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From July 2022, Manage Your Services (MYS) portal will be the only route available for pharmacy contactors to submit all new prescription returns/referred back items and disallowed items, reminded the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC). Contractors will be able to view and submit the required information for all these items only through the MYS portal. The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) will send out a notification email from July (for the dispensing month of June) to the pharmacy NHSmail account if any new referred back or disallowed items have been generated for the contractor to complete on their MYS account. "Contractors can view any referred back items for completion by checking the 'Unpaid items' tab on MYS landing page," PSNC. "It is important to note that prescription returns/referred back items via MYS are only held in the system for a period of 18 months from the date they are first sent to the pharmacy for action; if contractors have not completed and returned any outstanding referred backs before this deadline has passed, the referred back items will be deleted from system."

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.

Community pharmacies in England will continue to receive the free protective equipment (PPE) as the Government's scheme has been extended for another year until March 2024. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has announced that it will continue to supply all categories of PPE, free of charge, for frontline health and social care staff according to demand until the end of March 2024, or when stocks run out. Last year, DHSC implemented a new and improved portal platform for eligible providers to access free COVID-19 related PPE supplies. The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Commitee (PSNC) said: "Community pharmacy teams can continue to order PPE from the NHS PPE portal for free for as long as stock is available."

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.

The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) has urged the NHS to take urgent action to prevent faults in the IT system underpinning the government's flagship programme. The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) recently confirmed that the issue in the Manage Your Service (MYS) portal had been resolved, and consequently, the deadline for submission of claims for February Pharmacy First consultations was extended until 15 March 2024. However, NPA members said that they are still facing problems, with the portal recording fewer consultations than entered by pharmacies, potentially leaving them out of pocket by thousands of pounds. Paul Rees, chief executive of the NPA, highlighted the significant achievement of pharmacies in delivering tens of thousands of consultations in the first month of the Pharmacy First programme, stating that this accomplishment is "a testament to their skill and dedication."

More than 6,000 pharmacy contractors who declared their October 2021 FP34C submission figures by November 5, will have received earlier advance payments on November 11. The contractors had submitted their claims through the Manage Your Service (MYS) portal. All contractors who received payments under the system would have got a letter from the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) regarding these payments,PSNC stated. Approximate 3,000 contractors submitted claims after November 5, and will receive payments as per the normal payment timetable on December 1, it said. The negotiator encouraged contractors to benefit from earlier advance payments by submitting their monthly declaration through the MYS portal by the 5th of the month.

Despite being relatively new to the dispensing doctor market as a short-liner, Bestway Medhub is seeing exponential growth in the market in addition to the 3,500 independent pharmacies that we service and deliver to. We have however been servicing the dispensing doctor market for well over 40 years through our dispensing appliance contractor (DAC) Wardles. Wardles service and supply more than 55% of all dispensing sites with dressings, bandages, appliances, ostomy, wound care and hosiery. Graham Burford-Row To meet the needs of dispensing practices and surgeries we carry a large range of more than 10,000 Generics, PI's and OTC products. We offer net pricing so the practice can see straight away what price they are paying for their products - with no hidden fees. We offer all our practices 24-hour online ordering via our Bestway Medhub ordering portal and our recently launched Wardles FP Portal. Additionally, we have the backup of a telesales department with personal service from myself and a dedicated Internal Dispensing Dr Account Manager. We offer daily, weekly or monthly calls to those customers wishing to hear our special offers. Our deliveries are done daily via our third party full-line logistics partner for efficient deliveries, which no other short-line wholesaler offers. Bestway Medhub understands that dispensing practices are not only in the business of offering superior care to their patients and community, but they also offer numerous other services like clinics, nursing and referrals. By enabling practices to cost save, the funds could be used elsewhere instead.

The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has urged pharmacy contractors to use Manage Your Service (MYS) portal only for all monthly FP34C submissions. To secure access to earlier advance payments on 11 April 2022, the committee has advised pharmacy contractors to submit their claims for NHS pharmaceutical services delivered in March 2022 no later than 5 April 2022. PSNC said: "The Manage Your Service (MYS) portal is now the ONLY route available to contractors for all monthly FP34C submissions. From March 2022, contractors will no longer receive the paper FP34C submission document through the post. However, the NHSBSA will continue to post out red separators for contractors to submit relevant forms each month.

Pharmacy owners using NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) Manage Your Service (MYS) portal are urged to complete the 2023/24 Community Pharmacy Assurance Framework (CPAF) screening questionnaire which is available until midnight on Sunday (30 July). The short screening questionnaire consists of 10 questions. Those who are not yet signed up to MYS will be able to complete the questionnaire online. The questions will be published on the NHSBSA website shortly. Once the screening questionnaires have been completed, NHS England will then select a small number of pharmacies for a monitoring visit and/or to complete the full CPAF questionnaire. Community Pharmacy England has published a short Briefing on the screening process. As the questions have not changed since 2022/23 the previous briefing is still relevant.

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The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has reminded community pharmacy contractors to start working on the quality criteria if they intend to meet the Respiratory domain of the Pharmacy Quality Scheme (PQS) 2022/23. For respiratory domain, community pharmacy contractors  must start working towards inhaler waste management; use of a spacer in patients aged 5-15 years; and personalised asthma action plans, from today (10 October). Resources are also available to support contractors with meeting the above criteria on the PQS hub page. PSNC also informed that contractors are also now able to make a claim for an Aspiration payment for the PQS 2022/23 on the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA)  Manage Your Service (MYS) portal. "The Aspiration payment is optional; if contractors do not want to claim it, it will not impact on the contractor's ability to claim a PQS payment during the declaration period. There is also no requirement to have claimed for a previous PQS to claim an Aspiration payment for PQS 2022/23.

