May 29th 2024

By Ailsa Colquhoun

MPs call for overhaul of NHS reimbursement

Reimbursement for NHS dispensing should be a priority for an independent review, MPs have told Government in a new report.

Pharmacy, published by the Health and Social Care Committee, highlights criticisms of current reimbursement mechanisms. Among them is the element of risk for dispensers involved in purchasing medicines. The committee was told that pharmacists buy medicines “in good faith that a concession will potentially be granted”.

DDA Chairman Dr Richard West added: "The report confirms what we have been saying for several years about the dispensing doctor contract. Dispensing practices purchase drugs in the same market place as phamacies. The system of reimbursement for the costs of drugs requires reform.  Practices should be raising this issue with their local candidates in the election campaign."

The report also recommends making over-the-counter medication free for people on low incomes, as part of the Pharmacy First scheme, and for community pharmacists to be commissioned to provide HIV-prevention medication PrEP and all routine and seasonal immunisations for adults and children.

It concludes that the community pharmacy contractual framework should be overhauled to reduce the cross-subsidy of dispensing by clinical services.