From 1 September community pharmacies will be required to use an approved clinical IT system to record clinical details and payment claims for the NHS hypertension service.

And all claims for August must be submitted manually through MYS by Tuesday 5 September.

The NHS Blood Pressure Check Service began in October 2021, with pharmacy technicians becoming legally permitted to perform blood pressure checks as part of the service from April 2023.

And from 1 September, community pharmacies will need to use an approved clinical IT system to be able to make payment claims for the service.

Currently, HxConsult (Positive Solutions), Pharmacy Manger (Cegedim), PharmOutcomes (Pinnacle Health) and Sonar health (Sonar informatics) are on track to support the service from September, although others are expected to add the functionality at a later date.

‘These assured systems will enable pharmacy teams to record blood pressure checks in real time and simplify the monthly claims process,’ NHSE said in its primary care bulletin last week.

Instead of making a clinical record and then transcribing it into the MYS payment portal, the assured systems will create a MYS claim automatically using an API (Application Programming Interface), as already happens for the Community Pharmacy Consultation Scheme (CPCS) and the flu vaccination service.

Similar changes are being planned for the New Medicine Service later this year and the Smoking Cessation Service early next year, according to Community Pharmacy England (CPE).