A community pharmacy contractor would be charged £25 if a paper prescription bundle is submitted late to the NHSBSA.
“A charge for processing of a late bundle would only apply if a contractor cannot provide evidence, where requested by the NHSBSA, that their bundle was submitted using secure track and trace delivery no later than the 5th day of the following month in which supply was made,” said the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC).
“Where evidence is submitted, no administrative deduction will be made. If no evidence is provided within the required time, then an administrative deduction will be made from the next Schedule of Payments. The deduction which will appear on schedules as ‘Late Fee’ under the section “Details of other amounts authorised”.”
Since the introduction of an administrative charge for late bundle submissions, 16 contractors received a fine for submitting their March prescription bundles late.
In instances where the contractor does not provide the evidence, but the claiming process was followed as outlined in the Drug Tariff, the contractor can challenge the NHSBSA’s decision to deduct the administrative charge, by providing evidence and submitting it alongside an appropriate claim form available on NHSBSA’s website.
The contractor will need to submit the evidence and the appropriate form no later than one month after the month in which the administrative deduction was made.
The claim form along with required evidence must be submitted via email to [email protected] or alternatively the form can be posted to the NHS Business Services Authority, Bridge House, 152 Pilgrim Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 6SN. If the challenge is successful, the NHSBSA will apply a full refund to the next payment.
PSNC’s briefing titled ‘Administrative charges for late submission of prescription forms’ provides guidance for pharmacy teams on correct end of month submission processes and information regarding how the £25 deduction for late submissions is administered by the NHSBSA.
