The Scottish Government has said it is 'aware' of issues following the introduction of a new payment system for community pharmacies, and has been assured that any incorrect payments have been or are being 'rectified'.
And it said it was engaging with stakeholders as it continued to monitor the situation.
Issues with the Data Capture and Validation Pricing system, introduced by NHS National Services Scotland in July 2023, affected processing times for dispensing data.
This meant contractors were paid monthly estimated payments, rather than actual dispensing amounts, until February 2024.
And when the system sought to recover overpayments, some contractors reported large sums of money were taken back 'at short notice', which adversely affected cash flow, according to the NPA.
Though improvements have been made recently, pharmacies continue to report ‘significant’ and ‘repeated’ issues, with ‘no notice nor clarity of what they are getting paid’, the NPA added.
Paul Rees, NPA chief executive, said members in Scotland had reported that they ‘cannot plan, cannot settle their accounts and even face costly overdrafts or issues paying medicine suppliers because of issues with this troubled payment system’.
The Scottish Government confirmed to The Pharmacist that the Practitioner and Counter Fraud Services later introduced 'a more sustainable' approach.
A spokesperson told The Pharmacist: 'We are aware that following the introduction of the new Data Capture and Validation Pricing system by NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) there were issues regarding payments being made to community pharmacy contractors.
'The Scottish Government has been assured by NSS that any incorrect payments have been, or are being, rectified. Scottish Government officials, NSS and Community Pharmacy Scotland are engaging with all relevant stakeholders, including the National Pharmacy Association, as we continue to monitor the situation.'
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