Page 10 - P4403.59-V46_Numark Magazine December 23 PRINT FINAL

OFFSETTING

THE IMPACT OF

CATEGORY M

We end the year in the same way as we started it,
with the funding in community pharmacy in a critical
situation. Inflammatory impacts hitting hard in an
environment of a fixed funding deal.
Cash flow took another blow in October with category
M claw backs for the over delivery of margin continuing.
ENGLAND
The final phasing out of the extra £100 million funding
allowance and the downward adjustment of prices.

We estimate the impact to be between £600-
£1,000 for an average member.

With the promised Pharmacy First Service and its
£645 million new funding being delayed and unlikely
to launch this year, it is vital that we maximize the
available funding sources in the current contract.
This month we have highlighted ways to offset the
Category M impact.

We can demonstrate this by sharing industry averages
to allow members to understand where they might
have opportunity to grow.
New Medicines Service (NMS)

NMS was the fourth Advanced Service to be added
to the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework
(CPCF); it commenced on 1 October 2011.
st
The service provides support for people with long-term
conditions newly prescribed a medicine to help improve
medicines adherence; it is focused on specific patient
groups and conditions. The number of conditions
have expanded and in the last year the average
number completed by each contractor has increased
significantly. Despite this the opportunity for members
is significant.

The NMS cap is set as 1% of dispensed items. The
average items dispensed in England per contract is
around 8,290 items. This means the average contractor
can complete a maximum of 82 NMS a month. The
national average is closer to 27. Increasing NMS could
support offsetting the impact of the Cat M clawback.

NMS Frequently Asked Questions:
numarknet.com/1908

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