Ask PSNC: Quality Payments FAQs
October 18, 2017
The team at PSNC has been receiving a number of queries on the Quality Payments Scheme; below are some of the questions asked over the last week.
Q. Is the Quality Payments Scheme going to continue after 2017/18?
No decisions have been made by the Department of Health and NHS England on the future of Quality Payments beyond 2017/18.
Q. My pharmacy has only recently opened – will I be eligible to take part in the Quality Payments Scheme?
As long as the pharmacy is on the pharmaceutical list in England on the day of the review period (24th November 2017) then the pharmacy will be eligible to take part in the scheme.
However, the contractor will only be able to claim the quality points for the criteria that it is able to provide evidence of meeting at that review point. A pharmacy that has recently opened would need to consider how it would be able to provide evidence of meeting each of the gateway criteria to be eligible for a payment; and for each of the quality criteria it would wish to claim a payment for.
If the pharmacy has opened at a time which is close to the next review date it may then not have had the opportunity to gather the evidence that would be required to demonstrate meeting a particular criterion.
Q. If a pharmacy who claims for a Quality Payment at the first review point closes before the second review point will it still be eligible for a Quality Payment at the second review point?
No, the pharmacy must be on the pharmaceutical list in England on the day of the review period, 24th November 2017.
Q. I did not meet the gateway criteria for the April 2017 review point. Am I still eligible to take part in the Quality Payments Scheme if I meet the gateway criteria by the November 2017 review point?
Yes. If you meet the gateway criteria for the November 2017 review point, then you are eligible to take part in the Quality Payments Scheme.
Q. For the quality criteria that can only be claimed for once, is there a specific review point at which they should claimed?
No. If they can be claimed for only once, they can be claimed at either the April or November review point.
More FAQs on the Quality Payments Scheme can be viewed at: psnc.org.uk/qualityfaqs