UPDATED: August Pharmacy First consultation threshold dropped to 15
The minimum number of Pharmacy First consultations pharmacies will have to complete in August to qualify for a monthly payment has been reduced from 20 to 15, the negotiator has revealed.
“Ministers have now decided that they intend to adjust the August threshold for the Pharmacy First service to 15,” Community Pharmacy England (CPE) announced yesterday (July 30).
From tomorrow (August 1), the threshold had been set to double from 10 to 20 – meaning that pharmacies delivering the service would have to complete a minimum of 20 consultations in order to qualify for a fixed monthly payment of £1,000.
The negotiator said that the change is a result of discussions “over the last few weeks with the Department of Health and Social Care (DH) and NHS England (NHSE)”.
“The thresholds for the monthly Pharmacy First payment has been a topic of great concern for pharmacy owners and CPE, particularly as the August increase to 20 clinical pathways got closer,” it added.
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Last week (July 26), new data from the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) revealed that pharmacies in England delivered an average of 16.8 NHS Pharmacy First service consultations for the seven clinical pathways in April.
But 1,598 pharmacies recorded no consultations under the clinical pathways and 785 secured between one and five consultations in April, lower than the threshold for the month.
From October, pharmacies face a threshold of 30 Pharmacy First consultations per month to qualify for the £1,000 fixed payment.
Easement “only” for August
CPE chief executive Janet Morrison revealed that the negotiator “had argued that the threshold should remain at ten at least whilst we had further discussions – but that is not something ministers have decided to do”.
She added that “this ministerial decision only provides an easement for the next month”, meaning that the threshold is set to increase to 20 in September.
Morrison said that CPE “will continue to work with the DH and NHSE to review ongoing service data”.
Read more: GPs need to ‘feel confident’ about Pharmacy First referrals, says BMA
The negotiator will consider the data’s “implications for the planned ramp up in thresholds for September and October in the light of the impact of seasonality and the low levels of GP referrals,” she added.
Morrison said that it is CPE’s “strongly held view that community pharmacy has carried out its side of the bargain in launching the Pharmacy First service”, adding that the sector “could not have worked harder”.
“However, we believe that NHSE needs to match that commitment through more effective advertising and ensuring that GPs refer as many patients as possible,” she added.
“Sensible decision”
Company Chemists’ Association (CCA) chief executive Malcolm Harrison told C+D this morning that the pharmacy body “[welcomes] this sensible decision”, adding that it is “something that [it had] been calling for”.
“It will take time for patients’ behaviour to change and…in the meantime, we need concerted efforts to boost GP referrals and run targeted awareness campaigns,” he added.
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“With activity thresholds due to ramp up again in September and October, it is imperative that the DH and NHSE continue to monitor service data so pharmacy engagement can be maintained,” he said.
“The CCA will continue to support policymakers to make informed and evidence-based decisions off the back of the data analysis we have been providing from day one,” he added.
