service, as well as the NHS England area, vaccines administered, and drug and fee costs.

The number of community pharmacies which provided the national NHS Flu Vaccination Service in 2017/18 was 8,987 (77.1% of all community pharmacies in England).

The average number of vaccinations carried out by each participating pharmacy was 150, although one contractor greatly exceeded this by completing over 1,000 vaccinations.

Compared to the 2016/17 flu season, the NHS BSA figures show that the total number of flu vaccinations administered this year was higher by 393,697 with 536 more contractors having provided the service.

Training requirement FAQs PSNC has received several queries from contractors and LPCs on the training requirements for the Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Advanced Service and whether the revised National Minimum Standards and Core Curriculum for Immunisation Training for Registered Healthcare Practitioners which were published by Public Health England (PHE) in February 2018 will change the requirements.

The PSNC Services Team has addressed these issues in a series of FAQs which explain the requirements for new immunisers. These can be found at: ow.ly/ZHuc30ksSEd

Applications open for latest Mary Seacole Leadership Programme cohorts Following the success of the first “cohorts of the Mary Seacole Leadership Programme for community pharmacy, CPPE will be involved in bringing pharmacy professionals the latest cohorts of the programme.

In 2017 we began collaborating with the NHS Leadership Academy to offer this Lesley Grimes, prestigious programme to pharmacists CPPE lead pharmacist, and pharmacy technicians working in learning development the community. The dates have been finalised for the next 15 cohorts and applications are now open.

Places on the programme are fully funded by the Pharmacy Integration Fund. To apply you need to complete the online registration form through the NHS Leadership Academy’s NHSx platform: https://nhsx.uk/programmes/mary-seacoleprogramme-community-pharmacy

6 Community Pharmacy News – June 2018

The Mary Seacole programme is designed to develop clinical leadership and management skills to enable pharmacy professionals to drive quality services in community pharmacy and really make a difference to the health of patients.

Learning is comprised of a six-month interactive online course with support from an online tutor. In addition to the online component of the course, there are three compulsory one-day workshops.

We have gathered testimonials from recent participants to get their thoughts on the programme and what they hope to achieve. Videos and quotes can be found on the Mary Seacole page: www.cppe.ac.uk/services/leadership-community. On our website you can also find Six reasons to apply for the Mary Seacole programme.

The next two cohorts are in Manchester and Bristol.

Applications for these two cohorts close on 10th July 2018 and 12th July 2018 respectively.

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PSNC’S WORK

FUNDING AND STATISTICS

CONTRACT AND IT

DISPENSING AND SUPPLY

Hep C testing pilot for socially isolated Community pharmacy pilot targeting people accessing needle and syringe programmes gains ministerial support.

Nine community pharmacies in London took part in a pilot providing point-of-care Hepatitis C virus (HCV) testing to people accessing needle and syringe programmes who are considered to be socially isolated and vulnerable.

The pilot, from the London Joint Working Group on Substance Use and Hepatitis C, involved community pharmacy teams offering HCV testing and subsequent referral into treatment.

Pharmacy Minister Steve Brine saw this pioneering project in action at Portmans Pharmacy, Pimlico, and gave his support.

As part of the service, all those who accepted a test were provided with pre-test counselling and literature on HCV and service users were offered a voucher for a high street supermarket to encourage them to return for the test results. Service users who tested positive were then referred directly to a secondary care service for further testing and treatment if required.

Although comprehensive testing and referral routes already exist, it was recognised that pharmacies that already offer needle and syringe programmes could also provide opportunistic point-ofcare HCV testing to those who are not engaged with community drug services.

Evaluation statistics A total of 178 tests were completed between October 2017 and March 2018. Key findings in the evaluation include:

53% tested positive for HCV antibodies 57% did not know that interferon-free treatment was available

47% of these were told for the first time that they were HCV antibody positive 84% would prefer to receive HCV antiviral therapy in their community pharmacy

Commenting on the service, Pharmacy Minister Steve Brine said: “We are working hard to eliminate Hepatitis C as a public health issue by 2025, five years ahead of the World Health Organization target. Innovative testing initiatives in the community are essential if we are going to diagnose and treat everyone who has Hepatitis C, a virus that disproportionately affects some of the poorest and most marginalised groups in society.”

NUMSAS update The NHS Urgent Medicine Supply Advanced Service (NUMSAS) is having a significant impact on GP out-of-hours (OOH) appointments as more referrals for urgent repeat medication are being directed to pharmacies that offer NUMSAS than GP OOH services for the first time.

An NUMSAS update from NHS England on 31st May 2018 shows that 66,191 referrals were made to NUMSAS registered pharmacies between December 2016 and January 2018.

Contractors participating in NUMSAS are reminded to: • encourage patients to complete the patient survey; • make use of the updated NUMSAS Toolkit; • ensure that medication name, type, dosage and the ‘No Supply code’ are included (where applicable) on claims; • take any local guidelines on medicines supply for GP OOH services into consideration; and • feedback on NUMSAS, where appropriate, to england.pharmacyintegration@nhs.net

NAPC integration guidance The National Association of Primary Care (NAPC) has published a new guide to inspire further integration of community pharmacy within Primary Care Homes (PCHs) with the aim of improving patients’ health and supporting them to manage their conditions.

There are currently 211 PCH sites across England.

The new guide Primary care home: community pharmacy integration and innovation looks at ways LPCs, community pharmacies and PCHs can make greater use

of pharmacists’ skills as part of a PCHs’ whole population health management approach.

It focuses on the three key roles for community pharmacy outlined in the Community Pharmacy Forward View: a facilitator of personalised care for people with long-term conditions (LTCs), trusted, convenient first port of call for episodic healthcare advice and treatment, and a neighbourhood health and wellbeing hub.

It also proposes a list of actions to galvanise PCHs and community pharmacy to come

together to create innovative solutions to the current challenges and improve services for their local population.

The NAPC guidance provides a useful document for LPCs to help improve local working relationships between community pharmacy teams and general practices. Find out more at: ow.ly/f2uH30k8SQj

psnc.org.uk 7

PSNC’S WORK

FUNDING AND STATISTICS

CONTRACT AND IT

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

Endorsing webinar now on-demand

Community pharmacy contractors can now access an online recording of PSNC’s recent webinar on Endorsing Good Practice Guidance: How To Avoid Common Errors.

During the webinar our in-house Drug Tariff experts outlined the dos and don’ts of endorsing using a series of sample prescriptions as seen by the PSNC Pricing Audit Centre and the NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA). The team also answered endorsement-related questions at the end of the webinar.

So, if you are baffled by all the different endorsements or concerned that you may be losing money through incorrect prescription endorsing, watch our webinar at: psnc.org.uk/w ebinar

Active 10 campaign (PHE) has Public Health England activity al re-launched a physic 2018. r me sum campaign for

ages adults The campaign encour s of brisk ute to complete 10 min g the usin , day walking every . app 10 tive free Ac

Active teams can order an Community pharmacy about s ient pat h sations wit 10 toolkit to aid conver ivity. increasing physical act .ly/ 1zK u30 kia WS Find out more at: ow

Pharmacy technicians e-learning The Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education (CPPE) has published a new e-learning programme for pharmacy technicians which explores what professionalism is.

It’s linked to the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC)’s Standards for pharmacy professionals.

Find out more at: ow.ly/XOsn30k0mnv

NAO investigation into Capita

understood the service levels and Neither Capita nor NHS England fully to fulfil the Primary Care Support performance standards required ract began, an investigation by the England (PCSE) role when the cont luded. conc has ) National Audit Office (NAO

raised across the primary care The NAO was investigating problems g sent to NHS England in 2016 raisin r lette sector, including by PSNC in a a.

