October 2017 CPN

CPN

Community Pharmacy News – October 2017

Think pharmacy this winter

Campaigning continues with plans to raise community pharmacy’s profile in the busy winter period Medicine supply issues | Quality Payments preparation | EPS Prescription Tracker update

PSNC’s WORK

FUNDING AND STATISTICS

CONTRACT AND IT

Promoting pharmacy’s role in winter LPCs and community pharmacy teams are encouraged to help promote the sector’s role in easing winter pressures by taking part in a campaigning day in November.

The national pharmacy organisations are working on plans for a political campaigning day for community pharmacy to be held on Tuesday 21st November.

The focus for the day will be community pharmacy and winter pressures, with the aims being to highlight all that community pharmacies do to help patients and the NHS through the winter, to warn of the risks if this is lost, and to make the case for the further development of services.

The campaigning day will offer a chance to renew media and political interest in community pharmacy, and we hope that everyone working in community pharmacies will be able to take part and help by showcasing the vital work they are doing.

Campaigning activities on the day will include: Social Media: We are working on a theme around ‘pharmacy winter’ and we will be encouraging community pharmacy teams to use their social media accounts to show the difference they are making in a single day, as we head into the winter period. Template tweets and blogs will be available on the PSNC website.

Engaging with Local Councillors: Due to the current political focus on local commissioning, we will be aiming to offer briefings and pharmacy visits to as many councillors as possible. If you would be interested in hosting a visit at your pharmacy, please let your LPC know.

A Parliamentary Reception: This will offer a chance for MPs to come and receive a medicines check as we move into winter, along with a short briefing on community pharmacy. LPCs are supporting this work by inviting their local MPs and, in some cases, sending representatives to the event.

Detailed resources for use by both LPCs and community pharmacy teams will be made available shortly and we look forward to seeing community pharmacy teams come together as they have done so brilliantly in the past.

If you have any questions or would like further information at this stage, please email campaign@psnc.org.uk

We must keep challenging Government thinking, says PSNC CEO

PSNC tells politicians the NHS must make most of pharmacy

Community pharmacy must keep campaigning against Government plans that could reduce services, PSNC Chief Executive Sue Sharpe told delegates at the Pharmacy Show this month.

In recent weeks PSNC has been working hard to ensure that politicians and other policy influencers understand the value of community pharmacy and all that the sector can do to ease pressure on GP practices and A&E, and to support patients and local communities.

Sue talked delegates through the current crisis in the NHS, and her expectation that the health services it offers will have to be reduced over time as funding levels become inadequate.

The funding reductions the sector is now grappling with had been driven by the need for NHS cost savings and the ‘false view’ that warehouse supply of medicines could be an adequate, cheaper substitute for the community pharmacy dispensing service.

Community pharmacies embrace technology and it is wrong to cast those who oppose warehouse supply as dinosaurs, Sue said. Instead, the future of community pharmacy must be based on developing the relationships that pharmacies have with their patients to provide greater care and support for them, especially as the NHS reduces its service. That relationship is grounded in the supply of medicines, and we need digital solutions that protect this.

The cashflow crisis now facing community pharmacy contractors – caused by the imposed funding reductions, changes in Category M prices, and an unpredicted sudden price rises for generic drugs – is severe, she said. But there is a risk of further cuts.

2 Community Pharmacy News – October 2017

Working with the other pharmacy organisations, PSNC attended the conferences of the three major political parties in England to expand and develop community pharmacy’s pool of supporters. The conferences represented an opportunity not only to discuss our key messages with MPs, but also with campaign groups, charities, local councillors and others.

PSNC undertook this work through a range of activities, including attending fringe events at the conferences and giving one-to-one briefings. The Support Your Local Pharmacy stand organised by the National Pharmacy Association was also extremely popular at the conferences, with hundreds of people visiting for blood pressure checks.

Watch our latest #PSNCtalk video on how you can engage with your local politicians at: ow.ly/z7Cm30fGUjK

DISPENSING AND SUPPLY

SERVICES AND COMMISSIONING

THE HEALTHCARE LANDSCAPE

LPCs

Generics Supply Situation PSNC is in urgent discussions with the Department of Health about the current supply issues and is seeking immediate action to offer relief for community pharmacy contractors.

Following inspections at Bristol Laboratories and Dr Reddy’s, PSNC is aware of the very great difficulties that contractors are having sourcing a large number of products, with both shortage and pricing issues playing a part. This is having a huge impact on workload and a catastrophic impact on cashflow.

