Following discussions between Community Pharmacy England and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) regarding medicine pricing issues reported by pharmacy owners, the Department has today (25/07/2024) announced the following list of price concessions for July 2024:
Drug
Pack size
Price concession
Agomelatine 25mg tablets
28
£13.50
Amisulpride 200mg tablets
60
£28.42
Betamethasone valerate 0.1% cream
30
£2.57
Cabergoline 500microgram tablets
8
£15.92
Clarithromycin 250mg/5ml oral suspension
70
£9.11
Codeine 30mg tablets
28
£1.31
Codeine 30mg tablets
100
£4.69
Erythromycin 250mg gastro-resistant tablets
28
£21.00
Famotidine 20mg tablets
28
£17.76
Famotidine 40mg tablets
28
£28.90
Isotretinoin 20mg capsules
30
£10.61
Ketoconazole 2% shampoo
120
£23.95
Lacosamide 200mg tablets
56
£10.63
Lofepramine 70mg tablets
56
£23.90
Losartan 12.5mg tablets
28
£2.98
Metformin 500mg modified-release tablets
56
£2.11
Naftidrofuryl 100mg capsules
84
£10.45
Nicorandil 20mg tablets
60
£15.04
Olanzapine 20mg tablets
28
£7.99
Oxytetracycline 250mg tablets
28
£3.70
Pregabalin 150mg capsules
56
£2.53
Pregabalin 200mg capsules
84
£4.38
Primidone 250mg tablets
100
£83.16
Quetiapine 100mg tablets
60
£16.04
For the full list of price concessions granted for July 2024 so far please visit our price concession hub page here.
There are no prices that rolled over from the previous month.
Please note: We are still in discussion with DHSC on a number other medicines affected by pricing issues this month. We will issue further updates as soon as we hear back from the Department.
No additional endorsements are required for price concessions. A price concession only applies for the month it is granted; any prices agreed for concessions requested late in the month will roll over into the following month.
We encourage pharmacies to report any problems obtaining a Part VIII product at or below the stated Drug Tariff price, using the online feedback form on the Community Pharmacy England website. Please include full details of the supplier and price paid for any products sourced above the Drug Tariff price. We will investigate the extent of the problem and, if appropriate, discuss the issue with DHSC.
Please subscribe to our mailing list to receive email updates of any price concessions.
Further information on price concessions and FAQs about the process involved can be found on our website (cpe.org.uk/priceconcessions) To hear more on how the current price concessions system operates, pharmacy teams can now access a recording of our recent Medicines Supply and Concessions Briefing webinar here.
Improvements to the price concession system
Following significant concerns raised by pharmacies about the unsustainable level of prices imposed by DHSC in second half of 2022, it was agreed that an urgent review of the price concession setting system would take place.
Since this announcement, we have sent a strong and clear message back to Government that pharmacies cannot continue to subsidise the NHS medicines bill. Following the review of the concessionary price process, a package of measures has been developed to improve the system.
One of the solutions agreed between us and DHSC is that from 1st April 2023, all products granted a concessionary price will be classified as ‘Discount Not Deducted’ for the month(s) in which they are on concession.
In May 2023, DHSC implemented a process to roll over to the following month any agreed prices for concessions requested on or after the 23rd of the month.
Furthermore, from April 2024, a retrospective top-up payment system applies to products granted very low concessionary prices by DHSC when compared to the average purchase prices identified via the Margins survey. Further information on the top-up mechanism can be found here.
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