PSNC Briefing 040/21: Briefing for general practice teams – changes to the NHS community pharmacy contract in 2021/22
This PSNC Briefing provides information for general practice teams on the changes to the community pharmacy contract in 2021/22, including the revised Pharmacy Quality Scheme.

PSNC Briefing 041/17: ‘Walk in my Shoes’ toolkit
This PSNC Briefing provides a toolkit for community pharmacy contractors or LPCs to use who are interested in setting up a ‘Walk in my Shoes’ programme to bring together community pharmacy teams and GP practice teams to help each other understand their roles, improve working relationships and ultimately provide better care for their patients.

The toolkit includes a number of annexes as well as a template PowerPoint presentation. Standalone versions of the documents included in the annexes and the PowerPoint presentation can be found below:

Template letter for a GP practice – from an individual contractor

Template letter for a GP practice from an individual contractor (e form)

Template letter for a GP practice from an individual contractor (PDF)

Template letter for an LMC – from an LPC

Template letter for an LMC from an LPC (e form)

Template letter for an LMC from an LPC (PDF)

GP practice/LMC briefing document

GP practice/LMC briefing document (Word)

Template PowerPoint presentation

‘Walk in my Shoes’ presentation (PowerPoint)

‘Walk in my Shoes’ presentation (PDF)

Confidentiality agreement

Confidentiality agreement for non contracted workers

Community pharmacy visit checklist

Community pharmacy visit – checklist for GP practice staff (Word)

Community pharmacy visit – checklist for GP practice staff (PDF)

GP practice visit checklist

GP practice visit – checklist for community pharmacy staff (Word)

GP practice visit – checklist for community pharmacy staff (PDF)

Reflective log for members of pharmacy staff/GP practice staff

Reflective log for members of pharmacy staff/GP practice staff (Word)

Reflective log for members of pharmacy staff/GP practice staff (PDF)

Action plan for pharmacy/GP practice

Action plan for pharmacy/GP practice staff (Word)

Action plan for pharmacy/GP practice staff (PDF)

Outcomes of action plan for pharmacy/GP practice

Outcomes of action plan for pharmacy/GP practice (Word)

Outcomes of action plan for pharmacy/GP practice (PDF)

PSNC video

#PSNCtalk video on working with GPs published

• PSNC Advanced Services PowerPoint presentation for GPs and hospital colleagues (October 2021)
• PSNC Advanced Services PowerPoint presentation for GPs and hospital colleagues (October 2021) (PDF)
• PSNC Briefing 047/21: NHS Community Pharmacy Advanced Services – information for general practice teams (November 2021)

For information on referring patients to their GP practice, following provision of Advanced Services click on the following links:

• NMS
• Community Pharmacist Consultation Service (CPCS)
• Flu Vaccination Service
• Appliance Use Review
• Stoma Appliance Customisation

Contractors should talk to their local GP practices about the CPCF requirement for pharmacies to highlight the benefits of repeat dispensing/eRD to appropriate patients.

NHS England published Electronic Repeat Dispensing – Guidance in June 2015. This document clearly describes how eRD works and is aimed at CCGs and GP practice teams. Contractors may want to use the document in discussions with local GP practices about repeat dispensing/eRD.

The joint PSNC/NHS Employers/BMA GP Committee guidance for GP practices on repeat dispensing may also be helpful to use in discussions.

PSNC has developed a repeat dispensing/eRD template letter which can be used by contractors to increase a GP practice team’s awareness of repeat dispensing/eRD.

The following presentation can also be used in discussions with GP practices in order to demonstrate the similarity of repeat prescribing and EPS repeat dispensing and the additional benefits of using repeat dispensing:

Comparison of repeat dispensing and repeat prescribing (PowerPoint)

Comparison of repeat dispensing and repeat prescribing (PDF)

NHS Digital has also developed a series of materials to boost the usage of eRD which contractors could highlight to GP practice teams:

• eRD webinars: A recorded eRD webinar;
• eRD learning module for pharmacy teams and GP practice staff; and
• eRD toolkit – This toolkit is suitable for pharmacy teams as well as GP practice staff. The toolkit includes a dispenser quick guide, full dispenser guide, presentation and patient text.

Clinical codes for GP practices

GP practices can use the following clinical codes to record patient consent for information sharing for the repeat dispensing/eRD service:

Patient consent given for repeat dispensing information transfer:

• CTV3 code: XaKRX
• V2 code: 9Nd3.
• SNOMED CT code: 416224003

Working with GPs on EPS R2 issues

PSNC webpage – Joint working with GPs

PSNC webpage – The GP contract

NHS England webpage – The GP contract

PSNC Briefing 008/19: A five-year framework for GP contract reform to implement the NHS Long Term Plan (February 2019)
At the end of January 2019, NHS England published a five-year framework for GP services agreed with the British Medical Association (BMA) General Practitioners Committee (GPC) in England and supported by Government. It implements commitments in the NHS Long Term Plan for changes to the GP contract and sets the direction for primary care for the next five years.

This PSNC Briefing sets out a summary of the key aspects of the framework, which are of most relevance to community pharmacy teams and Local Pharmaceutical Committees.