The prescription data reports have been updated to reflect the recent changes to the discount deduction applied to pharmacy contractors' monthly total of reimbursement prices, as listed in the Drug Tariff Part V.
From April 2024, any financial report referencing actual cost includes discount calculated using to the new methodology. This change will take effect starting from April prescription data and the Itemised Prescribing Payment view released in June 2024. The deduction is split into three groups with their own deduction rates. These rates are applied to monthly reimbursement prices of products in each specific group:
- Actual Cost = Basic NIC – appliance discount deduction rate + payment for consumables + out of pocket expenses + payment for containers
- Actual Cost = Basic NIC – generics discount deduction rate + payment for consumables + out of pocket expenses + payment for containers
- Actual Cost = Basic NIC – brands discount deduction rate + payment for consumables + out of pocket expenses + payment for containers
- Actual Cost = Basic NIC – zero discount deduction rate + payment for consumables + out of pocket expenses + payment for containers
The average discount rates no longer apply. You will see trends of spikes in product costs that are zero discount (upwards) and generics (downwards).
The changes will be integrated into the relevant ePACT2 reports and dashboards, NHSBSA web pages, and public-facing datasets.
Reporting before April 2024 will continue to be reported using the previous actual cost method.
The new arrangements in the Drug Tariff have been transitioning since October 2022 and have been in place fully since January 2024, For more information, see the Drug Tariff | NHSBSA.
If you have any questions about these changes, contact: DataServicesSupport@nhsbsa.nhs.uk