PSNC has written to the pharmacy minister, Steve Brine MP, seeking urgent intervention to offer some relief for contractors as the major shortage and pricing issues persist. We have stressed our concern for the ability of some pharmacists to survive the cashflow crisis, and warned of the disastrous impact this could have on patients and other NHS services as we go into the winter period. PSNC is also continuing to stress to the Department of Health the seriousness of the current situation.

In September an extraordinary number of price concessions were granted. PSNC was particularly concerned by the length of time it took to reach agreement on many of the concession prices and have made our concerns known to the Department.

We are also now extremely worried about contractors’ ability to manage the cashflow crisis through November, when the full

impact of August’s Category M price reductions will be felt. More information about this is available on page 4.

Please do continue to report generic issues using the generic shortages form which can be found at psnc.org.uk/feedback.

These reports form a very important basis on which price concessions are agreed and we would like to thank those contractors who have already taken the time to fill in the form.

As always, as soon as any price concessions are agreed, the website will be updated and an email alert will be sent to all of our email newsletter subscribers. To sign up to the newsletter, please visit psnc.org.uk/newsletter PSNC Member and independent community pharmacy contractor Mark Burdon said: “Like all community pharmacy contractors, those of us on PSNC are deeply frustrated and alarmed by the current medicines supply situation. PSNC is seeking recognition from the Department of these cashflow problems and the fact that this is having a serious impact on all of our abilities to deliver medicines to patients.”

Reporting generic shortages PSNC’s Dispensing and Supply Team relies on your reports to negotiate price concessions for generic products that cannot be obtained at Drug Tariff price, but we are aware that as the list of issues grows it becomes more time-consuming to submit these reports to us.

We have therefore streamlined our reporting system on our website to try and make it easier for community pharmacy contractors and their teams to report generic pricing issues. You are now able to report multiple lines to us in one spreadsheet by clicking on the ‘Click here to report multiple generic pricing issues/shortages’ button on our ‘Problems obtaining a generic medicine?’ page (psnc.org.uk/genericreport), rather than having to fill out individual forms for individual products. All spreadsheets should be emailed to medicines.shortages@psnc.org.uk.

Our single item reporting form has also been simplified. The form will now only ask you to enter the pharmacy’s F-code/ODS code (or the pharmacy name and postcode if the F-code is not known), rather than requiring you to fill in all the pharmacy’s address details.

Price concession FAQs 1. How long does a concession last?

If a price concession or NCSO is granted, it is only valid until the end of the month in which it was granted. PSNC needs to apply/re-apply for concessions on a monthly basis. If there is an on-going supply problem, it is possible that a new concession will be granted by the Department of Health the following month; however, this is not guaranteed.

2. If a medicine is granted a price concession or NCSO, are all strengths of the product covered by the price concession or NCSO? No, concessions are granted to specific strengths of a product so contractors must check the latest list so they know which strengths have been granted a concession.

For more information please call 0203 1220 810 or email info@psnc.org.uk

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FUNDING AND STATISTICS

CONTRACT AND IT

DISPENSING AND SUPPLY

Category M reductions: how will it affect your payments?

Community pharmacy contractors encouraged to take note of how and when Category M reductions will impact on their cashflow.

Contractors should be aware of when their payments will be impacted by the reductions in Category M prices implemented in the August Drug Tariff.

Earlier this month pharmacies received an advance payment for the dispensing month of August. The advance is an estimated payment, taking into account the pharmacy’s number of declared items for August, and the pharmacy’s average item value (AIV) from dispensing month of July. This means that the advance for August is likely to have overstated the value of August’s prescriptions.

Subsequently in November, the pharmacy will receive the balancing payment for August, and the advance payment will be recovered. This is the point where the impact on contractors will be most significant as the balance for August will be lower than the recovery of the advance.

Below is a simple table illustrating payment timelines: Payments made in

Recovery of Total of advance from account for

Advance for

September

June

June

July

October

July

July

August

November

August

August

September

December

September

September

October

PSNC Director of Pharmacy Funding Mike Dent said: “This is an extremely challenging time for contractors; particularly given the Government’s acceptance that its funding cut, which community pharmacy strongly opposed and campaigned against, would lead to some pharmacy closures. We recommend that contractors seek professional advice, from their accountant in the first instance.”

