Pharmacy Quality Scheme 2022/23 begins from 10th October

The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) has reminded community pharmacy contractors to start working on the quality criteria if they intend to meet the Respiratory domain of the Pharmacy Quality Scheme (PQS) 2022/23.

For respiratory domain, community pharmacy contractors  must start working towards inhaler waste management; use of a spacer in patients aged 5-15 years; and personalised asthma action plans, from today (10 October).

Resources are also available to support contractors with meeting the above criteria on the PQS hub page.

PSNC also informed that contractors are also now able to make a claim for an Aspiration payment for the PQS 2022/23 on the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) Manage Your Service (MYS) portal.

“The Aspiration payment is optional; if contractors do not want to claim it, it will not impact on the contractor’s ability to claim a PQS payment during the declaration period. There is also no requirement to have claimed for a previous PQS to claim an Aspiration payment for PQS 2022/23.

“If contractors wish to claim for an Aspiration payment, they should review the requirements of the PQS 2022/23 as detailed in the Drug Tariff Determination, decide which domains they intend to meet when they make their PQS declaration (between 9am on Monday 6th February 2023 and 11.59pm on 3rd March 2023) and declare this on the MYS portal; contractors should click on the ‘Pharmacy Quality Scheme’ tab on MYS to make a claim."

Contractors, who wish to claim an Aspiration payment, must do so between 10th October 2022 and 11.59pm on 4th November 2022.  They will be paid their Aspiration payment on 1st December 2022.