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

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February 2025 - available online here

In this edition:

• Tax credits to end on Saturday 5 April 2025
• Endorsing Not Dispensed items
• Hormone Replacement Therapy Prescription Prepayment Certificates (HRT PPC) can now be added to Apple Wallets

Tax credits to end on Saturday 5 April 2025

People currently receiving tax credits from HMRC will no longer get this payment after Saturday 5 April 2025. This means patients who hold a tax credit exemption certificate will no longer receive automatic entitlement to free NHS prescriptions.

The FP10 form will be updated to remove reference to the tax credit exemption certificate.

People receiving tax credits are being moved to Universal Credit. To continue being entitled to free NHS prescriptions, they must meet the Universal Credit criteria for help with health costs.

If your pharmacy is enabled with Real Time Exemption Checking, use it to find out if a patient has a valid exemption before dispensing their prescription.

You can encourage patients to check that they are entitled to help with health costs before they claim. Patients can use the eligibility checker to find out what they could be entitled to. It usually takes three minutes to check.

Endorsing Not Dispensed items

If a patient has not collected their medication, or if you do not dispense one or more items on a prescription, each item must be endorsed. This is to make sure it is not reimbursed.

FP10 (paper prescriptions) instructions for marking an item as not dispensed: You must clearly cross out the item and endorse 'ND' or ‘Not Dispensed’ immediately next to the prescribed item.

HRT PPCs can now be added to Apple Wallets

Apple device users now have the option to add their Hormone Replacement Therapy Prescription Prepayment Certificate (HRT PPC) to their Apple Wallet. The certificate, introduced by the Department of Health and Social Care, helps reduce the cost of certain HRT medicines.

Users purchasing an HRT PPC on an Apple device (iOS 10 or later) can add their certificate to their Apple Wallet. They will be able to see the following information on their HRT PPC Apple Pass:

• their full name
• certificate reference
• start and expiry dates

The Apple Pass certificate includes a ‘pass details’ section, which provides more information about the HRT PPC, including how to use it to collect HRT medication. It also includes a link to the most up to date list of HRT PPC covered medicines.