Fees and allowances
Published on: 10th July 2013 | Updated on: 7th April 2022
Pharmacy contractors can claim various fees for dispensing certain products, some are automatically applied and some requirement endorsement. The tables below show which fees a pharmacy contractor can claim for and what or if the endorsement requirements are.
Professional Fees (Drug Tariff Part IIIA)
Description
|
Fee per prescription item (p) |
Endorsement required |
| 1. Single Activity Fee |
127 |
No endorsement |
| 2. ADDITIONAL FEES: | ||
| A. UNLICENSED MEDICINES | ||
| (a) Preparations manufactured under an MHRA specials licence or sourced under an MHRA importers licence |
2000 |
SP |
| (b) Preparations prepared under the Section 10 exemption from the Medicines Act 1968 |
2000 |
ED |
| B. APPLIANCES | ||
| (a) Elastic Hosiery (Compression Hosiery) requiring measurement and endorsed “measured and fitted” |
260 |
MF |
| (b) Trusses requiring measurement and endorsed “measured and fitted” |
260 |
MF |
| (c) Para stomal garments (belts and girdles) where size is not indicated in the Drug Tariff requiring measurement and endorsed “measured and fitted” |
260 |
MF |
| (d) Home delivery of Part IXA qualifying items1 (excluding catheter kits and intermittent self-catheters), Part IXB and Part IXC |
340 |
No endorsement |
| (e) Home delivery of catheter kits and intermittent self-catheters |
930 |
No endorsement |
| C. SERIOUS SHORTAGE PROTOCOL |
535 |
SSP followed by the three-digit reference number applicable to the SSP. See Drug Tariff Part II Clause 9E. |
| D. All prescriptions for oral liquid methadone attract a payment |
250 |
No endorsement |
| E. Where the quantity dispensed to the patient for a prescription for oral liquid methadone covers more than one dose and the contractor has packaged each dose separately |
55 |
PD(n)* |
| F. Where the prescription is for a Controlled Drug in Schedule 2 or 3 of the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001 |
||
| Schedule 2 drug |
128 |
No endorsement |
| Schedule 3 drug |
43 |
No endorsement |
| G. Expensive Prescription Fee Note – Expensive Prescription Fee is not included in calculation of ESPS payments |
A fee equivalent to 2% of the net ingredient cost will be payable on all prescriptions over £100 |
No endorsement |
1 Part IXA (qualifying items) include: catheters (urinary and urethral), laryngectomy and tracheostomy, catheter accessories, catheter maintenance solutions, anal irrigation system, vacuum pumps and constrictor rings for erectile dysfunction, and wound drainage pouches.
*n = The number of doses packaged separately minus the number of times the contractor has dispensed the medicine to the patient**. Where a numeric value is not provided, the contractor will be paid one fee. If the number of occasions when the medicine is dispensed equals the number of doses that have been packaged separately, this fee is not payable.
**An interaction with the patient where oral liquid methadone has been supplied.
Allowances (Drug Tariff Part II)
Description of allowance |
Eligible products |
When to use |
Endorsement required |
| Clause 10. Quantity to be Supplied (Special Containers) |
Products recognised as being packaged in special containers by the Pricing Authority. Check our Special Container Database. | Whenever a special container product is dispensed. | “Amount dispensed/ pack size used” |
| Clause 11. Broken Bulk |
– Part VIIIA Category C – Part VIIIA Category A and M products with smallest listed pack size of £50 or over – Readily available medicinal products outside of Part VIIIA – Part VIIID – Part IXB – Part IXC – Ingredients used to prepare an unlicensed special (extemporaneously dispensing) |
For a claim to be accepted, pharmacy contractors must dispense from the pack or combination of packs that minimises the residual balance. Contractors should only claim Broken Bulk where it is unlikely that they will be able to dispense the remainder within the following 6 months. | “BB” and amount dispensed over pack size used |
| Clause 12. Out of Pocket Expenses |
– Part VIIIA Category C – Readily available medicinal products outside of Part VIIIA – Part IXB – Part IXC |
Out of Pocket Expenses (OOP) can be claimed, where in exceptional circumstances, the contractor has incurred expenses in obtaining the eligible products and where the product is not required to be frequently supplied by the contractor. | “OOP” or “XP”, name or description of the charge, price paid |
| Clause 13. Reconstitution of Certain Oral Liquids | This clause applies to antibacterial, antiviral or antifungal preparations listed in 5.1, 5.2 and 5.3 (except 5.3.1) of the British National Formulary (BNF), which are for oral administration and requires reconstitution from granules or powder. | When the quantity reconstituted from an original pack or packs is unavoidably greater than the quantity ordered and it has not been possible for the contractor to use the remainder for or towards supplying against another prescription, payment will be calculated from the Basic Price of the preparation and will be based on the nearest pack or number of packs necessary to cover the quantity ordered. | No extra endorsements are required other than the usual requirement to endorse the pack size used. This is because the rules for reconstitution are applied automatically to the eligible products. |
| Clause 14. Serious Shortage Protocol (SSP) | Any drugs, appliances or chemical reagents | In England, the Secretary of State may issue an SSP if, in his or her opinion, there is, or may be, a serious shortage of a medicine or appliance in England or any part of England. A serious shortage is not defined, but arguably denotes more than a simple shortage that may be resolved by other measures. The Department of Health and Social Care will inform pharmacy teams if a product is subject to an SSP. |
There are two types of SSPs that may be granted: • Single Dispensed Product SSP – where a prescribed item is replaced by one replacement item • Multiple Dispensed Product SSP – where a prescribed item is replaced by two or more items.See our SSP endorsing guidance for details of how to correctly endorse a prescription for an SSP. |
* The drug details and quantity supplied and endorsed will depend on the specific SSP.
Related Resources
Consumables and container allowance
Endorsing instalment forms correctly