Capit by ided support services prov concerns about the primary care /Ql1g 30k8 T7G Read the NAO report in full at: ow.ly

8 Community Pharmacy News – June 2018

DISPENSING AND SUPPLY

SERVICES AND COMMISSIONING

THE HEALTHCARE LANDSCAPE

LPCS

Universal Credit – a reminder Our Dispensing and Supply Team explains which Universal Credit recipients qualify for free NHS prescriptions and the process for claiming their exemption from the prescription charge.

With more community pharmacy teams encountering patients in receipt of Universal Credit (UC), PSNC is receiving a larger number of queries on this subject.

less in their last UC assessment period.

Note: If someone is part of a couple then the net earning threshold applies to their combined net earnings.

UC does not automatically entitle patients to help with their health costs and there can be confusion over who qualifies for free NHS prescriptions. In addition, at present, there is no exemption category for UC available on the reverse of the prescription form/token for patients to mark as a declaration of their exemption.

Claiming exemption At the point at which the patient is asked to declare their exemption on the back of the prescription form, pharmacy staff must: • Check that the patient has a valid UC award letter notice bearing their name (either as the recipient or because they are a partner or child of the recipient) as evidence of valid entitlement.

• Where patients do not have evidence or where there is doubt over whether the evidence provided is appropriate, mark the “Evidence not Seen” box on the back of the prescription with an X. Pharmacy staff need not refuse to dispense items on the basis that the patient does not provide evidence of their entitlement to free prescriptions.

• Ask the patient to tick the appropriate exemption box and sign the declaration. In the absence of a UC box ask the patient to tick the “income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance” exemption, until the prescription forms are updated.

• Remind the patient they should make sure they are still eligible each month, i.e. in case their circumstances change or check if their earnings are still within the

To assist you, we have created this quick guide to help ensure community pharmacy teams understand what recipients of UC are entitled to, how they can claim it and how they should complete their declaration of exemption.

Eligibility criteria An individual qualifies for free NHS prescriptions if, on the date they claim help with health costs: • they receive UC and either had no earnings or had net earnings of £435 or less in their last UC assessment period; OR • they receive UC, which includes an element for a child, or they (or their partner) had limited capability for work and work-related activity, and they either had no earnings or net earnings of £935 or

threshold limits during their most recent monthly assessment period.

• Inform the patient that it is their responsibility to determine the accuracy of the declaration they make. NHS Protect have a responsibility to check for prescription charge exemption fraud and patients found to have wrongly claimed for free prescriptions, could face a penalty charge, the prescription charge required and in some cases prosecution.

If a patient is unsure whether they are entitled to free prescriptions, pharmacy staff should advise the patient to pay for their prescription and provide them with an FP57 form with information on how to claim a refund at a later date.

Useful links PSNC’s webpage on exemptions from the prescription charge: psnc.org.uk/ chargeexemptions The NHS Business Service Authority’s guide to UC: tinyurl.com/universalcredithelp For further information about the Universal Credit please visit the Gov. uk website or NHS Choices.

The Pharmacy Earlier Payment Scheme (PEPS) update PEPS, a privately financed scheme allowing pharmacies to have early access to their monthly NHS payments, has been awarded to a new provider, Taulia, effective from 1st July 2018 (i.e. for prescriptions dispensed in June 2018).

Community pharmacy contractors already opted into the Scheme should have received communication from the NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA) informing them of the change with an opportunity to opt in before the 31st May to continue receiving earlier payments in July.

to pay you according to the usual timetable (see tinyurl.com/ybblkows).

• Taulia will accept new contractors who want to opt into the Scheme from 11th May 2018 onwards, with first early payments commencing on 9th July 2018.

• If you are interested in joining the Scheme, please contact the NHS BSA by emailing nhsbsa.pepscontractorpayments@nhs.net for further information.

• Opting into the scheme requires a 30-day notice period.

For contractors currently NOT opted in to the Scheme: • Unless you choose to join the Scheme, NHS BSA will continue

More information, such as key submission and payment dates, is available at: psnc.org.uk/PEPS

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DISPENSING AND SUPPLY

SERVICES AND COMMISSIONING

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Ask PSNC The team at PSNC provide pharmacy teams with support and advice on a range of topics related to dispensing and IT. Questions asked in recent weeks have included: Q. How can I have the SCR role added to my Smartcard?

