Group items tagged

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has published its response to the 2016 hub and spoke consultation which has paved the way for a new discussion following engagement with community pharmacies and other stakeholders this year. The response showed that many respondents supported use of hub and spoke dispensing models in independent pharmacies, but expressed concerns about some practicalities related to it. Respondents raised concerns around "patient data, liability, implications for the supply chain, and risks to the existence of small community pharmacies." They also raised question about the speed of access to medicines in an emergency and security of data transfers between hubs and spokes, DHSC stated.

With the government gearing up and pushing community pharmacies in England to adopt the hub and spoke dispensing model, stakeholders of the sector and industry leaders analyse the pros and cons related to the new concept. The model rose to prominence in 2015 in community pharmacy and the medicine supply chain in the UK, and has undergone a few consultations and reviews at the professional and governmental level since then. From a broader perspective, the industry agrees that the model will bring in efficiency to the system, much needed amid community pharmacy's flat funding settlement in England, at the same time highlighting some real challenges. The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has so far released three reports on this matter and a review of the challenges and enablers of the hub and spoke in the UK in 2016. Besides, a review of international evidence and the report of a roundtable meeting was brought together in the supply chain with government and regulators in early 2020.