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Letters to the Editor
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New pharmacy contract
Is funding for advanced MUR services being misdirected?
From Mr A. C. Gush, MRPharmS
Within the new contract, £39m had been allocated to finance advanced
medicines use review services for the period 2005–06. These advanced
MUR services can contribute to patients’ general health but will
not do so in any substantive manner until there is an electronic template
for communicating the results to GPs, plus some nationally recognised
incentive for GPs to refer patients and act on information provided by
a review. As a result, most of the £39m will not be spent this
year. Where will all this money go?
The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee says: “Central
funding consists of the global sum covering item fees, establishment
payments and other fees, and payments relating to repeat dispensing — the
annual payment and transitional payment. Funding recharged to primary
care trusts covers practice payments including disability support payments,
payments for the advanced services and information technology payments.”
The MUR funding is part of the £300m removed from retained purchase
profit, by reducing Drug Tariff generics reimbursement prices to fund
the new contract. In other words the £39m advanced MUR services
funding is part of the global sum.
According to Pharmacy Magazine (February, p3) the number of advanced
MUR services performed the end of November was 33,269. So even if we
manage to triple this figure by the year’s end, I estimate that
more than £36m will remain unspent.
I am told some local health boards and PCTs believe this underspend will
give them a windfall this financial year and, no doubt it will go to
fund the NHS financial deficit rather than pharmacy services.
There is a parallel here with the shortfall in pharmacy IT payments.
I therefore propose that each pharmacy should receive a cheque for around £3,000
to correct the underpayment which will otherwise result.
I urge all pharmacies to demand repayment: it is your money.
Andrew Gush
Council election candidate
Royal Pharmaceutical Society
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The
Pharmaceutical Journal