Financial Management & Funding

By Simon Dukes, chief executive PSNC You may well be thinking that primary care networks (PCNs) is just another primary care shake-up. In some ways it is – but there are some important ways in which this one is different for us. First, this change is going to reroute a lot of primary care funding directly through networks of GP practices while specifying seven key services that these networks must deliver. Some of these services are due for roll-out from April 2020 and they include structured medication reviews (by clinical pharmacists), enhancing health in care homes, anticipatory and personalised care, supporting early cancer diagnosis, CVD diagnosis and prevention, and local action to tackle inequalities.

Government funding cuts and the growth of online dispensing led to mergers and acquisitions of community pharmacies dropping off by almost a quarter

PSNC and the BMA have published a guide for GPs on how community pharmacy works, with the aim of facilitating collaborative work between the sectors

Reports that over 200 Boots stores are being considered for closure over the next two years have not been confirmed by the multiple

Vaughan Gething has today announced a £100,000 funding package to provide 50 pharmacists with specialist minor ailments training

Pharmacists’ business confidence is rising, with three in five anticipating profits to go up this year, though confidence “remains in negative territory”

Boots UK’s pre-tax profits fell dramatically in the year to August 2018, dropping £100m from £498m to £398m, the latest Companies House report shows

Pharmacists should check people’s eligibility for benefit-related exemptions “at the time the transaction occurs” to reduce fraud or error, the NAO said

Parent company McKesson is looking to “accelerate” its UK restructuring programme, with “further closures of retail pharmacy stores” anticipated

Naproxen 250mg tablets account for the largest projected overspend (projected additional cost of £713,599 in April on top of tariff cost of £478,904)

The changing NHS landscape presents opportunities for community pharmacy but the sector will need to adapt, PSNC has said in a new video animation

A 2019-20 financial package for pharmacy in Scotland with a £2.6m uplift from last year is “not quite” what CPS hoped for due to “one outstanding issue”

By Richard Thomas, Editor, Pharmacy Magazine Pharmacists in England have long cast their gaze enviously towards their colleagues north of the border. A smaller population, shorter lines of communication and greater alignment between the profession and those in power are obvious advantages. However, there is a clarity and sense of direction regarding pharmacy in Scotland that is completely lacking in England.

Savings from NHS England’s OTC prescription guidance appear to be falling far short of an expected target of up to £100m each year

The Welsh Government plans to pump £4.9m into “transforming” the training it offers pre-registration pharmacists and doubling pre-reg places

Eoghan O’Brien has had promising results from a local scheme he helped set up to tackle type 2 diabetes

Urgent care referrals, medicines safety and “challenging discussions on funding and reimbursement” are all expected to be on the agenda

The additional funding will secure further changes to contractual arrangements in 2019-20 to offer innovative services

Two new clinical commissioning groups came into being on April 1 following the merger of existing CCGs

Company needs to be “more aggressive in our response to rapidly shifting trends”, Walgreens Boots Alliance chief Pessina says