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Amendments to the Regulatory Terms of Service of Pharmacy and Appliance Contractors in Relation to Dispensing Items Listed in Part IX of the Drug Tariff: A consultation

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To ensure consistency in the accessibility and the level of service provision among contractors dispensing items listed in Part IX of the Drug Tariff, the DH has proposed amended service specifications. 

These are set out in the consultation document entitled “Arrangements for the remuneration of services relating to appliances within Part IX of the Drug Tariff”.  This consultation was published on 23 November 2006 and closes on 2 April 2007.

Without prejudging the outcome of that consultation, contractors need to understand how the requirements would impact the current terms of service of Pharmacy and Appliance Contractors as stipulated in the National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2005 (amended) (“Pharmaceutical Services Regulations”) and/or the Pharmaceutical Services (Advanced and Enhanced Services) (England) Directions 2005 (“Pharmaceutical Services Directions”).

This paper sets out the proposed amendments  There are two sets of proposed amendments:

The Department is formally inviting views from NHS Employers, the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) and the British Healthcare Trades Association (BHTA) on these proposals. However, other interested parties may wish to comment on the proposals set out here.

Alongside this consultation document, we are also publishing these supporting documents:

• Download Consultation paper (PDF, 263K)
• Download Response proforma (DOC, 50K)
• Download Proposed amendments to Directions (PDF, 33K)
• Download Proposed amendments to Regulations (PDF, 63K)
• See partial RIA and related consultation