A worked example is illustrated below for an average volume pharmacy, whose AIV is reduced by 17p per item from dispensing month of August: Dispensing/SOP Month

Jul-17

Aug-17

Sep-17

Oct-17

Nov-17

Dec-17

Jan-18

AIV

£8.50

£8.33

£8.33

£8.33

£8.33

£8.33

£8.33

Items Dispensed

7,000

7,000

7,000

7,000

7,000

7,000

7,000

Items Submitted for Payment

7,000

7,000

7,000

7,000

7,000

7,000

7,000

Advance Payment

£59,500

£59,500

£59,500

£59,500

£58,288

£58,288

£58,288

Advance Recovered

-£59,500

-£59,500

-£59,500

-£59,500

-£59,500

-£58,288

-£58,288

Total value of account

£59,500

£59,500

£59,500

£59,500

£58,288

£58,288

£58,288

Total payment

£59,500

£59,500

£59,500

£59,500

£57,076

£58,288

£58,288

A PSNC Briefing and cashflow calculator to support planning are available at: psnc.org.uk/incometables

National approach to MUR PPV begins The NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA) has started undertaking post-payment verification (PPV) of payments to community pharmacy contractors for provision of the Medicines Use Review (MUR) service. This work involves requesting evidence from a sample of contractors to support payment claims they have submitted for MURs over a specified period.

Until now, local NHS England teams have been monitoring the provision of Essential and Advanced Services by contractors;

4 Community Pharmacy News – October 2017

however, in many areas resource constraints have limited their ability to perform this work, which has resulted in a lack of consistency in how this is carried out across the country.

Taking a standardised and centralised approach to this work means the variability in the way PPV is currently carried out

by NHS England will be removed and all pharmacies will be treated equally and fairly using a consistent, transparent, proportionate and evidence-based approach.

If a contractor is selected to take part in this work, they will receive a letter which includes full instructions on how to submit their signed MUR patient consent forms to NHS BSA. Learn more about the process at: ow.ly/ICS930foQXe

SER

RVICES AND COMMISSIONING

THE HEALTHCARE LANDSCAPE

LPCs

PSNC’s WORK

Quality Payments: November 2017 review point The second review point for the Quality Payments Scheme is fast approaching.

Here we outline some important points that contractors need to be aware of.

SCR Drug Tariff amendment The Department of Health has published an amendment in Part VII of the October 2017 Drug Tariff relating to the Summary Care Record (SCR) quality criterion. This amendment means that pharmacies who have accessed the SCR 100 times or more in both period 1 and period 2 will meet this criterion, even if their usage has not increased.

Read more: ow.ly/LDC430fxz8D

NHS Choices survey issued for DSPs Distance selling pharmacy (DSP) contractors who met the NHS Choices gateway criterion for the April review point should by now have received an email from the NHS Choices Service Desk with a link to a survey.

The survey must be completed by 11.59pm on 24th November 2017 to meet this criterion. Read more: ow.ly/ojAh30fyoOM

DoS profile updater The new Directory of Services (DoS) profile updater which contractors will need to use to meet the DoS quality criterion is now available. For the November declaration, contractors will be required to edit or confirm the information about their pharmacy is correct on the DoS profile updater by 11:59pm on 24th November 2017 to meet this criterion. This process is the same for ‘bricks and mortar’ pharmacies and distance selling pharmacies.

Read more: ow.ly/S1sv30fypKY

NHS Choices profile Community pharmacy contractors can now edit or validate the three sections of their pharmacy’s NHS Choices profile to meet the gateway criterion for the Quality Payments Scheme November review point. Even if the details are correct or have recently been edited, contractors have until 11:59pm on 24th November 2017 to validate their NHS Choices profile to meet this criterion.

Read more: ow.ly/bCAX30fcNH4

Key points

Don’t have a pharmacy NHSmail account yet?

If you have applied for a shared NHSmail account, but have not yet had one allocated to your pharmacy, it is important that you act now. A PSNC Briefing has also been created to help guide you through the process. Find out more at: ow.ly/4rS430erWJO

PSNC support NHS England guidance NHS England has published guidance for the November review point. This new guidance should be read in conjunction with NHS England’s gateway criteria guidance issued in December 2016 and the quality criteria guidance issued in February 2017. All three documents can be found at: psnc.org.uk/quality

Rosie Taylor, Head of Service Development at PSNC, has recorded a presentation which provides information on the changes that have been made for the November review point compared to April, as well as the key learning points to be aware of. The video can also be accessed at: psnc.org.uk/ qualitywebinar and is approximately 30 minutes long.

The Quality Payments Scheme hub on the PSNC website (psnc.org.uk/quality) has also been updated.

