Pharmacy Voice this month conducted the second of a series of ‘Lightening the Load’ scrutiny panels, at which regulators, NHS bodies and executive agencies are quizzed about their impact on community pharmacies. NHS Business Services Authority was the second group to take the hot seat following on from the GPhC, which met with the panel in September.
Michael Hamilton, Senior Policy Manager at NHS Prescription Services (part of NHSBSA) took questions from Pharmacy Voice members at the National Pharmacy Association HQ in St Albans on Wednesday 7thDecember.
Pharmacy Voice spokesperson Gareth Jones said:
“There was a frank discussion with NHS Business Services Authority about the shortcomings of the current prescription payment arrangements and we made it clear that there must be rapid and radical improvements. To be fair, the NHSBSA representative accepted that accuracy has not always been as it should be and acknowledged the concerns of pharmacy contractors. We were impressed at his openness to fresh thinking and with NHSBSA’s willingness to engage. The NHSBSA outlined within the meeting a commitment to improve payment accuracy through an agreed ongoing programme of work.”
The aim of the Pharmacy Voice Lightening the Load workstream to is identify and challenge unnecessary administration, to free pharmacist time for patient-facing activities.