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Pharmacy owners can make their claims for February Pharmacy First consultations until 5pm on Friday 15 March 2024, the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) announced on Monday. The deadline for Pharmacy First submission was extended following a technical issue in the NHSBSA Manage Your Service (MYS) portal, which led to the claims appearing incorrectly in the portal. The NHSBSA has been working with suppliers and NHS England to investigate and address the problem. While the problem has been resolved, the NHSBSA has advised pharmacy owners to check their submissions carefully before submitting. If any issues persist, they are advised to contact their Pharmacy First IT system supplier helpdesk to escalate the matter and not to confirm their claims in MYS until the issue has been resolved. Pharmacy owners are informed that the extended deadline is for February only and it includes any consultations completed on 31 January 2024.

Improvement activities (IA) - MIPS 2020 submission is incomplete without it - is easy to submit with the right MIPS consulting firm. Find out more about it.

Improvement activities (IA) - MIPS 2020 submission is incomplete without it - is easy to submit with the right MIPS consulting firm. Find out more about it.

P3Care announces the efficacious completion of 2017 performance year data submissions as a CMS-approved MIPS Qualified Registry.CMS's recognition made P3 Healthcare Solutions eligible for collecting and submitting MIPS data to the CMS. There are numbers of methods for reporting MIPS, but the Qualified Registry method is more convenient for healthcare professionals. By involving a Qualified Registry (QR), you are not submitting the data on your own.

With MIPS 2020 just around the corner, eligible clinicians are ready to submit quality data to CMS in order to improve their financial situation. We all are rooting for quality healthcare services, and technology incorporation is an efficient way to achieve this goal. For the same reason, MIPS eligible clinicians from all specialties are adopting

Considering the shortage of Fluoxetine 10mg tablets, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has extended the serious shortage protocol (SSP) for the medicine to February 11, 2022. Earlier the SSP for Fluoxetine 10mg tablets was set to expire on November 12. Extension of the transition period will enable use of No Cheaper Stock Obtainable (NCSO) endorsement and use of EPS tokens to claim for supplies made in accordance with SSPs. The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) has accepted that either the new 'SSP' or existing 'NCSO' endorsement for any SSP claims can be submitted using electronic prescriptions (EPS) tokens of FP10 paper prescriptions, during the period.

The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee has announced that the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has granted the following price concessions for November 2021. Contractors can find information on the price concessions and learn about the process involved on PSNC's website. A price concession only applies for the month in which it is granted. No additional prescription endorsement are required as the new price is automatically applied by the NHSBSA to all items submitted for payment in the same month for which a price concession is granted. PSNC is still working with the DHSC to agree further concessionary prices on other drugs reported to be unavailable at the stated November 2021 Drug Tariff price.

More than 10,000 pharmacy contractors those have declared their March FP34C submission figures through the Manage Your Service (MYS) portal by 5 April will receive earlier advance payments on Monday 11 April, the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) announced. Around 10,700 pharmacy contractors have made their submissions through MYS portal. They will receive their advance payments some 20 days earlier than the normal payment timetable. However, due to late submission (after April 5), over 500 contractors will not receive any earlier advance payments in April. These contractors will receive their advance payments on 1 May, in accordance with the normal payment timetable. From this month, MYS is the only route available to contractors for all monthly FP34C submissions. The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) reminded contractors that from this month (for prescriptions dispensed in March), the NHSBSA may apply an administrative deduction of £25 if a prescription bundle is submitted late.

Nearly 9,000 pharmacy contractors benefitted from earlier advance payment in January, Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) said in an update. Contractors who declared their December FP34C submission figures (for the dispensed prescriptions) through the Manage Your Service (MYS) portal by January 6, would have received earlier advance payments on January 12. Meanwhile, all contractors who made submissions after January 6 or used the FP34C paper document, will receive payments as per the normal payment schedule i.e. on February 1, 2022. PSNC encouraged contractors to submit their monthly declaration through the MYS portal by the 5th of the month to avail early payments.

The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee has announced that the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has granted final price concessions to further items for the month of November 2021. A price concession only applies for the month in which it is granted. No additional prescription endorsement are required as the new price is automatically applied by the NHS BSA to all items submitted for payment in the same month for which a price concession is granted. Contractors can find information and learn about the process involved on PSNC's website. Check pharmacy business website for price concession list november 2021.

The Department of Health and Social Care have retrospectively granted a concessionary price for Isocarboxazid 10mg tablets for the months of May and June 2021. While the reimbursement price had previously been £217.75, a concessionary price of £249.10 has now been granted. The NHS Business Services Authority confirmed that payment for the difference - £31.35 for every pack of 56 claimed - will be adjusted accordingly for the mentionedtime period where contractors have submitted claims in those months. This adjustment will be paid on 31 December 2021 in the next Schedule of Payments.

