As of January 12, contractors in Wales have only needed to record three pieces of data when offering lateral flow test kits to patients, as per instructions in a Community Pharmacy Wales (CPW) update.

Contractors in Wales now only need to write the date of supply, the number of people a patient is collecting for – up to four people per transaction – and the number of kits supplied on the claim screen for each transaction.

The changes were agreed by CPW and the Welsh government following “concerns raised by contractors”, CPW added.

Scotland has also temporarily scaled down its lateral flow test kit data collection process until “at least the end of the month”, Matt Barclay, director of operations at Community Pharmacy Scotland (CPS), told C+D yesterday (January 20).

This change will allow pharmacists “to bulk claim (within batches) for all the tests handed out each day”, CPS policy and development pharmacist Adam Osprey told C+D.

 

Changes aim to “reduce workload”

 

Mr Barclay said the temporary simplification “dramatically cuts the administration time down for pharmacy teams, who have been under immense pressure over the holiday period and continue to experience workforce issues due to COVID”.

The “welcome compromise” from the Scottish government will help pharmacies to supply the tests more efficiently when they are available and help them “focus on the core areas of care through effective medicine supply and NHS Pharmacy First in Scotland”, he added.

Meanwhile, changes to the claim screen for lateral flow tests in Wales mean that contractors no longer need to record data detailing the reason for collecting a test and the patient’s demographics, CPW director of contractor services Judy Thomas told C+D yesterday (January 20).

CPW met with the Welsh government and NHS Wales at the end of last year "to discuss the potential to simplify the claim form to reduce workload”, Ms Thomas said.

The system was simplified after it was determined that the collection and submission of this data for payment “was adding to the workload burden associated with the provision of the tests”, especially due to changes in “testing advice” and “more widespread use of tests”, Ms Thomas added.

The claim screen will be further simplified in the future to allow pharmacists to submit data just once a day, she said.

 

No 16-digit collection code

 

Unlike in England – where pharmacy teams have to manually record a 16-digit collection code and batch numbers, and then re-enter those on the NHS Business Services Authority manage your service portal to claim payment – Scotland’s lateral flow device service does not require a collection code, Mr Osprey said.

“Any person in Scotland can walk into a pharmacy and request kits for household members,” he explained.

“The details of the person collecting are captured and are entered onto the service claim message along with the wholesaler and batch number to aid with any recalls.”

 

Demand for tests “has soared over the last month”

 

CPS will consider whether an extension to the simplified process will be needed in the future, should demand for lateral flow tests remain high, Mr Barclay told C+D.

Mr Osprey said that “feedback on stock levels is mixed”, leaving some pharmacies unable to secure enough lateral flow tests “to satisfy their daily demand” and having to spend time “explaining to people that they are out of stock”.

In some cases, pharmacy teams received abuse “from frustrated members of the public, which is in no uncertain terms unacceptable”, he added.

“I think the part that is perhaps not fully appreciated is quite how quickly and by how much demand has soared over the last month,” he said.

In an update to contractors yesterday (January 20), CPW wrote that the supply of lateral flow tests has improved and is available for pharmacies, according to information received by the Welsh government.