That is dated 2006 - and the new pharmacy contract came later.
I agree that the work should be reimbursed: t here are a lot of patients
who benefit from Nomads or dossette boxes.
I don't think anyone considered the impact on GPs.
Mary
In message
<[log in to unmask]>,
Russell Brown <[log in to unmask]> writes
>What Mary said.
>
>However, a potential solution is to say no.
>
>Also
>http://www.bma.org.uk/health_promotion_ethics/drugs_prescribing/InfoOnPrescrib0904.jsp?page=4
> the text of which is copied below
>
>Regards
>
>Russell
>
>----------------------------------------------------------
>Manor Park Medical Centre
>www.manorparksurgery.com
>Tel 01323482301
>East Sussex Local Medical Committee (Chair)
>www.sslmcs.co.uk/
>Tel 01372389271
>----------------------------------------------------------
>
>Have your say about NHS market reforms
>
>Visit www.lookafterournhs.org.uk
>
>Prescription intervals
>
>
>Is there a standard prescription interval?
>Doctors provide prescriptions for intervals that they feel are
>medically appropriate, taking into account such factors as possible
>reactions, a possible need for a change in prescription and
>consequent waste of NHS resources, patient compliance, and any
>necessary monitoring. Sometimes a doctor may give six months
>supply on one prescription. The contraceptive pill is often issued for
>six months at a time, with a yearly review in surgery once the patient
>is safely stabilised. The drugs are relatively cheap for the NHS. Many
>other drugs, such as those treating stabilised conditions such as
>hypertension or raised cholesterol will be issued for two or three
>months. Collecting prescriptions every month can be very
>inconvenient for the patient and can lead to poor compliance, and a
>huge unnecessary workload for the doctor and surgery staff.
>
>Prescribing intervals should be guided by what is clinically
>appropriate for the patient. Doctors are sometimes now being put
>under pressure to prescribe at 7 day intervals simply in order that the
>pharmacist can be reimbursed for 'medidose dispensing' when there
>is no other payment currently available. Pharmacists and dispensing
>doctors may prefer 28-day intervals for reasons of reimbursement
>and financial viability of a dispensary, but many other factors should
>be considered. The Department of Health takes the view that
>prescribing intervals should be in line with the medically appropriate
>needs of the patient, taking into account the need to safeguard NHS
>resources, patient convenience, and the dangers of excess drugs in
>the home. Dispensing doctors should treat patients for whom they
>dispense, and any patients for whom they only prescribe, in the same
>way.
>
>What should we do about 7 day prescribing for dosette box/medidose
>dispensing'
>The request for 7 day repeat prescriptions to defray the pharmacist's
>costs for the filling of medidose systems has become an increasing
>pressure for GPs. Our advice is to resist such demands unless there
>is a clinical reason for restricting supply to 7 days (see above). The
>GPC fully supports the PSNC (Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating
>Committee) in establishing that both pharmacists and dispensing
>doctors issuing medidose boxes are properly reimbursed for the
>services they provide to patients. We have recently been involved in
>discussions with the Department of Health in order to develop a
>means of assessing whether medidose dispensing is indicated for
>any particular patient, and where it is deemed appropriate, remuner
>ating the pharmacist (or dispensing doctor) adequately for providing
>the service. We anticipate that in this particular situation it will be
>reasonable for doctors to agree to issue 28-day prescriptions in
>order to minimise waste. We anticipate that in the coming months this
>difficult problem will be resolved as a part of the new contract
>negotiations for community pharmacists.
>
>
>
>
>
>On 22 April 2010 16:16, Mary Hawking <
>[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> In message <
> [log in to unmask]
> >, Geoff Schrecker <[log in to unmask]> writes
>
>
>
>> Resurrecting an old thread:
>
>> This question has come up again and our PCT have said they
>> can see
>> nothing potentially fraudulent in a pharmacy requesting 4 x one
>> week
>> post dated prescriptions for weekly nomad boxes. Can anyone
>> point me
>> to chapter and verse on this?
>
>
> It was in the new Pharmacy Contract which came in on 1st April
> 2007 (I think).
> The pharmacist makes a visit and decides whether the patient
> needs a dosette box, and if so whether they self-administer at least
> one dose a day to themselves i.e. without carer supervision.
> The cost of this is included within the Pharmacy Contract.
>
> Problems.
> 1. if there are professional carers administering medication, they
> are supposed to be trained to take single tablets out of the original
> box: some care agencies have not caught up with this
> requirement.
> 2. Professional Carers are not allowed to administer medication
> which has been placed in a dossette box by relations: any such
> device has to be packed by pharmacist.
> 3. many pharmacists have not heard of their new contract yet (bit
> like hospital doctors and Med 3s.
>
> The fraud element would arise if the pharmacist was demanding
> weekly scripts to cover the cost of the dossette box or Nomad
> *and* charging the NHS for the service as well.
>
> Mary
>
>
>
>
>> Cheers Geoff
>
>> On 24 December 2007 22:48, Adrian Midgley <
>> [log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
>>> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
>>> Hash: SHA1
>
>>> Geoff Schrecker wrote:
>
>>>>> Geoff Schrecker wrote:
>
>>>>>> Our local pharmacists insist on weekly
>>>>>> prescriptions, I'm not
>>>>>> sure how dispensing fees etc work. I did raise the
>>>>>> issue of
>>>>>> practices using repeat dispensing for this, seems
>>>>>> ideal to me,
>>>>>> but our PCT are a bit resistant and since our clinical
>>>>>> system
>>>>>> doesn't support it anyway I haven't pushed it (yet).
>
>
>
>>> Your local PCT are conspiring in a fraud, involving you in
>>> extra work,
>>> as well, and resisting you using the system specifically
>>> designed for
>>> the purpose to make your common activities less expensive
>>> in time and
>>> effort?
>
>>> I might hesitate to take their advice on things.
>
>
>
>>> -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
>>> Version: GnuPG v1.4.6 (GNU/Linux)
>>> Comment: Using GnuPG with Mozilla -
>>> http://enigmail.mozdev.org
>
>>> iD8DBQFHcClKRtcsVjUuankRAiOHAKC9rMBSpc+YgfplShiTBBOSWGCLSQCdEiGz
>>> J0ePpcIGwNpq/SfaBcVpRis=
>>> =eGvU
>>> -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
--
Mary Hawking
|