A. Community pharmacists and pharmacy technicians needing access to the Summary Care Record (SCR) will need to have SCR roles added onto their Smartcard. This can do done using the NHS Digital application form at: tinyurl.com/y7y7c897. The changes can be made remotely.

However, you must first have completed the SCR CPPE e-assessment and then ticked the box under the ‘SCR assessment registration process’ heading in your profile on the My CPPE section of the CPPE website (find more information at: psnc.org.uk/SCRtraining).

Completing this process will allow the Registration Authority (RA) and NHS Digital to see that you have passed the assessment and then provide access to the SCR using your Smartcard.

Q. I have a Smartcard with the FFFFF locum code, how can I have the SCR role added to my Smartcard?

A. Locum pharmacists and pharmacy technicians with the FFFFF Smartcard code should follow NHS Digital guidance, which states: “If locums with the FFFFF Smartcard code work in regular sites, they may have the site added to their card to reduce the need to use the generic code each time. The RA may check this when SCR access is requested.

If there is no longer the business need for the FFFFF, this may be removed. If the FFFFF code is not present but may be needed, this could be raised with the RA (in situations where many pharmacies are worked at, at short notice). Locums which may work at multiple sites at short notice can apply for SCR locum access using the NHS Digital application form [see tinyurl.com/y7y7c897].”

Q. The manufacturer of a Part IXA appliance says they do not supply the product without charging for postage and packaging, what do I do now?

A. In order to list a product in the Drug Tariff, manufacturers must declare that their product “will be readily available to dispensing contractors either through the normal wholesale network or on equivalent terms” so if a product is unavailable without additional charges from either wholesalers or the manufacturer, the manufacturer may not be meeting the requirements for their product to remain listed in the Drug Tariff.

Please report any products that are unavailable without additional charges to the PSNC Dispensing and Supply Team using our online form at psnc.org. uk/feedback or by calling 0203 1220 810. We will then investigate and, where necessary, escalate the problem to NHS Prescription Services.

As it can take time to reach a resolution with appliance manufacturers, PSNC recommends considering the following points prior to contacting us to report the problem: • To meet patient need, discuss the problem with the prescriber who may consider issuing a new prescription for an equivalent product which is available without additional charges.

• As a last resort, pharmacies are not contractually obliged to supply appliances that would not normally be supplied in the course of their business. Therefore, if a contractor is faced with making a financial loss through dispensing an appliance, they may choose not to dispense it.

Q. What should I do if I cannot obtain a Part IXA appliance without extra charges?

A. As community pharmacy contractors will not be reimbursed for out of pocket expenses (OOP or XP claims) incurred when items in Part IXA of the Drug Tariff are dispensed, manufacturers must ensure that their products are available to pharmacies without extra charges.

Where a Part IXA appliance is not available from wholesalers without additional charges, we recommend contacting the manufacturer directly to find out how you can obtain the product at the stated Drug Tariff price without additional charges.

Look out for more frequently asked questions next month…

If you would like more information on any of the topics covered, the team at PSNC will be happy to help (0203 1220 810 or e-mail info@psnc.org.uk).

10 Community Pharmacy News – June 2018

LPCS

PSNC’S WORK

FUNDING AND STATISTICS

CONTRACT AND IT

Drug Tariff Watch A quick summary of the changes due to take place from 1st July 2018.