To help the pharmacists understand the Serious Shortage Protocols (SSPs) for three Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) products that was recently announced by the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)'s, the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee has shared top tips on the correct SSP endorsement and submission requirements. Top Tips by PSNC for pharmacists on HRT SSPs: Always double check that endorsements reflect the requirements outlined in the supporting guidance published for each SSP on the dedicated page of the NHSBSA's website. When endorsing using EPS, contractors are reminded to select the SSP endorsement and input the correct three-digit reference number leaving a space in between 'SSP' and the three-digit reference number for example, SSP 019. Remember to insert the leading zero in the three digit reference number. Each of the affected HRT medicines has its own SSP reference number. Check that the correct SSP number is endorsed for e.g. for Oestrogel® Pump-Pack 0.06% gel the SSP endorsement should be 'SSP 019'. Please note the 'NCSO' endorsement is no longer accepted for SSPs. Endorse the SSP product dispensed including the quantity. Ensure your endorsements are accurate and clear - NHSBSA processing staff must be able to determine what has been supplied. Contractors should note that SSP claims submitted using EPS tokens are no longer permitted.

Pharmacy owners can proceed with vaccinating patients who have already scheduled their flu vaccination appointments for September, NHS England has said. However, as announced earlier, the official rollout of the vaccination service will commence from October. Pharmacies will receive compensation for conducting appointments in the upcoming month, NHSE stated in a letter addressed to systems, community pharmacies, and general practices. "Payment for vaccinations will ordinarily only be made following the service commencement date. However, we understand that some firm commitments and appointments have already been made, so where this is the case and the patient wishes to receive flu vaccination in September, NHS England will permit payment claims to be submitted," NHSE said. Care home residents and staff will be eligible for the vaccine starting Oct. 2, while all other patients will commence receiving their vaccinations on Oct 7. This news is a significant relief for pharmacy owners, as they won't have to reschedule appointments due to NHSE's one-month service delay.

The price concession for Atorvastatin 80mg has been increased to £3.91 from the previously set £3.45 for prescriptions dispensed in July, the Community Pharmacy England has said. The Department of Health and Social Care additionally introduced a concession price of £3.38 for Atorvastatin 20mg. "In July, our Dispensing and Supply Team experienced an unusually high influx of reports from pharmacies struggling to acquire Atorvastatin 80mg tablets at the listed Drug Tariff price," said CPE. CPE requested a price concession early in the month. However, after extended discussions, an agreement on the price wasn't reached. Consequently, on July 31st, the DHSC imposed a concession of £3.45. Addressing enduring pharmacy concerns over the pricing, CPE intensified advocacy with DHSC. This endeavour resulted in the revision of the Atorvastatin 80mg tablet concession price to £3.91 for prescriptions submitted and dispensed in July. According to CPE, this adjusted price sufficiently covers costs as reported by the majority of pharmacy owners. However, DHSC has refrained from modifying concessionary prices for the other two requested lines by CPE. DHSC communicated that their team's data collection for July, employing real-time sales and volume data, was incongruent with the adjustment of these prices, CPE further said.

The VAT penalties regime has had substantial changes with effect from 01 January 2023 and it is important for community pharmacy business owners to take note as this is a crucial cash inflow for most. Below we explore the changes that will impact all VAT registered community pharmacy businesses. Old regime Prior to 01 January 2023, VAT registered businesses that failed to file their VAT returns or pay any VAT liabilities would be subject to the default surcharge regime. There would be no surcharge for NIL or repayment VAT returns which would apply to most community pharmacy businesses. New regime For VAT periods starting on or after 01 January 2023, the default surcharge will be replaced by a new VAT penalties and interest regime if you submit your VAT returns late or pay your VAT liability late. If you pay your VAT monthly or quarterly, the deadline for filing your VAT return and paying any VAT liabilities is one calendar month and 7 days after the end of the respective period. For example, if you are filing the VAT return for the month or quarter ended 30 June 2022, the deadline for filing will be 07 August 2022. The liability must also be paid and cleared by that date.

Chair of the Health and Social Care Committee Steve Brine MP has called on community pharmacy contractors to join a newly launched a parliamentary 'call for evidence' which will look into 'prevention' as a key to the future of the NHS. A former pharmacy minister and keen supporter of the sector, Mr Brine has called on all community pharmacists to "make their contribution count" by taking part in a major inquiry which will remain open for submission until Wednesday 8 February 2023 and will also involve general practitioners, nurses and other health professionals. Community pharmacists can submit their proposals written under 750 words, outlining what they think are the issues around prevention the parliamentary body should explore, why these issues deserve the Commons Select Committee's attention, and how government policy could be developed or improved to address them. The submissions will then be used to help the committee decide where it should focus its attention in the later stages of the inquiry on prevention, which is a vital part of the NHS Long Term Plan.

The Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) has submitted a 17-page contribution to the commission on the future of pharmacy professional leadership and encourages pharmacists to engage in the overall discussion. The association wants to ensure that the voice of its members is heard in the discussions about the future of professional leadership, which has been initiated by the four government Chief Pharmaceutical Officers. The PDA has published its first formal contribution to the commission, in its response it raised concern on the current exercise is being rushed and a call for the review to be conducted in a more sensible timeframe, one which enables the engagement of the whole profession. It has urged on being supportive of the creation of a Royal College of Pharmacists to take custodianship of the training and education for pharmacists and to set the requisite standards, whilst still relying upon the profession's regulators to undertake the accreditation role.

Talk of hub and spoke models has been rumbling on for as long as I can remember. The topic has once again hit the headlines as the government announced a fresh consultation for its proposed changes, calling on all interested parties to submit their views by 8th June. The argument for hub and spoke is to allow independents to have the same level playing field as the larger groups who have been operating this model for some time. The government also sees significant efficiency gains in centralisation, arguing this will free pharmacists time away from dispensing to focus on clinical services. The latest consultation advocates two models being created. In the first model, the dispensed medication is sent back to the spoke. In the second model, the completed medication can be sent out directly to the patient. The latter is a new concept which could open up new opportunities in how services are delivered. Pharmacies could effectively outsource the entire dispensing and delivery to housebound patients and care homes allowing pharmacies to take on new business without having to worry about logistics and geography.

Today I'm proud to share with you the statement we submitted to the UK Commission on Pharmacy Professional Leadership in which we set out what professional leadership means to RPS. I recognise we haven't always been clear in communicating our ideas to members and our external stakeholders. Through the Commission, and our own Independent Review of member participation and communications, we are determined to remedy this. We're committed to lead pharmacy in the best interest of patients and the professions. This means that sometimes we will need to take difficult decisions. We will do the right thing for the long term, ultimately driving what's best for patient care. There are some key changes we believe are necessary to fulfil the profession's ambitions. To achieve a more unified approach to pharmacy leadership, we believe both pharmacists and pharmacy technicians should be represented by RPS within professional faculties that capitalise on the strengths of each discipline whilst retaining distinct professional voices. Many of our members work with pharmacy technicians every day and know just how essential they are to their role and to patient care. We feel the same at RPS and it makes perfect sense to evolve into an organisation where both professions can advance their scope of practice, working in alignment as part of the wider multi-professional team. We will develop and implement post-registration curricula and credentialing for all pharmacists and pharmacy technicians working with patients and the public. To do this we will require formal delegation of authority by the GPhC.

Sun Pharma has announced that it will acquire all outstanding shares of Concert Pharmaceuticals through a tender offer for an upfront payment of $8.00 per share of common stock in cash, or $576 million in equity value. The upfront payment of $8.00 per share of common stock in cash represents a premium of approximately 33% to Concert's 30-day volume weighted average price as of January 18, 2023, the last trading day prior to today's announcement. Concert is a late-stage biotechnology company pioneering the use of deuterium in medicinal chemistry. Concert has an extensive patent portfolio, including its lead product candidate deuruxolitinib - an oral inhibitor of Janus kinases JAK1 and JAK2 for the treatment of Alopecia Areata, an autoimmune dermatological disease - which is in late-stage development. It has completed the evaluation of the efficacy and safety of deuruxolitinib in adult patients with moderate to severe Alopecia Areata in its THRIVE-AA Phase 3 clinical program and two open label, long-term extension studies are ongoing in North America and Europe. Sun Pharma's immediate focus would be to follow Concert's plan to submit a New Drug Application (NDA) to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the first half of 2023.

The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has refused to accept the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC)'s decision to get rid of 'transitional payments' from February 2023. The pharmacy negotiator said that 'any reductions in payments at this point will be impossible for community pharmacy contractors to manage financially.' "We are also continuing to be clear with officials and ministers that CPCF funding needs an urgent uplift to help businesses to cope with soaring costs being driven by inflation and the workforce crisis. We put a comprehensive business case to the government for this uplift in the last CPCF negotiations." The latest 'transitional payments decision' by the Department follows the announcement last year that the value of the these payments would be phased down over the second half of 2022/23 and will be based on the latest monitoring and analysis of funding delivery. PSNC says it submitted a fully-costed bid for a 'Pharmacy First' service in its last round of negotiations alongside the case for an uplift to core CPCF funding. Both of these were refused.