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.
From April 2022, contractors will have to make all monthly FP34C submissions only through the Manage Your Service (MYS) portal, the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) said in an update.
This will be for prescriptions dispensed from March 2022.
The last paper FP34C submission document will be posted out to contractors this month.
Contractors who have not yet registered for MYS, can do so by completing the form on the NHSBSA's website.
While encouraging contractors to switch to the MYS, the negotiator stated that nearly 1,500 pharmacy contractors still depend on the paper FP34C submission document.
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 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.
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.
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."
NHS England has urged the pharmacy owners to continue to voluntarily submit New Medicine Service (NMS) quarterly summary data to the NHS Business Services
Authority (NHSBSA) for Quarter 4 (Q4) 2022/23 (January to March 2023).
Community Pharmacy England have agreed with NHS England that the quarterly returns will continue to be on a voluntary basis, with Q4 (January to March 2023) as the
second quarter to be reported.
It has thanked all the members that submitted NMS quarterly summary data for Quarter 3.
The mandatory requirement to submit this data has been suspended since 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"NHS England wants to continue collection of the quarterly returns to provide baseline data to support a long-term evaluation that will be conducted as part of
ongoing work to expand the scope of NMS," said Community Pharmacy England.
Voluntary submissions can be made via the NHSBSA website, where an updated reporting spreadsheet is also available for head offices to use who are able to submit
data on behalf of multiple pharmacies.
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 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."