Community Pharmacy England will be hosting a webinar on Drug Tariff Category M and retained margin on Tuesday 23rd January at 7pm.

While changes to Category M prices are intended to ensure delivery of the agreed retained margin of £800m to the community pharmacy sector, the system is complex and the impact on individual pharmacies can vary considerably. The current reimbursement system has also failed to keep pace with the massive growth in prescription volumes over the last decade, meaning that margins have been spread thinner. The Category M pricelist for January 2024 has brought the situation to the fore.

Sign up to our webinar now to come and hear from our Funding and Reimbursement Team about the processes behind the delivery of margin, our work in this area, and how Category M fits into wider pharmacy funding mechanisms.

Book your place now (note, registration will close at 12 noon on the day of the event)

All pharmacies are continuing to face extreme financial challenges. Our 2023 Pharmacy Pressures Survey found that the majority (96%) of pharmacy owners had significantly higher costs than the previous year, and autumn polling indicated that unpredictable revenue stream was one of the highest pressures on pharmacy owners.

The reductions to the January Drug Tariff have come at an exceptionally difficult time. We lobbied for no reduction, stressing the unsustainable financial pressures already being experienced by pharmacy businesses, making further reductions impossible to absorb. We have made clear our requests for DHSC and NHS to engage with us on a desperately needed revision to the pharmacy reimbursement system, calling on the Pharmacy Minister – with the support of numerous MPs – to help make this happen.

The Category M webinar has been scheduled just before our January Committee Meeting, where our Committee will be having a comprehensive debate, considering the current issues around margin delivery and assessment.

Our webinar will aim to:

Describe what is considered to be retained margin;
Demystify the processes around managing and monitoring the delivery of margin;
Provide practical examples of the system in action;
Explain the current issues and the impact of margin on overall funding;
Set out our concerns and calls for improvements to the wider reimbursement system; and
Answer your questions and hear your feedback.

Submit your questions ahead of time by email to funding.team@cpe.org.uk to help us shape the event.

Book your place now (note, registration will close at 12 noon on the day of the event)

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