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Letters to the Editor
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Prescription pricing
Our trusted paymasters?
From Mr G. Morrow, MRPharmS
Having recently noticed a significant shortfall between the number of
prescription items priced by the Prescription Pricing Authority and the
number I believed I submitted, I attempted to get an explanation. The
PPA was pretty clear about it: “we are right and you are wrong” was
its response. So I initiated a check with the National Prescription Research
Centre.
My February 2004 “bundle” had 53 pricing errors by the PPA:
five incorrect items priced, six incorrect quantities priced, 17 incorrect
strengths priced, one incorrect zero discount, three items missed, seven
fee errors, five incorrect presentations priced and nine incorrect pack
sizes priced. To my amazement the sum of these errors meant that I owed
the PPA an extra £39.67.
However, the answer to my reason for the check was even more unbelievable.
Methadone prescriptions accounted for the majority of the shortfall.
Apparently if a methadone patient picks up more than one day’s
supply at a time, even though my primary care trust has specifically
requested that individual daily doses are dispensed, only one fee can
be claimed. The NPRC told me that for Saturday dispensings when Sunday’s
supply is also given I will get the additional fee if I imply that one
was given in the morning and the other in the afternoon. I heard from
another source that if I claim one is supervised and the other unsupervised,
a second fee will be given. Anyway, why have 14 lines on a blue methadone
prescription if only 12 should be used because we are closed on Sundays?
If someone gets more than two days’ supply at once, even though
each one is put in a separate container, there are no extra fees payable.
Ridiculous!
The other problem area was listed as follows: colostomy — four
forms, 10 items, 10 fees claimed, four given. What? According to the
PPA, because the prescriptions had colostomy items on them, a professional
fee is only given for the first item on each prescription. I am trying
hard not to swear on paper. Can anyone explain that to me?
Still pretty upset about the situation, I checked my next four months
of FP34s. Items submitted and items priced again all fell short. They
were 83 down, four down, 76 down and 129 down. My methadone and colostomy
prescriptions for the four down month must have just got lost. I have
initiated another check for June, when the difference was 129 items.
I am hopeful I shall get my £39.67 back. I stopped playing the
National Lottery years ago; there was too much disappointment. It seems
I am still playing a lottery, though, every month when I submit my prescriptions
for pricing to the PPA.
Gary Morrow
Pharmacist Director
Morrow Pharmacy Ltd
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MICHAEL KING, director of planning and corporate affairs, Prescription
Pricing Authority, replies:
We are grateful for any opportunity to improve
our services and are happy to look, in detail, at issues arising from
any dispensing contractor. Clearly, we prefer to discuss individual
accounts with contractors directly. If Mr Morrow would like to contact
us directly,
we would be happy to discuss this further.
Ultimately, we seek to remain within the 99.8 per cent net cash variance
we achieve overall every month. |
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The
Pharmaceutical Journal