Details of revised zero discount arrangements published
Products that do not fulfil new criteria will be removed from zero
discount lists |
Details of the products that are expected to be removed from zero discount arrangements have been published.
Since May, new criteria have been used to assess products for inclusion
in the zero discount lists (PJ, 29 April, p495). From 1 September, all
products that do not fulfil the new criteria will be removed from the
zero discount lists, which will then be combined to form one new list
of “drugs for which discount is not deducted”.
A list of products expected to be removed from the zero discount arrangements
is available via the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee website and
the new provisional single list is included in the preface to the August Drug
Tariff.
Although these changes will be cost-neutral at a national level, the PSNC is
concerned that some contractors may
be disadvantaged by them. “If manufacturers do not change their trading
terms and start providing discount for products not on the new list, this change
may have a serious impact on some contractors, depending on the mix of products
that they are asked to dispense,” the PSNC says in a statement on its website. “This
may lead to an unequal distribution of the guaranteed purchase profit included
in the new contract funding arrangements. This is a concern to the PSNC and we
will be monitoring this closely as the changes are implemented and as part of
future profit monitoring work.”
A spokesman for GlaxoSmithKline, which was criticised last year for revising
its discount terms and ceasing to offer discounts on products with no price competition
from generics or parallel imports (PJ, 19 February 2005, p197), told The
Journal that it will not be adjusting its discounts in response to the changes to the
zero discount lists.
From 1 September, discounts will be deducted in the usual way from products no
longer on the list, but, to take account of the fact that contractors may not
be receiving discount from their suppliers for these drugs, a corresponding downward
adjustment will be made to the discount deduction scale. The PSNC is in discussion
with the Department of Health on the details of this change.
Once the new list is in place, to indicate that no discount has been received
contractors will only have to endorse prescriptions for products obtained without
discount from specials manufacturers which do not contain Controlled Drugs in
Schedule 1, 2 or 3. Prescriptions for these products should be endorsed “DNG” (“discount
not given”). |
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