The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 274 No 7339 p261
5 March 2005

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Urgent dispensing fee lost

The additional fee payable for dispensing prescriptions marked “urgent” has been dropped in the new pharmacy contract, Sue Sharpe, chief executive of the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee, announced at the local pharmaceutical committees’ conference this week.

The reason was, she said, the possibility that the new GP out-of-hours arrangements would lead to a substantial increase in the use of the fee. Since the fee was to be paid from the global sum, it could end up draining the total funds available to contractors. In future, therefore, primary care trusts will negotiate funding for call out, she said.