Service Efficiency Payment
Published: 03/09/23
The Service Efficiency Payment is for achieving a target level of electronic claiming for prescriptions submitted for pricing by Practitioner Services.
Existing contractors have a target payment amount and any new contractors added to the Pharmaceutical List from 1st April 2023 will have a target payment of £150 per month.
From 1st April 2023, to receive the payment, contractors must achieve the continuing claim rate of at least 80% for all possible claims, including care home items, instalments and stoma items.
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
Advance payments are made to support contractor cashflow while actual payment for the prescriptions submitted is calculated.
Over the years as the pharmacy contract has changed, different service payments have been joined together into what we now call the Establishment 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.
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.
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 supports the operation of a service for coeliac patients and the development of a safety culture
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
The annualised pool of £3.58 million to recognise the work undertaken in the treatment of unscheduled care.
As part of the financial arrangements, from April 2023 contractors will be paid £180 per month as a contribution towards training costs for pharmacy teams.
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.
On or above this 80% threshold, the contractor will receive a full payment of their own target SE payment. Below the threshold, contractors will not be eligible for any payment, except in the following circumstances:
A contractor who wouldn’t otherwise receive a payment for a particular month may request the Health Board to consider failure to achieve the 80% threshold as exceptional and out with the contractor’s control and authorise a special payment. If an application is made, and the Health Board considers that failure to achieve the 80% threshold is out with the contractor’s control, a full or partial payment may be authorised at the discretion of the Health Board.
Where there are issues locally, for example where a surgery has had network connection issues, contractors should call the ePharmacy helpdesk to make them aware. This can then be considered along with the SE% achieved.
Advance payments are made to support contractor cashflow while actual payment for the prescriptions submitted is calculated.