The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has issued a Serious Shortage Protocol (SSP) for Lipitor 20mg chewable tablets due to ongoing shortage of the medicine.
With SSP013 in place from Thursday (November 18), for every prescription one Atorvastatin 20mg tablet will be supplied.
This SSP expires on January 12, 2022, and any change will be communicated by the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC).
PSNC has advised pharmacists to “exercise their professional judgement to ensure the alternative products are suitable for the patient.”
Besides, those unsuitable for inclusion should be referred to their prescriber and patient’s prescriber should be notified.
Contractors will receive the documentation for SSP013 which they should read and implement fully, the negotiator said.
The Extension of the transition period, as secured by the PSNC, will enable use of No Cheaper Stock Obtainable (NCSO) endorsement and allow SSP claims on tokens until the end of January 2022.
Reimbursement will be for the medicine supplied in accordance with the SSP and not the originally prescribed medicine.
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