Correct submission of forms and items paid at the old charge rate
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Following the increase in NHS prescription charges to £9.35 from 1 April 2021, pharmacy contractors are reminded to complete the paid prescriptions section on the FP34C submission form (paper or via MYS) correctly to ensure that the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) deduct the correct number of prescription charges at old and new rates for any paid prescriptions submitted for payment. Failure to accurately submit information of paid prescriptions could result in incorrect charge deductions (i.e value of charge deductions applied by the NHSBSA may not correspond to the value of charges accepted from patients).
Sorting paper prescriptions with old charge rates prior to submission
Any old charge rate prescriptions should be placed into a separate pile within the monthly bundle so that they do not get mixed with prescriptions charged at the current / new rate. Prescriptions that meet the red separator criteria should be placed in the appropriate red separators for old charge rate prescriptions.
Completing your FP34C submission form
The NHSBA calculate the value of charge deductions based on your submission. Contractors must complete the relevant sections of the submission form accurately to ensure that the correct level of charge deductions are applied for bundles which include paid items at both old and current charge rates.
Using paper FP34C – Part 1 of your paper FP34C submission document contains two patient charge rate declaration sections for forms and items. ‘Patient charge paid’ is for declaring your figures for patient charge rates levied at the new charge rate of £9.35. ‘Patient charge paid at old rate’ (circled in red below) is for declaring your figures patient charge rates levied at the old charge rate of £9.15.
Using Manage Your Service (MYS) – For MYS submission, the declaration for paper and EPS prescriptions is separated with each having two patient charge rate declaration sections for forms and items. ‘Paid’ section is to declare your figures for patient charge rates levied at the new charge rate of £9.35. ‘Old rate’ (circled in red below) is to declare your figures for patient charge rates levied at the old charge rate of £9.15. Please note for all paid EPS prescriptions with a Dispense Notification (DN) message submitted on or after 1st April would be treated as April dispensing with £9.35 deducted for each chargeable item dispensed. In addition, any EPS claim where the Claim Notification (CN) message is received by the NHSBSA after 6th April will also have the new charge rate of £9.35 deducted for every chargeable item. Therefore, you will not need to declare any ‘Old rate’ EPS forms or items via MYS in your April submission.
FAQs
Q. Do I need to display a notice about the NHS prescription charge?
A. Yes, it is part of the NHS Terms of Service to have an up to date notice about the NHS prescription charge in the prescription reception area. For further information, please see the clinical governance premises approved particulars.
Q. If a prescription was dispensed before the 1 April but the patient does not collect items until after the 1 April, should the patient pay the old, or the new prescription charge rate?
A. There is no national guidance on this issue so pharmacy staff will be required to exercise their professional judgement. Whatever decision is taken, pharmacy staff are advised to keep a record of the amount charged and the reasons for doing so on the PMR. Please note the prescription charge rate is not determined by the date that the GP has prescribed or signed the prescription form.
Q. For EPS, how do the NHSBSA determine which prescription charge rate to apply if a paid prescription dispensed in March is submitted for payment in April?
A. Any paid electronic prescriptions dispensed in March 2021 with an NHS prescription charge levied at the old charge rate (£9.15) will have a charge deduction of £9.15 applied by the NHSBSA if the Dispense Notification (DN) message is submitted before 31 March 2021 and the corresponding Claim Notification or Electronic Reimbursement Endorsement Message (EREM) is received by the NHSBSA by the end of 5 April 2021. Please see below how paid electronic prescriptions are treated by the NHSBSA following a change to the prescription charge rate.
- If a DN is submitted on 31 March and EREM is received by NHSBSA by 5 April – this would be treated as March dispensing (£9.15 deducted for chargeable scripts)
- If a DN is submitted on 1 April and EREM is received by NHSBSA by 5 April – this would be treated as April dispensing (£9.35 deducted for chargeable scripts)
- If a DN is submitted on 31 March and EREM is received by NHSBSA on or after 6 April – this would be treated as April dispensing (£9.35 deducted for chargeable scripts). There would be no checking of the dispense date in this instance as the claim message was submitted would be outside of the first five days of the following month (EPS 5-day window).
Related resources
Prescription submission requirements
Sorting your prescriptions prior to submission
Exemptions from the prescription charge
