Hints and Tips is a quarterly bulletin designed to help our dispensing contractors with their interaction with NHS Prescription Services.

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April 2024 - available online here

In this edition:

• NHS prescription charges from 1 May 2024
• Patients reminded to renew their HRT PPC
• Contractors reminded to use correct prescribing codes
• FP10 NHS prescription forms: memantine
• Digital HC2 certificates
• Real Time Exemption Checking

NHS prescription charges from 1 May 2024

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has announced the NHS prescription charges uplift in England from Wednesday 1 May 2024.

Patients can find out if they can claim free NHS prescriptions using our eligibility checker.

You can remind patients who pay for their NHS prescriptions that they could save money by buying an NHS Prescription Prepayment Certificate (PPC). Rather than paying £9.90 for each prescription item, the three and 12-month PPC covers unlimited NHS prescriptions. This offers savings for those who need four or more items in three months, or 12 or more items in 12 months.

The NHS Hormone Replacement Therapy Prescription Prepayment Certificate (HRT PPC), covers all listed HRT medicines for 12 months. Saving patients money if they pay three or more HRT prescription charges in 12 months.

Patients reminded to renew their HRT PPC

Patients who purchased an HRT PPC in April 2023 will soon need to renew their certificate if they wish to continue using the service.

We are notifying those who have a certificate due to expire. If a patient uses an expired certificate to access medication, they may receive a penalty charge of up to £100.

With an HRT PPC, patients can access an unlimited number of listed HRT medicines over 12 months for the cost of two single prescription charges.

You can play a key role in raising awareness of the HRT PPC with patients.

Contractors reminded to use correct prescribing codes

Unidentified prescribing impacts prescribing budgets and any clinical governance arrangements that rely on prescribing information provided by our Organisational Data team.

Keeping your list of registered prescribers accurate and up to date helps to reduce unidentified prescribing.

To register prescribers at your GP practice, you must notify your authorised signatory which will be Primary Care Support England (PCSE), your Integrated Care Board (ICB) or an agency acting on their behalf.

Digital HC2 certificates

Updates are underway for the HC2 (full help) certificate.

Patients will soon have the option to receive their HC2 certificate by email.

This will enable patients to show their digital exemption certificate when collecting their NHS prescriptions for free.

Pharmacy teams will be able to accept both paper and digital HC2 certificates as proof of exemption from NHS charges, as long as the certificate is valid when patients collect their NHS prescriptions.