April declaration data published The NHS Business Service Authority (NHS BSA) has published the declaration data for the April review point of the Quality Payments Scheme. The data provides a breakdown of the number of contractors who declared that they met the gateway criteria and the number of contractors who declared they met the individual quality criteria.

To accompany this data, NHS England has published an infographic which highlights the headline figures from the declaration data as well as a presentation, which provides further information on the Quality Payments Scheme. Read more: ow.ly/JAQT30fyr1T

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DISPENSING AND SUPPLY

SERVICES AND COMMISSIONING

THE HEALTHCARE LANDSCAPE

Alliance Healthcare distribution issues Community pharmacies across the country were left struggling to source vital medicines for their patients in the wake of severe disruption last month.

When Alliance Healthcare experienced a server failure on 7th September, this led to severe disruption of its deliveries to community pharmacies.

This disruption left pharmacies facing major problems sourcing supplies to meet patients’ needs. This has raised fresh concerns over Direct to Pharmacy arrangements as pharmacies were left struggling to secure medicines only distributed through Alliance.

PSNC has subsequently raised concerns about restricted distribution arrangements.

PSNC Chief Executive Sue Sharpe said: “PSNC was very concerned about the impact that the problems at Alliance Healthcare had on community pharmacies. We know how much harder many community pharmacy teams had to work to ensure that patients had access to the medicines they needed; and of course this came at a time when pharmacies are already under immense pressure. Only the hard work and extraordinary efforts of pharmacies prevented this closure leading to a catastrophic impact on the NHS caused by many thousands of patients being unable to get the medicines they needed.

PSNC is and has always been very concerned about Direct to Pharmacy arrangements involving a sole supplier of any given medicine to pharmacies. The reliance on a single supplier exacerbates the risks for pharmacies and makes it more likely that any supply problems will leave them unable to meet patients’ needs. When these arrangements first began a few years ago we opposed them. We have continued to monitor the situation since then and after the problems last month we have again escalated the issue with the Department of Health.

PSNC remains of the view that a wholesale market which promotes competition and allows pharmacies to choose from a number of medicines suppliers is the best way to ensure that we retain a resilient medicines supply chain and that community pharmacies can continue to provide patients with the medicines they need, when they need them. We will do all that we can to promote this.”

PSNC Committee Member and independent contractor Gary Warner commented: “This sort of supply issue has been our fear for years.

My experience is just one example from thousands like it up and down the country. We received our delivery from Alliance Healthcare as normal on the Thursday morning [7th September], but then had no deliveries until the following week.

The lack of clarity about how long we would be without deliveries made conversations with patients difficult, and as the situation unfolded most of our information came from our delivery driver. By the Saturday we were running out of the lower volume lines and had to start locating stock from other pharmacies to ensure that patients did not go without urgent medicines. Others were also struggling, as we had to lend as much stock as we borrowed.

Once again it felt like the network of community pharmacies pulling together to cover for failures elsewhere and to ensure that patients’ needs continued to be met.

It won’t have escaped anyone’s notice that the solus lines were the most badly affected, and of course that would make sense. At PSNC we have long been concerned about Direct to Pharmacy medicines supply arrangements involving a single supplier. Investigations may have found that restricted distribution arrangements are not unlawful, but if they start to seriously affect patients’ access to medicines then I believe the Department has a responsibility to act.”

Endorsement notice: Belladonna plaster In August, Belladonna adhesive plasters BP 1980 19cm x 12.5cm & 28cm x 17.5cm were deleted from the appliance section of the Drug Tariff, but a licensed medicine is now available instead.

The new licensed product is called Belladonna medicated plaster 28cm x 17.5cm & 9.5cm x 12.5cm, but it is not listed in the Drug Tariff, so to be reimbursed correctly please ensure that prescriptions are endorsed as follows.

Required endorsement: • Brand name or manufacturer/supplier; and • Pack size — where there are multiple pack sizes available.

6 Community Pharmacy News – October 2017

Patient safety report resource published The Community Pharmacy Patient Safety Group and PSNC have published a new resource, Completion of the patient safety report quality criterion, to assist community pharmacy contractors to meet this quality criterion of the Quality Payments Scheme. The resource explains how contractors can use the monthly and annual template patient safety reports to meet the quality criterion and lists questions and examples which pharmacy teams can consider to help them complete the report. Access the resource from: ow.ly/8DW730fW2w2

LPCs

PSNC’s WORK

FUNDING AND STATISTICS

CONTRACT AND IT

Business continuity feature added to Prescription Tracker New feature aims to help community pharmacy teams in continuing to manage their pharmacy’s EPS prescriptions during a period of system downtime.

