The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 268 No 7188 p311-320
9 March 2002

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PPA should return switched prescriptions, say LPCs

Prescription forms that the Prescription Pricing Authority wants to switch from exempt to charge paid designation should be returned to pharmacies for clarification, the local pharmaceutical committees' conference decided.

Proposing a motion that the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee should insist that the PPA be required to send contractors copies of prescriptions being switched, YOGESH THAKAR (West Surrey) said that in other circumstances, such as the prescriber failing to sign the form, prescriptions were returned. He said that contractors could ask the local health authority to allow them to see switched prescriptions, but an appointment had to be made to do this and a fee of £24 was charged.

"This process is time consuming and costly and in practice is frequently not a viable option for small numbers of switches," Mr Thakar said.

Dr GORDON GEDDES, PSNC head of information and technical services, said that the solution to prescription switching lay in the hands of contractors and the standard operating procedures used in pharmacies. The PSNC had not achieved as much as it might have liked on this matter, but it had got the PPA to release statistics and it had secured a concession that where the age of the patient was on the prescription this would allow exemption to be approved.

GRAHAM PHILLIPS (Hertfordshire) responded: "Whose side is the PSNC on? You are saying that this is our problem, not yours."

The motion, amended to say that the original prescription should be returned, not a copy, was carried.

Accounting cost compensation SUE OTTER (East Sussex) successfully proposed that all contractors should be paid a flat rate fee for any additional accounting costs incurred as a result prescription pricing delays. She blamed inadequate resourcing of the PPA for such delays.

Seconding, DAVID SKINNER (East Sussex) said that the motion was "a little about money and a lot about principle". Such additional costs were easy to identify and the Government should be reminded that pharmacy should not be forced to support the inadequacies of the NHS.

Other motions Motions calling for all new pharmacies to able and prepared to offer potential 24-hour availability (Gateshead and South Tyneside) and for attendees at PSNC organised courses and conferences to have their expenses paid through PSNC (North Cumbria) were defeated. A motion calling for the suspension of the 2003 PSNC dinner, so that the money could be used to fund a public awareness campaign, (Manchester) was withdrawn before a vote was taken.