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A set of wholesaler service standards are now available, says Gareth Jones, NPA public affairs manager

THE NPA HAS PUBLISHED a set of wholesaler service standards following a three-month member consultation. NPA members representing more than 700 pharmacies took part in the consultation.

Ninety-five per cent of respondents supported the creation of the standards as a tool for monitoring the service delivered by wholesalers and encouraging good practice. Surcharges, short-dated stock and quotas were among the issues that emerged strongly in the consultation.

The standards will allow members to assess how well their wholesalers are performing and will give the NPA a picture of wholesaler performance across the board. We intend that members will then be in a better position to challenge poor service or acknowledge good service €“ and to make informed choices, where choice exists

Members will be in a better position to challenge poor service

Five domains The five domains used to assess wholesalers are:

€¢ Fairness: The wholesaler provides a system that allows a pharmacy to avoid inadvertently triggering a low spend surcharge

€¢ Responsiveness: The wholesaler responds to queries or complaints within three hours within the working day

€¢ Timely communication: The wholesaler provides a facility for pharmacies to receive a daily update on their cumulative qualifying spend and cumulative returns through the month

€¢ Efficiency: The wholesaler supplies promptly relevant invoices and refunds

€¢ Transparency: Terms and conditions of accounts are clearly presented, including information on pricing, discounts, surcharges and rebates.

Within each of these domains are a set of markers, 22 in total. Members can use the standards and the online tool for their own information and to empower them in discussion with their wholesalers. The standards help pharmacists to describe with clarity which areas of service they are unhappy with, and also to describe and acknowledge good service.

We will ask members to submit their wholesaler assessment, which will be used to build up a national picture of whether wholesalers are meeting members' reasonable expectations. For instance, there might be an area where none of the wholesalers are meeting customer expectations, or it might be just one wholesaler that is not reaching the mark in a particular area.

NPA members can download the complete standards by visiting www.npa.co.uk/independents-voice.