Part VIIIA additions Category A: • Cisplatin 100mg/100ml solution for infusion vials SC (1) • Fentanyl 100micrograms/2ml solution for injection ampoules (10) • Phenylbutazone 100mg tablets (84) • Quinagolide 50microgram tablets and Quinagolide 25microgram tablets SC (6) • *Water for injections 100ml vials (25) Category C: • Alitretinoin 30mg capsules (30) – Toctino • Alverine 60mg / Simeticone 300mg capsules (90) – SimAlvia • Cefaclor 125mg/5ml oral suspension R (100ml) – Distaclor • Cefaclor 250mg/5ml oral suspension R (100ml) – Distaclor • Chlorhexidine gluconate 0.05% solution 100ml sachets (10) – Sterets Unisept • Chlorhexidine gluconate 0.05% solution 25ml sachets (25) – Sterets Unisept • Chlorhexidine gluconate 0.06% / Sodium fluoride 0.05% mouthwash sugar free (500ml) – Corsodyl Daily • Darbepoetin alfa 100micrograms/0.5ml solution for injection pre-filled syringes (4) – Aranesp • Darbepoetin alfa 10micrograms/0.4ml solution for injection pre-filled syringes (4) – Aranesp • Darbepoetin alfa 130micrograms/0.65ml solution for injection pre-filled syringes (4) – Aranesp • Darbepoetin alfa 150micrograms/0.3ml solution for injection pre-filled syringes (4) – Aranesp • Darbepoetin alfa 20micrograms/0.5ml solution for injection pre-filled syringes (4) – Aranesp • Darbepoetin alfa 300micrograms/0.6ml solution for injection pre-filled syringes SC (1) – Aranesp • Darbepoetin alfa 30micrograms/0.3ml solution for injection pre-filled syringes (4) – Aranesp • Darbepoetin alfa 40micrograms/0.4ml solution for injection pre-filled syringes (4) – Aranesp • Darbepoetin alfa 500micrograms/1ml solution for injection pre-filled syringes SC (1) – Aranesp • Darbepoetin alfa 50micrograms/0.5ml

solution for injection pre-filled syringes (4) – Aranesp • Darbepoetin alfa 60micrograms/0.3ml solution for injection pre-filled syringes (4) – Aranesp • Darbepoetin alfa 80micrograms/0.4ml solution for injection pre-filled syringes (4) – Aranesp • Diazepam 2.5mg/1.25ml rectal solution tube (5) – Diazepam RecTubes • Fentanyl 1.6mg lozenges (3) – Actiq • Fentanyl 1.6mg lozenges (30) – Actiq • Glyceryl trinitrate 10mg/24hours transdermal patches (28) – Deponit 10 • Glyceryl trinitrate 15mg/24hours transdermal patches (30) – Minitran 15 • Glyceryl trinitrate 5mg/24hours transdermal patches (28) – Deponit 5 • Memantine 10mg soluble tablets sugar free (28) – Alzhok • Memantine 20mg soluble tablets sugar free (28) – Alzhok • Memantine 5mg/10mg/15mg/20mg tablets treatment initiation pack SC (28) – Ebixa • Mycophenolic acid 180mg gastro-resistant tablets (120) – Myfortic • Mycophenolic acid 360mg gastro-resistant tablets (120) – Myfortic • Nicotine 14mg/24hours transdermal patches (7) – Nicotinell TTS 20 • Nicotine 7mg/24hours transdermal patches (7) – Nicotinell TTS 10 • Phenytoin 50mg chewable tablets (200) – Epanutin Infatabs • Piracetam 333.3mg/ml oral solution sugar free (300ml) – Nootropil 33% • Rotigotine 1mg/24hours transdermal patches (28) – Neupro • Rotigotine 3mg/24hours transdermal patches (28) – Neupro • Silver nitrate 40% caustic pencils SC (1) – Avoca • Sodium lauryl ether sulfo-succinate 6% / Sodium lauryl ether sulfate 2.7% shampoo SC (125ml) – Dentinox Cradle Cap • Somatropin (rbe) 12mg powder and solvent for solution for injection pre-filled disposable devices SC (1) – Genotropin GoQuick • Soya oil 82.95% / Lauromacrogols 15% bath oil SC (500ml) – Balneum Plus • Tafluprost 15micrograms/ml / Timolol 5mg/ml eye drops 0.3ml unit dose

