Following on from the 2021-22 Pharmacy Quality Scheme (PQS) announcement last month, new guidance has been published for community pharmacy contractors to meet the gateway criteria and domain requirements.
To take part in the PQS and be eligible for a PQS payment, contractors must achieve the gateway criteria on the day of declaration, i.e. between 09:00 on January 31, 2022 and 23:59 on February 25, 2022.
On the day of the declaration, the contractor must have claimed payments for the completion of at least 20 New Medicine Service (NMS) and/or catch-up NMS between April 1, 2021 and January 5, 2022.
PQS scheme, a part of the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF), was introduced in December 2016. It was designed to reward community pharmacies for delivering quality criteria in all three dimensions: clinical effectiveness, patient safety and patient experience.
Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has advised contractors to read NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE&I) guidance to understand all requirements.
To further support contractors, the negotiator will hold a webinar on September 14, convened by Rosie Taylor, head of service development at PSNC.
Besides, PSNC is finalising additional resources to be published soon to help contractors under the scheme.