NHS Digital has added a new business continuity feature to the online Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) Prescription Tracker tool. This new mode allows pharmacy staff to view outstanding prescription medicines information if there is N3/HSCN access but the pharmacy system is experiencing downtime.

The Tracker tool already allows GP practice staff and pharmacy teams to be able to check the status of an EPS prescription. The new business continuity mode feature can be used by community pharmacy teams if their PMR system has a temporary technical issue, but staff can continue to access an N3/HSCN internet connection.

Pharmacy staff who have the pharmacy premises set on their Smartcard will be able to see their pharmacy’s outstanding EPS prescriptions and medicines information for each of those prescriptions. In the event of an outage, this information may help pharmacy teams to continue to provide services to patients and to plan additional actions they need to take, including with local GP practices, if the outage is likely to last for a prolonged period.

Commenting on this, David Broome, pharmacy contractor, PSNC regional representative and Vice Chair of the joint Community Pharmacy IT Group said: “A technical issue with my PMR system could cause real difficulties. This will potentially save the day allowing me to see information about my pharmacy’s outstanding prescriptions, meaning we can continue to help our patients. Its easy-to-use, which is a big plus.”

Alastair Buxton, Director of NHS Services at PSNC added: “I encourage contractors and their teams to explore the new feature and to incorporate it into their business continuity plans. PSNC will continue to work with NHS Digital to develop further systems to support EPS business continuity.”

Learn more about how to use the Tracker in business continuity mode at: psnc.org.uk/tracker

Key learnings from pharmacy EPS costs and benefits study Community pharmacy teams who have updated their dispensing processes to consider the different actions required for electronic prescriptions are benefitting most from the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS), according to a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) study.

Using PwC’s findings, PSNC and NHS Digital have identified key points which will be of interest to contractors and their teams, including learnings which may help pharmacies to better utilise EPS Release 2.

These key points and further information have been compiled into two PSNC Briefings which can be downloaded from: ow.ly/sGVq30foLcv

EPS Controlled Drugs pilot NHS Digital is piloting the prescribing and dispensing of Schedule 2/3 Controlled Drugs (CDs) on the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS).

The first pilot GP practices will be some of those using the Vision GP system in the North West and London. However, because patients can get their prescriptions dispensed from any community pharmacy in the country, pharmacy teams outside of these areas should also take note of these developments. Pharmacies in the vicinity of the pilot GP practices will be notified ahead of time.

Our webpages regarding EPS CDs, CD prescription validity, and CD regulations have been updated to support the move towards electronic CD dispensing. Find all our CD webpages at: psnc.org.uk/CD The timing of this pilot is to be announced shortly.

psnc.org.uk 7

SERVICES AND COMMISSIONING

THE HEALTHCARE LANDSCAPE

LPCs

Positive patient verdict on the Flu Vaccination Service 2016/17 Last winter’s Community Pharmacy Flu Vaccination Service was highly valued by patients, with 99% saying they would recommend it to family and friends.

NHS England has shared the collated results of the patient questionnaire for the Flu Vaccination Service in 2016/17, showing that the community pharmacy service was highly valued by patients during the previous flu season.

PSNC has produced an infographic summarising the main results which community pharmacy teams may like to share on social media (find this at: ow.ly/nuIW30fgsdr). LPCs may also want to consider using this at lobbying events or if they intend to contact local charities/organisations about the Flu Vaccination Service (further support for this activity can be found at: psnc.org.uk/ lpcflutoolkit).

The data also provided information on how people heard about the community pharmacy Flu Vaccination Service, with over three-quarters (77%) of patients* having heard about the service from the pharmacy team or a promotional poster within the pharmacy.

Of patients who were vaccinated in community pharmacies in 2016/2017*: 98% were very satisfied with the service

99% would be willing to have a flu jab at a pharmacy again

99% would reccomend the service to friends and family

15% said they not otherwise have had a flu jab

10% did not have a flu jab in the previous year

64% previously had a flu jab in other settings and swapped to pharmacy

Alastair Buxton, Director of NHS Services at PSNC said: “The results of the patient questionnaire are very encouraging, but of course this comes as no surprise given that pharmacies allow patients to have their flu vaccination without needing to make an appointment and at a time and place that is convenient to them.

