The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee is to try to resist changes to the Category D Drug Tariff classification of medicines that are in short supply.
At a press briefing on October 4 following the committee's September meeting, Mr Wally Dove (chairman, PSNC) said that the Department of Health had proposed draconian changes to the system.
In the Drug Tariff, Category D is the classification given to medicines for which there is less than four weeks' supply available in the distribution chain. Pharmacy contractors are reimbursed their actual acquisition costs for these medicines, rather than a weighted average cost based on the list prices of five leading suppliers.
Mr Dove said that the Department wanted to reduce the definition of "shortage" from four weeks' supply to one week's supply, and to pay only the basket price if medicines were bought from one of the suppliers that make up the basket, regardless of the actual price paid. (The five suppliers' prices used to calculate the basket price are APS, Cox, Norton, AAH and Unichem.)
"They are looking at trying to drop items out of Category D in order to take pressure off the Prescription Pricing Authority and save money," Mr Dove said.
"We are hoping that the Department will take a reasonable attitude towards this," Mr Dove went on. "There is no way we are going to move to one week's supply." Mr Stephen Axon (general secretary, PSNC) added that the committee believed that the current system was best and that it should be retained.
Other matters considered at the September meeting are reported below.
Pharmacist prescribing Mrs Wendy Harris, MRPharmS, had been recruited by the NHS Executive to develop pharmacist prescribing. Prescribing was expected to be introduced in waves, not pilots, in a similar way to the introduction of the NHS Direct telephone service. The first wave was expected early next year. "This is a major opportunity for contractors," Mr Dove said.
Y2K The Government had missed an opportunity to ensure that there were no supply problems at the end of the year and, at the same time, to test generic substitution in an emergency situation and the provision of emergency supplies as an NHS service, Mr Dove said. Reliance had been placed on the ability of the pharmaceutical industry to have stocks in the right place at the right time. "The Y2K pharmacy alliance has been a window-dressing exercise," Mr Dove said. "We do not think that sufficient priority has been given to telling general medical practitioners not to increase prescribed amounts. I do not want to see pharmacists at the front of the queue for blame because the Government would not listen to our advice."
London weighting A London weighting allowance would be sought for London contractors. This should be met by additional funding to the global sum from which all contractors were paid. The idea had been suggested by Merton, Sutton and Wandsworth local pharmaceutical committee.
Medicines management A project manager (Mr John Dixon) had been appointed to prepare and manage the PSNC's medicines management pilot projects.
PCTs An assurance had been received from the NHS Executive that LPCs would be consulted over the setting up of primary care trusts.
Retention fee The committee opposed a proposed 3 per cent increase in the pharmacy premises retention fee.