In addition to being reimbursed for the actual cost of vaccine, community pharmacy contractors will be paid a total of £10.08 per administered dose of the jab as part of the 2020/21 annual flu vaccination programme.
Although fee per vaccination will remain at £9.58, community pharmacy will be paid an extra £0.50 per jab from the Transition Fund this season, the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has confirmed.
The pharmacy negotiator added that up to £1m of medicines margin can be retained for flu vaccinations administered above the number in a normal year, which will be in addition to the allowed £800 million medicines margin under the national contract.
Funding for off-site provision
There will be additional funding to support venue hire and cold storage costs should contractors decide to deliver the programme off-site.
They can claim up to £200 to meet the cost of hiring a venue but if the cost is any less, they will be able to claim up to the actual cost of the hired site. Additionally, they can claim a one-off payment of £200 for cold storage equipment.
However, contractors will be required to obtain pre-authorisation from their respective regional NHSE&I offices and there is a minimum threshold of 20 vaccination per off-site venue to be eligible to receive the pre-authorised payment.
Pre-authorisation of payment for the cost of venue hire and cold storage will be given on a ‘first come first served’ basis. A contractor can submit up to five claims for venue hire, but in exceptional circumstances, NHSE&I regional teams may authorise more venue hire payments to meet local need, subject to the availability of funding.
Claims for payments for pre-authorised monies should be made monthly, via the Manage Your Service (MYS) platform.
Claims will be accepted by the NHSBSA within six months of hire of the venue or by 31st August 2021, whichever date is earlier, in accordance with the usual Drug Tariff claims process.
