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Latest News
The content below contains the latest news affecting community pharmacy owners and their teams throughout Scotland. If you can’t find something or you have a question please get in touch with us at webteam@cps.scot
Advanced Payments
Advance payments are made to support contractor cashflow while actual payment for the prescriptions submitted is calculated.
Margin Sharing Arrangements
As touched on in the introduction to pharmacy funding, part of a pharmacy’s income is dependent on the money made on part 7 drug tariff medicines they source and provide on prescription – this profit is often referred to as the margin
Dispensing Pool Arrangements
Advance payments are made to support contractor cashflow while actual payment for the prescriptions submitted is calculated.
Establishment Payment
Over the years as the pharmacy contract has changed, different service payments have been joined together into what we now call the Establishment Payment.
Pharmaceutical Needs Payment
The Pharmaceutical Needs Weighting Payment (PNWP) makes the payment for the additional pharmaceutical needs (and associated workload) from age and deprivation characteristics of the people using the pharmacy.
Care Home Element
From April 1st, 2023, until September 30th 2023, there is a separate dispensing pool for the dispensing of prescriptions for patients living in care homes.
Service Efficiency Payment
The Service Efficiency Payment is for achieving a target level of electronic claiming for prescriptions submitted for pricing by Practitioner Services.
Quality and Service Development
Quality and Service Development supports the operation of a service for coeliac patients and the development of a safety culture
Medicines Care and Review Service (MCR)
The payments for MCR are made using one of the more complex models in our financial package and is based on the number of people registered for the service (capitation model) at the end of a given month.
NHS Pharmacy First Scotland Service
The NHS Pharmacy First Scotland service has an annualised pool of £30.800m. The service will remunerate contractors for making the service available to their communities (Base element) and for the episodes of care provided in line with service (Activity element).
NHS Pharmacy First Plus
Circular PCA(P)(2020)16 set out the intention to introduce a combined National Foundation Programme and Independent Prescriber (IP) Career Pathway for community pharmacists.
Independent Prescribing
Scottish Government has agreed to an annualised pool of £1m to support the training of employee Pharmacist Independent Prescribers in community pharmacies. Further details will be provided under a separate circular on arrangements.
Post Registration National Foundation for Newly Qualified Pharmacists
To support the Post Registration National Foundation Programme for Newly Qualified Pharmacists, a monthly fee of £1,000 will be made available to the contractor named on the pharmaceutical list on the 1st of each month where the newly qualified pharmacist has joined the PRFP scheme.
Public Health Service
The Scottish Government campaign activity for 2023-24 is currently being finalised and a more detailed list for the year will be issued in due course.
Unscheduled Care
The annualised pool of £3.58 million to recognise the work undertaken in the treatment of unscheduled care.
Reimbursement
The Drug Tariff arrangements are different in Scotland from elsewhere in the UK.
Payments to Essential Small Pharmacies
The total Establishment Payment plus Dispensing Pool Payment plus Pharmaceutical Needs Weighting Payment made to an Essential Small Pharmacy (ESP) each month, are subject to a guarantee minimum target income of £4,412 for full-time contractors.
Payments to New Contractors
New contractors will be eligible to receive on a monthly basis: