The National Health Service Pharmaceutical Services (Scotland) Regulations 2009 for the Chronic Medication Service (CMS) have been revoked from February 12.
The Regulations 2009 for CMS will be replaced with new regulations for the Medicine Care and Review Service (MCR) including directions and service specification.
The new MCR directions include the addition of care home residents as eligible, which will be rolled out locally by NHS Boards.
Definitions of serial prescribers and serial prescriptions have been amended, with the requirement for a patient to be registered with the pharmacy before serial prescriptions are produced, now removed.
“Registering will help you to get advice and support tailored to you. Pharmacists in the community can't see your GP record, so registering for the service helps them to build a picture of your individual needs and what matters to you when it comes to your health,” the Scottish government said.
Serial prescriptions can now be written for 24, 48 or 56 weeks.
There will be no disruption of service for patients as they transfer from CMS to MCR, although a new MCR patient leaflet which includes care home residents as eligible, should be used to explain the service to patients.
A new Public Health poster campaign for MCR will commence on March 1, and contractors are suggested to retain the poster for future reuse.
Contractor payments for MCR will remain as with CMS until a new model is developed in the next financial year.
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