Every month we publish a list of the upcoming Drug Tariff changes for the following month. This gives you and your dispensary team time to react to potential income changes for the future. It is vital that you understand the possible impact of Drug Tariff changes, additions and deletions.
June 2022 Drug Tariff Changes
This is the section to keep an eye on as it highlights items moving Category in the Drug Tariff; Cat C to Cat A, Cat A to Cat M, Cat C to Cat M etc
Usually, a move to Category C to Category A or M means a drop in reimbursement price, not always but most of the time.
Look at the June 2022 Changes below and try to work out for yourself what the implications of each change might be for your practice.
Working our way through the above list the first change is that the reimbursement price for a generic prescription written as Calcipotriol 0.005%/Betamethasone dipropionate 0.05% x 60g will NOT be reimbursed from June 1st based on the Dovobet NHS list price. From June 1st it will be calculated on a basket of prices and may drop in reimbursement price.
Action Point[s]
1 Keep an eye on the June Drug Tariff to see what happens to the reimbursement price.
2 If the reimbursement price goes down then you MUST prescribe by brand name if you are dispensing the brand to ensure correct reimbursement.
The following also applies to prescriptions for the following IF Drug Tariff reimbursement price drops below purchase price for any of the following:
Carbocisteine 750mg/5ml oral solution sugar free from Lucis Pharma
Fluoxetine 30mg capsules if dispensing the Medreich purchased item
Key Learning Objective
To aid your CPD use the Drug Tariff online to find out how the Category A price is calculated for a medicine.
June 2022 Drug Tariff Additions
Additions to the Drug Tariff means you can write the prescription generically and be reimbursed the listed Drug Tariff price. However, you will still need to ensure that you are purchasing at a price BELOW Drug Tariff price.
Do you have a system in place to ensure you are purchasing below Drug Tariff price?
Does your wholesaler or buying group assist you in this area?
June 2022 Drug Tariff Deletions
When a medicine has been withdrawn or a pack size becomes obsolete then nearly always they are removed from the Drug Tariff. Keep an eye on your stock levels of the following and if you are dispensing any of them make sure you write the supplier, manufacturer or brand name of the medicine in the main body of the prescription to ensure correct reimbursement – see list below:
For any further help, advice or training on the Drug Tariff please contact me via:contact@dispensingdoctorexperts.co.uk
