PSNC recommends contractors take steps to reconcile their payments – what was processed compared to what has been reimbursed by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) to identify any potential errors.

PSNC has made a number of resources available to assist you in monitoring payments (set out at the bottom of this webpage).

Top tips

• Making your submission by MYS is better than using solely the paper FP34C form. The MYS submission has features that can assist your submission such as automated checking that the inputted number of forms is smaller than the inputted items.
• Download the Px Report for your records each month. See Step-by-step guide to getting Px reports. Some specialist IT suppliers may also be able to use these Px Report spreadsheet files to assist more advanced reconciliation. If more contractors make use of their Px Reports this may lead to greater innovation amongst those IT suppliers that can support your analysis.
• Make an electronic scan of your paper FP34C for your records and for use when reconciling payments.
• Check that the number of EPS items priced is similar to that you’d claimed. Refer to psnc.org.uk/epstotals for a short step-by-step process of how to do this.
• Check that Serious Shortage Protocol (SSP) total item numbers claimed aligns with that later reimbursed.
• Download electronic Schedules of Payment each month for your records. These help easier analysis.
• Some contractors which wish to check the reconcile number of items believed submitted is similar to the number that have been priced by NHSBSA will either:
  • Consider (a) sending all dispense and claim messages by the end of the month and (b) not sending claim messages between 1st-5th of the next month, given five day window logic, if this can ease the reconciliation activity.
  • Write to NHSBSA on their paper FP34C submission form ‘see MYS submission on their FP34C’ for their totals figures, and submit their totals using MYS on the 5th.

EPS claim acknowledgements

System suppliers which have not already, can choose to set up the ‘EPS claim acknowledgement’ feature. This feature confirms within your PMR those claims which were submitted and received by the NHS Spine. This can provide reassurance that faults have not prevented messages from being sent to the central NHS Spine so that NHSBSA can retrieve and price these.

This feature is included on the PMR wishlist. PMR suppliers make developments partially based on the ongoing feedback they get from their pharmacy customers. Read more at: psnc.org.uk/systemlist.

Related resources

• Information Services Portal (ISP) by the NHSBSA
• Using your Schedule of Payment to monitor performance
• Dispensing Factsheet: Prescription Returns
• Dispensing Factsheet: Prescription Switching
• Dispensing Factsheet: Using Your Schedule of Payments to Monitor Performance
• psnc.org.uk/epstotals

Return to Monthly payments or Payment and accuracy