Pharmacy contractors will no longer need to print and submit a paper copy of their completed FP34C declaration made through the Manage Your Service (MYS) portal when submitting their paper prescription bundle to the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), said the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC). Instead, from August 2022 (for July 2022 prescriptions), NHSBSA will post out a paper Account Identifier Document along with the red separators and pharmacy address labels each month. "The Account Identifier Document should be placed alongside the paper prescription bundle before it is dispatched for payment to the relevant pricing division of NHSBSA," said PSNC. With the help of Account Identifier Document, NHSBSA will be able to easily identify the pharmacy that has submitted the prescription bundle, which will help to speed up prescription processing. "If the Account Identifier Document is lost or misplaced, contractors will still be able to download and print another copy from MYS. The July 2022 Drug Tariff will be updated to reflect this change."

More than 80 per cent of pharmacy organisations have received the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) functionality for Real Time Exemption Checking (RTEC). The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) has confirmed RTEC has been rolled out gradually, in phases. Contractors first received RTEC for use with processing NHSBSA exemptions. RTEC allows pharmacy teams to digitally check if patients are eligible for free NHS prescriptions because they hold a specific exemption. The rollout of the DWP inclusion in RTEC means patients found to be exempt via RTEC no longer need to complete an exemption declaration on an EPS token, saving time for patients and pharmacy teams. David Broome, a community pharmacy contractor in Leeds and PSNC regional representative said: "The rollout of the DWP for our pharmacy team has been a positive development, helping reduce the amount of paperwork that my team and patients have to deal with and in turn the environmental impact of our operations. Whereas I used to send my paperwork bundle to the NHSBSA in a large box, I now send this in an envelope!" Contractors can access and confirm their acceptance of the RTEC user agreement via the RTEC registration form in the NHSBSA's Manage Your Service (MYS) portal.

Within the last few weeks, at least six pharmacists have been subjected to interim order applications - either suspended or had significant restrictions placed upon their registration pending a full 'Fitness to Practise' hearing into serious allegations being made about their prescribing practices, the Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) has found. It said that there has been a "dramatic increase in action being taken by the pharmacy regulator (GPhC) against pharmacist prescribers associated with certain types of online prescribing services". It has warned pharmacist prescribers who work for online pharmacies about the specific risks associated with remote prescribing using a questionnaire-based model, typically with no direct prescriber/patient interaction. Common features that underpin the allegations include the following: Overreliance on a patient questionnaire to inform clinical decision making; No patient/prescriber interaction; Prescribing high risk medicines without adequate safeguards; Inadequate systems and processes leading to inappropriate prescribing; Very high volumes of prescriptions being authorised in short periods of time; and Prescribers/patient relationship established via an unregulated online portal.

Community pharmacy contractors eligible under the revised Pharmacy Access Scheme (PhAS) will receive their first of the new monthly payments with the January reconciliation payment due on April 1, 2022. Details of the revised version of the PhAS that commenced from January 1, was published in August 2021, with contractors receiving letters from the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) indicating their eligibility in the Autumn, PSNC said in an update. Payments under the scheme are dependent on registration on NHSBSA's Manage Your Service (MYS) portal to provide the Community Pharmacist Consultation Service(CPCS). Meanwhile, the review application window is now open for contractors, which would enable the NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE&I) to correct inaccuracies related to a pharmacy's distance criteria/calculation.

More than 9,300 pharmacy contractors would benefit from earlier advance payment in February, Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) said in an update. Contractors who declared their January 2022 FP34C submission figures through the Manage Your Service (MYS) portal by February 5 will receive earlier advance payments by today (February 10). The statistics indicates nearly 2,000 contractors will not receive any earlier advance payment this month, either because their January declarations were submitted late or they used the paper FP34C submission document to make their declaration, PSNC said. These contractors will receive their advance payments in accordance with the normal payment timetable i.e. on March 1. The negotiator reminded contractors that from April 2022 MYS will be the only process to make monthly submissions.

The new Smoking Cessation Service (SCS) will commence on March 10, 2022, allowing community pharmacy contractors to register to provide the service on the NHS Business Services Authority's (NHSBSA) Manage Your Service (MYS) portal from March 1, 2022. This is the second of the two new Advanced services to be introduced this financial year, after the Hypertension case-finding service, which were agreed outcomes from negotiations for Year 3 of the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework. Since the service is an Advanced service, contractors are free to decide if they wish to provide it, as most would be busy completing work for the Pharmacy Quality Scheme 2021/22 alongside winter-related workload, the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee said. Therefore, those who decide to start this service should consider the likelihood of receiving sufficient referrals to make provision of the service worthwhile, the PSNC said.

Boots customers were left disappointed as the retail giant closed three more branches, two in Kent and one in Glasgow. On Sunday 21 January, Boots' branches in Cliftonville and Biggin Hill were closed, forcing locals to find an alternative pharmacy, Express.co.uk reported. Cliftonville residents have taken to social media to express their disappointment over the closure of their local pharmacy on Northdown Road. Even though there is another Boots branch in Margate, they said that Cliftonville branch is "much more accessible, with parking available right outside, on the bus route and surrounded by a residential area within easy walking distance." One resident has branded the retailer's decision as "crazy", as per the news portal.