Home Changes to the pharmacy contract 2011/12
On 15th March 2011 NHS Employers and PSNC announced a number of service developments within the English pharmacy contract in order to deliver improved outcomes for patients. These followed joint negotiations and agreement by the Department of Health. The changes were implemented from 1st October 2011 and comprised three key elements:
- the introduction of a New Medicine Service (NMS) for people with long-term conditions newly prescribed a medicine to help improve medicines adherence. The NMS is an Advanced service which focuses on particular patient groups and conditions. This is supported by a maximum investment of £55 million per annum in 2011/12 and 2012/13
- the introduction of national target patient groups for Medicines Use Reviews (MURs) to ensure they are provided to those who will benefit the most. To bolster the effectiveness of MURs outcome measures were introduced alongside measures to improve post-payment monitoring. These changes were intended to ensure that MURs are delivered to a high quality, and provide greater value for money and benefit to patients
- changes to clinical governance requirements to strengthen and build upon the existing clinical governance regime.
These changes apply to pharmacy contractors in England only.
More information on the changes
On 11th May 2011 PSNC and NHS Employers published further details on the changes to the contract, including the outline service specification for the New Medicine Service:
CPCF - Summary of service developments in 2011/12
PowerPoint presentation summarising the changes (updated 27th November 2011)
On 16th June 2011 PSNC and NHS Employers published an update on progress being made to implement the changes to the contract:
Update on changes to the contractual framework (16th June 2011)
On 2nd August 2011 PSNC and NHS Employers published an update on implementation of the changes to the contract. This update contains further detailed information on the NMS.
NHS CPCF 2011/12 Service Developments - Latest Information (2nd August 2011)
Detailed information on the changes is available on the following sections of the website:
Download a joint letter from PSNC and NHS Employers on the agreement
Commenting on the developments of the contract, PSNC Chief Executive Sue Sharpe said:
"The national New Medicine Service will improve health outcomes and ensure the NHS maximises the value of medicinal therapy. It builds on the core strength of community pharmacists, their accessibility and ability to work closely with patients to ensure they use their medicines properly and effectively. With the other changes to the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework this represents an important step forward for community pharmacy's work in medicines optimisation. It will also help community pharmacists to develop the role they play in the primary care network."
Felicity Cox, lead negotiator for the NHS Employers organisation, said:
"We are delighted with the changes to Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework that will deliver improved outcomes for patients. They will also support better utilisation of community pharmacy expertise and resources and provide value for money for the NHS. It is an important step for community pharmacy and we look forward to working with the PSNC and other stakeholders over the coming months to ensure the success of these service developments, especially the New Medicine Service."
These changes deliver on the Government's priorities for health as outlined in "Equity and excellence: Liberating the NHS" and will contribute to the Quality Innovation Productivity and Prevention (QIPP) programme.