A revised payment structure for the new medicine service (NMS) that will see contractors earning at least £20 for every intervention they deliver has been unveiled by NHS Employers and PSNC.

But payments will still be influenced by activity levels, with contractors earning more money per intervention - up to a maximum of £28 - the more patients they have seen.

The banded target payment structure, which is detailed below and will be introduced in May, was designed to reward contractors for each NMS intervention they provide while also encouraging them to see as many patients as possible, PSNC said.

"The new payment structure will provide a fair reward for contractors delivering the service" Felicity Cox, NHS Employers

Third of NMS payments remain unpaid NMS negotiations have gone on too long Sharing my NMS experiences

The negotiator also confirmed that contractors that have missed out on payments because of the controversial payment structure introduced last October will receive loyalty payments for any interventions they have delivered up until the end of April 2012. Where contractors have delivered NMS interventions but not qualified for the minimum payment (because their activity levels fell below their 20 per cent target), they will receive £20 per intervention. Any contractors who qualified for payments but were not paid for all the interventions they delivered will receive £25 per unpaid intervention.

The announcement follows problems with the payment structure that have seen contractors unpaid in some months for about a third of NMS interventions.

PSNC first announced that it was reviewing the payment structure last November and head of NHS services at the committee Alastair Buxton told C+D this week: "The negotiations with NHS Employers took a while and there's always a Department of Health process that has to be gone through to get ministerial approval and sometimes that takes time."

Lead negotiator of the NHS Employers community pharmacy negotiating team Felicity Cox said: "We believe the new payment structure will provide a fair reward for contractors delivering the service and will enable pharmacy contractors to deliver the greatest number of interventions."

PSNC chief executive Sue Sharpe said she believed the revision provided "a fair reward for pharmacy contractors providing the NMS".

"There has already been much positive feedback about the service from patients and pharmacists and we hope the new payments will encourage all contractors to build this valuable service into their practice," she said.

A briefing paper giving further details about the changes is available at http://www.nhsemployers.org/nms.

NMS - the new payment structure

·  Complete NMS interventions provided that fall below a contractor's 20 per cent activity target will be paid at £20 each

·  Once a contractor reaches the 20 per cent target all complete NMS interventions (including those which fall below the 20 per cent target) will be paid at £25 each

·  Once a contractor reaches the 40 per cent target all complete NMS interventions (including those which fall below the 40 per cent target) will be paid at £26 each

·  Once a contractor reaches the 60 per cent target all complete NMS interventions (including those which fall below the 60 per cent target) will be paid at £27 each

·  Once a contractor reaches the 80 per cent target all complete NMS interventions (including those which fall below the 80 per cent target will be paid at £28 each

As previously, payment will be limited to 0.5 per cent of the contractor's eligible monthly prescription volume. Contractors will be able to deliver full service interventions above this limit but will not be paid for them.

The target activity levels for pharmacies are detailed on the table below.