The NHS Community Pharmacy Hypertension Case-Finding Advanced Service is part of the Year 3 Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework.
The service started on 1 October 2021.
The aims and objectives of this service are to:
- identify people aged 40 years or older with high blood pressure, who have previously not had a confirmed diagnosis of hypertension, and to refer them to general practice to confirm diagnosis and for appropriate management
- undertake clinic and ambulatory blood pressure checks, when necessary, at the request of a general practice
- promote healthy behaviours to service users
This can also include people under 40 years, at the discretion of a pharmacist.
Claiming
The claim for activity for each month must be made using the MYS portal no later than the fifth of the following month.
From 1 September 2023 data to support claims must be made by an IT system with an approved API route to the MYS portal. The API data will be summarised in MYS.
You must use MYS to confirm the API data and submit the claim by the fifth of the following month.
Later submissions will be accepted within three months of the date by which the claim should have been submitted. Later claims will not be paid.
If you cannot confirm the API data in MYS as accurate, follow the instructions in MYS and contact your IT system supplier in the first instance.
Payments
Pharmacies providing this service will be eligible for:
- a set-up fee of £440
- a fee of £15 for each patient receiving a clinic blood pressure check
- a fee of £45 for each appropriate provision of ABPM to a patient
Incentive fees will also be paid to pharmacies across 2021/22, 2022/23 and 2023/24.
Pharmacies must reach a threshold of ABPM activity to trigger the payment for incentives fees.
An incentive fee of £1,000 will be available in the first year of service provision.
This will be followed by a payment of £400 in subsequent years. This will be paid if the pharmacy reaches the specified thresholds for those years.
The incentive will be triggered by providing:
- 5 ABPM checks in 2021/22
- 15 ABPM checks in 2022/23
- 20 ABPM checks in 2023/24
Further information about payments can be found in part VIC of the Drug Tariff.
If a pharmacy submitted the claim on time and have not received payment, they must email mys@nhsbsa.nhs.uk, including their:
- OCS code
- name
- telephone number
- email address
- details of the query