The Pharmaceutical Journal
Vol 279 No 7474 431
20 October 2007

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Prescription charge rules alter for TB therapy in England and Scotland

Changes to the Regulations that govern NHS prescription charges in England (PDF 50K) and Scotland (PDF 90K)have altered the way tuberculosis treatment is paid for.

They mean that prescriptions in Scotland for a specified list of medicines being used to treat tuberculosis have been exempt from charges from 1 October. Amended GP10 prescription forms that allow patients to claim the exemption are not expected to be available until next year. In the meantime, patients in Scotland should be asked to tick the contraception exemption box on the back of their prescription form and pharmacists should add the letters TB to the accompanying text.

In England, the exemption, which began on 1 September, is for any drug being used to treat tuberculosis, but only if it is supplied under a patient group direction or by an NHS trust. GP prescriptions dispensed by community pharmacies are subject to the prescription charge in the normal way. Wales abolished all prescription charges in April.