The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has launched a consultation to "test the appetite" for aligning the community pharmacy and GP contracts.

In its proposals, launched in collaboration with the National Association of Primary Care (NAPC) on Wednesday (August 12), the RPS said it wants to gauge views on focusing the financial incentives of both professions on improving the health of local populations.

This will be a "natural evolution" for GPs, who already have a registered list of patients for each practice, the RPS said. But it is a "radical shift" from pharmacy's system of payments for dispensing and services, it stressed.

The RPS admitted it will be a "huge challenge" to realign these financial incentives, but said it believes this will "enable community pharmacy to play a fuller role in health provision".

NHS England - which negotiates both contracts - should also “make clear now" its "intention to drive closer integration of pharmacy and general practice", the RPS said.

RPS president Ash Soni said the sector has been "straight-jacketed with a top-down contract for too long". "It's time to end the one-size-fits-all approach and allow services to be designed around the needs of patients rather than healthcare providers," he said.

The NHS is looking for new models of care and pharmacy needs to create an enhanced role or "risk being marginalised", Mr Soni added.

"Intensify" collaboration

The RPS and the NAPC are also consulting on proposals to "intensify" the joint support that GPs and pharmacists offer to "high-risk" patients, and for a national minor ailments scheme to be commissioned in community pharmacy, despite NHS England's recent rejection.

The organisations want to test support for pharmacists working within GP surgeries, as a way to "improve day-to-day resolution of medication issues" and increase awareness of the "untapped potential of community pharmacists".

NAPC chair and GP Nav Chana said it is the right time for a consultation because the "opportunities for greater collaboration could have a big impact on the workload pressure for general practice". 

The consultation - open to pharmacists, GPs and the public - closes on October 9. Response forms can be downloaded from the RPS website and sent to [email protected].
 

How could aligning the community pharmacy and GP contracts benefit the sector? 

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