*The patient questionnaire is optional for patients to complete, and not all respondents answered all questions.

The minimum number of responses to a question included in the percentages provided above and on the infographic, was 99,931 and the maximum number of responses to a question was 110,981.

The facts that 15% of survey respondents said they might not otherwise have had a flu vaccination and that 10% did not have one in the previous year confirm that community pharmacy is reaching patients who may otherwise have gone unvaccinated.”

Contractors are reminded that the service specification requires pharmacies to ask all patients who have an NHS flu vaccination to complete the patient questionnaire.

Visit psnc.org.uk/fluquestionnaire for more information.

Community pharmacies give over half a million jabs Community pharmacy teams have made a fantastic start to the provision of the Flu Vaccination Service by administering over 500,000 flu vaccinations in under five weeks.

Data from PharmOutcomes and Sonar Informatics has confirmed that pharmacy teams have hit the 500,000 mark, although the total number of vaccinations administered will be even higher as some pharmacy teams are not using the electronic systems to record administration of flu vaccines.

The latest statistics can be viewed using the shortlink: psnc.org.uk/flustats PSNC Director of NHS Services Alastair Buxton said: “The number of patients accessing the service through pharmacies shows how much they value the convenience of pharmacies, and every vaccination is another contribution towards NHS targets. Based on the experience of health services in Australia and New Zealand, this winter is likely to see very high levels of flu; maximising the number of at-risk patients who are vaccinated is one way that community pharmacy can play its part in helping the wider NHS prepare for winter.”

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Providing the Flu Vaccination Service in care homes Under the national Flu Vaccination Service, community pharmacy contractors are permitted to provide flu vaccinations in care homes and other long-stay care facilities; however, contractors must obtain permission from their local NHS England team before they provide the service in these locations.

Contractors must follow the protocols set out in Annex C of the service specification for the Flu Vaccination Service, which requires contractors to email the request to provide NHS flu vaccination to care home/long stay residential home patients form to their local NHS England team.

NHS England should provide the contractor with a response within five working days.

More information is available from: ow.ly/zUa330fuCMP

PSNC’s WORK

FUNDING AND STATISTICS

CONTRACT AND IT

DISPENSING AND SUPPLY

NHS England seeks photos for pharmacy campaign Would you like to be the face of pharmacy? Volunteers wanted to appear in national pharmacy advertising campaign taking place in 2018.

NHS England is looking for community pharmacy team members to feature in a new national advertising campaign.

NHS England would like to pharmacists or pharmacy technicians who work in community pharmacies to volunteer to feature on the ‘Stay Well Pharmacy’ campaign materials.

Some photos were taken at this year’s Pharmacy Show, but if the photographers missed you or you didn’t attend the show you can still put yourself forward by emailing a photo.

Following this initial scouting phase, NHS England will narrow down the list and contact successful candidates to take part in a professional photoshoot. NHS England would also like for these ‘faces of pharmacy’ to be available for media interviews once the campaign has launched.

So, if you’d like to be considered for this campaign, please send

Working together to find and treat Atrial Fibrillation Care City, which is one of seven national Health and social care test beds funded by NHS England, is working with community pharmacies in North East London to trial detection of Atrial Fibrillation (AF) using a handheld mobile device which can spot AF in 30 seconds.

a headshot (a photo taken on a mobile phone is absolutely fine) and the following details to campaign@psnc.org.uk • Your name; • Pharmacy address; • Contact telephone number; and • Job title/role.

NHS England will get in touch directly if you are chosen to take part in the professional photoshoot for the campaign.

About the campaign The aim of the ‘Stay Well Pharmacy’ campaign, which is expected to run in 2018, will be to increase use of community pharmacy services and reduce the number of unnecessary appointments with GPs. The campaign will focus on the parents or carers of children suffering from short-term, self-limiting minor illnesses that can be effectively managed with advice and support from their local community pharmacy service or through self-care.

Stay Well This Winter campaign Public Health England (PHE) and NHS England’s national campaign, Stay Well This Winter, began on 9th October 2017.

The campaign encourages at-risk groups to get the free NHS flu vaccination, and to take simple, easy-to-achieve actions to avoid admission to hospital during the winter period.

Patients who are identified as having an abnormal result receive a rapid referral to an AF clinic at a local hospital where they undergo minimally invasive diagnostic tests and meet an arrhythmia nurse to discuss the result, and if appropriate, receive treatment. The whole process takes 2-3 weeks, compared to a national average of 12 weeks at present.

