England's pharmacy contractors can continue to claim for patients recruited to the new medicine service (NMS) for the next 13 months, while NHS England awaits the results of a long-running study into the scheme, the sector's contract negotiator announced today (March 17).

However, if the full findings failed to confirm the service had a "positive impact" then it could be terminated with a minimum of three months' notice, with the funding reinvested in other areas of the community pharmacy contract, NHS England said.

Continued funding for the service, which was due to finish at the end of this month, means contractors could potentially claim for patients recruited up to April 2015.

NHS England based its decision on initial findings of an evaluation study conducted by Nottingham University and would decide the service's permanent status once it had received the full study. This was not expected to be published until May this year, PSNC confirmed. 

The full evaluation would "mirror the positive outcomes" it had already seen from the NMS, claimed head of NHS services Alastair Buxton	More on the future of the NMS Uncertainty continues for NMS as NHS England awaits evaluation NMS interventions fall amid uncertainty over future NMS granted third extension
	PSNC was "delighted" by the extension, which was the fourth since the services was launched in October 2011. It expected the full evaluation findings to "mirror the positive outcomes" it had already seen from the service, PSNC NHS services head Alastair Buxton said today (March 17).

"For now, the message remains the same as ever – we believe this is a really important service for patients, the NHS and community pharmacies and would encourage all pharmacies to offer it to as many eligible patients as they possibly can," he said.

It was "particularly important" pharmacists continued to deliver the service while NHS England started to consider the future of the sector following its Call to Action consultation, which closes tomorrow (March 18), Mr Buxton added.

All service requirements and payment arrangements for NMS would remain the same in the meantime, PSNC said.

Last week, an academic leading the evaluation told C+D that "headline findings" had already been sent to NHS England and said the study was still on target to be submitted to the commissioning body by the end of the month. It would then be academically reviewed before it was published.

In December, PSNC expressed concern that uncertainty about the long-term future of the service had resulted in a fall in interventions. There was a 13 per cent drop in payment claims between July and August following doubts over the future of the service, PSNC figures claimed.