Pharmacists are being urged to take note of new guidance recently issued by NHS England in relation to the Quality Payments Scheme, which affects any community Pharmacies wishing to claim payments for this year.
Users of the scheme, which initially opened on 1 December 2016 and will run until 31 March 2018, can potentially benefit from a chunk of £75 million.
Funds are distributed in the form of ‘financial rewards’ to Pharmacists that are able to prove they are committed to consistently improving the quality of care.
Pharmacists will be assessed on:
- Clinical effectiveness.
- Patient safety.
- Patient experience.
For this year, the NHS has published new guidance urging any Pharmacists wishing to make declarations for payments under the scheme to do so before 8 December 2017.
The review period will open on 13 November on the NHS Business Services website. All declarations must be made online and in good time.
Up-to-date figures suggest that approximately 94 per cent of Britain’s 11,700 Pharmacies have made claims to date, and that an impressive 10,985 have been found eligible for payment so far.
A recent report on practicebusiness.co.uk suggests that Pharmacies interested in the scheme who wish to maximise their chances of eligibility for payment should focus on one or more of the following areas going forward:
- Pharmacy members of staff becoming Dementia Friends.
- The organisation itself becoming a ‘healthy living’ Pharmacy.
- Updating NHS Choices information.
- Supporting new people starting to take new medicines.
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