PHE are once again this year supporting pharmacies to promote the key campaign messages by distributing materials. All small-chain and independent pharmacies should by now have received a kit of promotional materials (including posters, shelf wobblers and leaflets) via the Healthcare Distribution Association. PHE is in contact with all pharmacy multiple head offices to coordinate their instore and online support.

The pilot – a collaboration between Care City, North East London LPC, Barts Health NHS Trust, Waltham Forest Clinical Commissioning Group and Sonar Informatics – offers a cost-effective way to prevent 1,600 strokes per year across England. Since its launch, nearly 700 patients have been screened, with 7% identified as having AF.

Further information, plus advice for Health Living Pharmacies on holding health awareness events, can be found at: ow.ly/ ztZY30foLKR

Health and care system ‘at full stretch’, warns CQC report The Care Quality Commission (CQC) has warned that the future quality of health and social care is ‘precarious’, with all parts of the system now ‘at full stretch’. The State of Care report also highlighted the potential for greater use of community pharmacy.

Find out more about the report at: ow.ly/ZJWV30fVWIl

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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.

Health Secretary initiative to tackle medication errors

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt is to launch an initiative to reduce prescribing and medication errors across the NHS. The work was confirmed by Pharmacy Minister Steve Brine MP in his speech to the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Annual Conference last month, and also in media reports of comments from Jeremy Hunt.

Mr Brine said that studies currently indicate that up to 8% of prescript ions have a mistake in dosage level, course length or medication type – a risk which the World Health Organization identifies as “a leading cause of injury and avoidable harm in health care systems across the world”.

“Patient education and safe management of information will be at the heart of our efforts to tackle this serious issue. For example, we will need to improve how we use electronic prescribing, as well as how we transfer information about medicines between care settings, where there is significant scope for errors,” Mr Brine said.

Community Pharmacy Oral Anticoagulant Safety Audit

A new audit on oral anticoagulants has been created by the NHS Specialist Pharmacy Service and added to PharmOutcomes to help community pharmacy contractors comply with the clinical audit requirement of the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF).

The audit is available on PharmOut comes and may be of particular use to any pharmacy team who has not yet undertaken a clinical audit during 2017/18.

More information can be found at: psnc .org. uk/a udit Contractors may also wish to cons ider completing this audit to include as part of their written patient safety repo rt to meet the quality criterion of the Quality Payments Scheme.

10 Community Pharmacy News – October 2017

Epilepsy drug warnings are not reaching women

A survey has found that 68% of women taking sodium valproate have not received safety warnings about the dangers of taking it during pregnancy.

The survey, commissioned by Epilepsy Society, Epilepsy Action and Young Epilepsy, gathered responses from 2,000 women and girls with epilepsy under the age of 50. The survey asked whether they knew about the risks of taking sodium valproate during pregnancy and whether any healthcare professional ever started a discussion with them about taking valproate during pregnancy.

Community pharmacy teams are reminded that earlier this year, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) published a valproate toolkit and a guidance document on using the toolkit for those

prescribing and dispensing valproate which includes specific action points for pharmacists. Learn more at: ow.ly/GLQh3 0fDFaw

DISPENSING AND SUPPLY

SERVICES AND COMMISSIONING

THE HEALTHCARE LANDSCAPE

Drug Tariff Watch The Preface lists additions, deletions and alterations to the Drug Tariff. Below is a quick summary of the changes due to take place from 1st November 2017.

Part VIIIA additions Category A: • Cyproterone 50mg tablets (56) • Formaldehyde (Buffered) 4% solution (1000ml) • Galantamine 20mg/5ml oral solution sugar free SC (100ml) • Midazolam 50mg/10ml solution for injection ampoules (10) • Octreotide 500micrograms/1ml solution for injection prefilled syringes (5) Category C: • Arnica montana gel SC (100ml) – Atrogel Arnica • Arnica montana gel SC (50ml) – Atrogel Arnica • Calcium carbonate 500mg chewable tablets (48) – Rennie Orange • Capsicum tincture (500ml) – JM Loveridge Ltd • Escitalopram 20mg/ml oral drops sugar free SC (15ml) – Cipralex • Ethinylestradiol 2.7mg / Etonogestrel 11.7mg vaginal delivery system (3) – NuvaRing • Ethinylestradiol 20microgram / Desogestrel 150microgram tablets (63) – Gedarel • Ethinylestradiol 30microgram / Desogestrel 150microgram tablets (63) – Gedarel • Ferrous sulfate 125mg/ml oral drops sugar free SC (15ml) – Ironorm • *Gemfibrozil 600mg tablets (30) – Tilomed Laboratories Ltd • Magnesium glycerophosphate (magnesium 97.2mg (4mmol))

