The government has introduced caps on the maximum number of Pharmacy First clinical pathway consultations that each pharmacy can claim payment for.
The caps are based on each pharmacy's monthly average earlier in the year, and will be in place from October to December this year.
Use our interactive tool below to find out your cap, and how your clinical pathway consultations compare to other pharmacies.
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Payment maximums apply to six 'bands' of pharmacies
Around half of community pharmacies in England (5,454) have delivered, as a monthly average between May and July, less than 15 clinical pathway consultations per month.
According to a list published by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA), these pharmacies will fall into band 1, and will be able to claim payment for a maximum of 130 clinical pathway consultations.
Meanwhile, 1,185 pharmacies fell into band 2 - pharmacies which delivered an average of 15-17 clinical pathway consultations per month between May and July 2024. These pharmacies will now have their total claimable clinical pathway consultations capped at 145.
There were 624 pharmacies that delivered an average of 18-19 clinical pathway consultations each month between May and July 2024 and therefore fall into band 3, with a cap of 169 claimable clinical pathway consultations each month.
In band 4, 953 pharmacies delivered an average of 20-24 clinical pathway consultations each month between May and July 2024. These pharmacies will now have a cap of 199 claimable clinical pathway consultations each month.
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In band 5, 870 pharmacies delivered an average of 25-33 clinical pathway consultations each month between May and July 2024, and will now have a cap of 259 claimable clinical pathway consultations each month.
And the 845 pharmacies in England that delivered more than 34 clinical pathway consultations on average each month between May and July 2024 will now have their monthly claimable clinical pathway consultations capped at 507.
According to analysis of latest available data by The Pharmacist, just two pharmacies, both in band 6, would have exceeded their monthly caps had these been introduced by June 2024.
Find out your cap and how your pharmacy compares to others
Use our interactive table below to find out which band your pharmacy is in and the maximum number of clinical pathway consultations you will be able to claim payment for each month.
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Read more recent analysis from The Pharmacist to find out how many pharmacies are failing to meet monthly thresholds and which Pharmacy First consultations make up the majority of payment claims.
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