Page 12 - P4304.1-V105_PS Magazine - Jan

The way OpenPrescribing calculate this value is by using the most up to date prescribing
information, the up-to-date Drug tariff price and the concession price. The difference
between the DT and Concessions calculation is then shown as the extra cost for the month.

This is useful for
identifying any key lines
that have driven up in
value and have affected
the outgoing costs for the
practice. According to your
SOP’s, you can then decide
how you wish to monitor
and deal with these lines.

To compare, I have put our APM data from May to October in the chart below. As you can
see, we have maintained competitive pricing on the vast majority of lines in concession, with
over 90% still having an APM net price below the reimbursement value.
So while the impact of concessions is likely to be felt in an increased drug bill, once the
rebates for APM have been factored in, you are in a profitable position across your generic
basket, including concessionary lines. This is the advantage of APM with the backing of Keys.
By monitoring and buying for the entirety of our Membership, we ring-fence a significant
amount of stock, preventing Pharmacy customers from raiding and disrupting the supply
into dispensing doctors. This allows us to maintain supply through short to medium term
disruptions, with a consistency of price that retains a solid margin for you as customers.

While Concessions are
an important topic, there
is some good news, as
October had the lowest
number of concessions in
2024 with 106. We peaked
this year in February
with 169 and the number
stayed high through to
October with the number of
concessions between 130-
150 in the period March
to September. This should
hopefully continue and the
pain of concessions will
hopefully ease with further
reductions in the number and therefore cost going into the New Year. (At the time of writing
this article, there had been 55 announced for November)

Another factor to consider when looking at your bills, has there been any large switches to
expensive branded medications or a change in supplier? AstraZeneca for instance, could
only be supplied by AAH up until July this year. With their wide range of products, this will
undoubtedly added a significant value onto your bill.

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