LPCs

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

chewable tablets sugar free (50) – Neomag • Methotrexate 10mg/0.4ml solution for injection pre-filled syringes SC (1) – Zlatal • Octreotide 100micrograms/1ml solution for injection vials (5) – Pfizer Ltd • Pyridostigmine bromide 180mg modified-release tablets (100) – Mestinon Retard • Salicyclic acid 16.7% / Lactic acid 15% paint SC (15ml) – Duofilm • Venlafaxine 37.5 modified release capsules (28) – Venlablue XL Part VIIIA amendments • Cyanocobalamin 50microgram tablets (50) – Cytacon is changing to Category A • Fluoxetine 30mg capsules (30) is changing to Category C – Medreich Plc • Gemfibrozil 600mg tablets (56) is changing to Category C – Lopid 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 as long as the product does not appear in Part XVIIIA (the ‘Blacklist’). However, it will need to be endorsed fully (i.e. brand or supplier name and pack size dispensed).

• Cyproterone 50mg tablets (168) Category C – Cyprostat

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.

Product

Size, type and product code

Bard Reliacath Plastic, Paediatric (Bard Ltd)

8 Ch (D5032)

Paraffin Gauze Dressing BP Sterile (Normal Loading - 175-220g/ m2) – Paragauze

10cm x 10cm

Hydrocolloid Dressing, Semi-permeable, Sterile, Without Adhesive Border – Comfeel Plus (formerly Comfeel Plus Ulcer Dressing (Bevelled Edge))

Triangular – 18cm x 20cm

Hydrogel Dressing, Sterile – Hyiodine

22g and 50g

Wound Management Dressings – Mextra Superabsorbent

Square – 10cm x 10cm Rectangular – 10cm x 15cm, 10cm x 20cm, 15cm x 20cm, 20cm x 25cm, 20cm x 30cm

Urisac Range: Leg Bags with push/pull outlet and foam velcro straps (Bard Ltd)

750ml, long tube (pack of 10) (7664) 750ml, short tube (pack of 10) (7665)

OstoMart OstoFix Flange Security Tape (Respond Healthcare Ltd)

2.5cm x 10cm (pack of 100) (DGW1) 5cm x 10cm (pack of 100) (DGW2)

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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 063/17: Flu Vaccination: Responsive Lines for LPCs PSNC has heard from a few LPCs who are experiencing negativity from local doctors or Local Medical Committees (LMCs) about the recommissioning of the community pharmacy Flu Vaccination Advanced Service. This document provides suggested information for LPCs to use to address common queries and concerns.

Download from: ow.ly/GY5L30fEOjO PSNC Briefing 064/17: Flu Vaccination: The benefits of a community pharmacy service This briefing sets out the evidence we have for community pharmacy flu vaccination services, showing that they can effectively augment the vaccination service provided by GP practices.

Download from: ow.ly/nlnv30fEOum

PSNC Briefing 065/17: Quality payments – Process for DSP contractors to meet the NHS Choices gateway criterion for the November 2017 review point This PSNC Briefing provides an overview of how distance selling pharmacy (DSP) contractors can achieve the NHS Choices gateway criterion at the November 2017 review point of the Quality Payments Scheme.

Download from: ow.ly/k6qi30fEOGp PSNC Briefing 066/17: Services Factsheet – Eligible Groups for the Flu Vaccination Service 2017/18 This Briefing outlines the eligible groups for the NHS Seasonal Influenza Vaccination Advanced Service 2017/18.

This could be displayed and used as a ‘quick reference’ to assist with determining if a patient is eligible for a vaccination.

Download from: psnc.org.uk/eligibleforflu See all our PSNC Briefings in our database at: psnc.org.uk/briefings

Other resources Quality Payments video Rosie Taylor, Head of Service Development at PSNC, has recorded a presentation which provides information on the changes that have been made for the November review point compared to the April review point as well as the key learning points to be aware of ahead of the November review point. The video is approximately 30 minutes long.

Watch now: psnc.org.uk/qualitywebinar Flu Vaccination – Promoting the service to patients This page of the PSNC website contains links to resources, created by PSNC and others, which can be used to promote the Flu Vaccination Advanced Service to patients. Amongst the PSNC resources are posters, flyers and tweet templates.

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

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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