PPRS price cut delayed to ensure supplies
Community pharmacies in England, Scotland and Wales have been granted one month’s grace before an agreed 7 per cent cut in medicine prices is implemented for NHS reimbursement purposes.
The price cut, agreed under the new Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme which comes into effect on 1 January 2005, will not apply to dispensed
NHS prescriptions until 1 February.
Both the Department of Health, which manages the Drug Tariff for England
and Wales, and the Scottish Executive Health Department have agreed to
the delay to fend off the risk of patients being unable to obtain adequate
supplies of medicines over the Christmas and New Year period.
A Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee statement said: “This
agreement ensures that contractors should not be financially disadvantaged
by being reimbursed at lower prices for stock bought at higher prices,
and removes the need to minimise stock holdings. Contractors are encouraged
to ensure that they have adequate stocks over the Christmas and New Year
holiday season.” |
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