Community pharmacy contractors ordering lateral flow device (LFD) test kits will receive a different brand of test kits (Acon Flowflex) from Alliance Healthcare, once the existing stock of the Innova test kits has been distributed.
"When the new stock is received, the Innova test kits should continue to be supplied to patients in the first instance to use up the pharmacy’s existing stock," the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) said.
A carton (outer) of the Acon FlowFlex test kits will contain 56 test kits and the carton dimensions are 36 x 38.5 x 44cm.
The main differences to note as well as the pack size, are that the Acon Flowflex test kits: are nasal swab only; and provide a test result within 15 minutes instead of 30 minutes – the test should not be left to develop for longer than 30 minutes as this will void the test and will need to be repeated.
It is therefore important for pharmacists to continue to advise patients to follow the instructions on how to use the tests kits contained within the box.
The changes in pack size will not affect the weekly reporting requirement for stock received as contractors are required to report the quantity of cartons (outers) received, not the number of test kits (as well as the lot number, supplying wholesale and date of receipt).
Contractors can continue to use the same PIP code (8943995) to order LFD tests for the time being. As new LFD products are introduced, if there is a subsequent change in the PIP code, PNSC will communicate this to contractors.
Sukhi Basra