KEY: SC Special container R Item requiring reconstitution * This pack only (others already available)

preservative free (30 (3 x SC10)) – Taptiqom • Tetracaine 4% gel SC (1.5g) – Ametop • Tramadol 400mg modified-release tablets (28) – Zamadol 24hr • Tramadol 50mg orodispersible tablets sugar free (60) – Zamadol Melt Part VIIIA deletions • Pergolide 50microgram tablets (100) Category A • *Water for injections 100ml vials (1) Category A

Important Part IX deletions EYE PRODUCTS Eye drops – Polyvinyl Alcohol • PVA 1.4% Tubilux – 15ml NASAL PRODUCTS Nasal drops – Sodium Chloride 0.9% • Sandoz 10ml • Tubilux Pharma (Tubilux Brand) 10ml Appliances can only be prescribed on NHS prescriptions if the product is listed in Part IX (the Appliances section) of the Drug Tariff. As these items will no longer listed in the Drug Tariff prescriptions prescribed by or endorsed with (for generically written prescriptions) the above brand names would be disallowed.

For generically written prescriptions: Other brands that meet the same generic description are listed in the Drug Tariff. Please endorse a Drug Tariff listed product.

For prescriptions written by brand: As these items are no longer listed in the Drug Tariff prescriptions for these items would be disallowed. If you receive a prescription for any of the brands above it should be referred back to the prescriber for an alternative.

For further changes, including amendments to Part VIIIA and a full list of Part IX deletions, please visit: ow.ly/peyK30ktE5Q

psnc.org.uk 11

PSNC’S WORK

FUNDING AND STATISTICS

CONTRACT AND IT

PSNC resources library In this section of Community Pharmacy News we have provided details of some of the resources that PSNC has produced this month.

PSNC Briefings PSNC Briefing 027/18: Quality Payments – PSNC resources This briefing provides a list of all the PSNC resources available to community pharmacy contractors to assist them with meeting the gateway and quality criteria for the June 2018 review point.

Download from: ow.ly/4JuZ30jNtJI PSNC Briefing 030/18: Dispensing & Supply Factsheet – Prescription Submission In this PSNC factsheet our Dispensing and Supply Team highlights the key things to remember when endorsing and submitting prescriptions for payment, as well as sharing some of their top tips.

Download from: ow.ly/ZLDk30krdmE PSNC Briefing 032/18: CPAF screening questionnaire changes Community pharmacy contractors in England are being asked to complete the Community Pharmacy Assurance Framework (CPAF) screening questionnaire for the fourth year, as part of NHS England’s contract monitoring process. This PSNC Briefing explains the changes for 2018/19 and provides clarification on record-keeping relating to prescription-based interventions (question 6), signposting (question 7) and locums (question 9).

Download from: ow.ly/2scY30krdrR See all our PSNC Briefings in our database at: psnc.org.uk/briefings

Other resources Endorsing webinar A recording of PSNC’s webinar on prescription endorsement is now available. During the webinar our Dispensing and Supply Team used sample prescriptions to promote good practice and help community pharmacy teams ensure they are paid correctly.

Watch now: psnc.org.uk/webinar Look out for additional resources as you explore our website: psnc.org.uk

Email news alerts One week to go – a final reminder on GDPR (18th May) This email summarised all the support materials available from PSNC on the incoming General data protection Regulation (GDPR), including guidance documents, workbook templates, reference articles and an on-demand webinar.

Read now: ow.ly/7Ylq30krdKx Quality Payments: NHS BSA online declaration portal now open (11th June) Here we outline when the Quality Payments online declaration portal is open and how to access it via the NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA) website. It also contains a number of FAQs about completion the declaration.

Read now: ow.ly/9X8X30krdQZ Not receiving our emails? Sign up now at: psnc.org.uk/enews PSNC website For 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, 14 Hosier Lane, London, EC1A 9LQ Community Pharmacy News is edited by: Melinda Mabbutt who can be contacted at the above address or by email at: mmabbutt@psnc.org.uk PSNC Office: 0203 122 0810

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