NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE&I) has today (21st January 2021), announced that funding for the Community Pharmacist Consultation Service (CPCS) IT systems has been extended for an extra six months – until 30th September 2021.

Since March 2020, monies from the Pharmacy Integration Fund have been provided to NHSE&I regional teams to fund CPCS IT system licences (“the CPCS IT system” referenced in the CPCS service specification) for community pharmacies providing the service. This funding was originally due to end on 31st March 2021, after which time, contractors would be required to purchase their own IT support from the range of system suppliers in the market offering CPCS functionality.

NHSE&I have decided to extend the central funding of the IT for six months, from 1st April 2021 to 30th September 2021 as a way of supporting contractors during the pandemic. Further information will follow locally from regional NHSE&I teams.

From 1st October 2021, contractors providing the CPCS will need to procure their own CPCS IT system. By that time, we hope that a range of pharmacy IT suppliers, including PMR system suppliers, will have been able to develop support for the CPCS, so that community pharmacy contractors have a choice of potential IT solutions to support the provision of the service.

Read more about Community Pharmacist Consultation Service (CPCS) IT support