How are your prescriptions processed?

Prescription bundles received by NHSBSA must first be prepared for the scanning process which can be hindered by the way prescriptions have been submitted.

For information on how to properly sort your prescription bundle prior to submission please see our Sorting Your Prescriptions Prior to Submission page.

Once a prescription bundle is received, NHSBSA staff must make sure all clips, staples, and sticky labels have been removed as they can jam or damage the scanning equipment. The information that has been entered onto the FP34c submission document is inputted alongside the scanned images and this is used to calculate the pharmacy’s advance payment; therefore it is crucial that this has been completed accurately.

For more information/guidance on how to complete the submission document correctly, please see our Completing Your FP34c Submission Document & Dispatching Your Prescription Bundle page.

The scanning system is only used to support the capture of data from the prescription, for example, the prescriber ID, prescription form type, exemption status, and details of the prescribed items. If the scanning process cannot determine this information with confidence, for example, if the prescription is handwritten, then the prescription will be referred to a Type 1 Exception Handler who will enter the prescription details manually.

At this stage, if the system flags that a prescription may have been submitted in the incorrect charge group, it will be referred to a Type 1 Exception Handler for verification of whether the form was in fact submitted incorrectly or not. If it was submitted incorrectly then it will be switched. No forms are switched automatically by the system; they are only switched once verified by a trained member of staff.

Further guidance on switching is available on our Prescription Switching page.

Prescriptions that cannot be processed automatically by the system will be sent to an operator who will manually capture the relevant information required to price the prescription.

Prescriptions that have been placed in the red separator are processed by a specialist team of handlers who are trained to price these types of prescriptions. The following prescriptions are required to be submitted in a red separator:

• Expensive items (items with a net ingredient cost of £100 or over);
• Specials and unlicensed products;
• Broken bulk ‘BB’
• Out of pocket expense claims ‘OOP/XP’;
• Where the prescribers signature encroaches into the prescribing area;
• Items with supplementary product information; and
• Items with prescriber handwritten amendments.

At this stage, items that still cannot be priced due to a lack of information must be referred back to the contractor for clarification. Payment will only be delayed for the item for which the clarification is required, and not for any other items which appear on the same prescription form. For more information on returned prescriptions and how to prevent these from being returned please see our Prescription Returns page.

Once the data on the prescription forms has been confirmed, the information will be processed automatically via the ‘rules engine’. This system will automatically apply the Drug Tariff rules for the month for which the prescriptions were submitted.

The total payment due for items dispensed will be calculated from the automatically captured data and the manually captured data. Any adjustments are made and the contractor’s final payment is calculated.

On this page we highlight common sorting and endorsing errors identified by Community Pharmacy England’s Pricing Audit Centre team that can lead to pricing errors. One common issue identified is where items that meet the red separator inclusion criteria have not been included in the their relevant red separator. The NHSBSA issues contractors with three sets of red separators each month to sort certain types of paper prescription forms into their relevant exempt, paid or old charge rate groups. The prescription forms that meet the criteria set out below should be included in their relevant red separator red separator to ensure that these forms are subjected to additional checks by operators at the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA).

The image below shows the different types of prescriptions that should be placed in the red separators.

Prescription forms containing the following are required to be placed into red separators:

For more information on the red separators including details of the recent changes to the inclusion criteria for red separators and submission guidance see our page Red Separators – end of month submission

Common endorsement issues leading to pricing errors/missed payments are:

Useful links

For endorsing guidance see our page here.

For endorsing guidance for prescriptions containing items available with multiple flavours see our page here.

For information on red separators see our page Red Separators – end of month submission and our Guidance on the use of red separators for end of month submission factsheet.

For information on prescription submission requirements see our page here.

For guidance on sorting paper prescriptions with old charge rates that meet red separator criteria see our story Correct submission of forms and items paid at the old charge rate.

For information on the end of month submission process for completed RB items see our Prescription returns page.