Pharmacy First: Information for Community Pharmacies
Please work with your Community Pharmacy PCN Engagement Lead regarding feedback on the Pharmacy First service including any challenges to delivery. Contact details of your PCN lead for your pharmacy are available on the HWE ICB website.
The full requirements for delivering the Pharmacy First service are detailed in the service specification and clinical pathways. There are 23 Patient Group Directions (PGDs) and 1 protocol that authorise the supply of medicines at NHS expense. Pharmacists working under the PGDs and protocol, along with an authorising manager, must sign them before use, and a master PGD and protocol authorisation sheet is available to sign all 23 PGDs and the protocol in a single document. All of these documents can be accessed and downloaded from the CPE website.
Pharmacies may be eligible for monthly fixed payments or intermediary band payments based on the number of Clinical Pathway consultations completed, with only consultations that meet the pathway outcomes (without onward referral to another pharmacy) counting towards these payments. To qualify for the monthly payment, pharmacies must meet bundling requirements. In addition, monthly caps are applied to Clinical Pathway consultations, and each pharmacy’s allocation is updated regularly by NHSBSA; any activity above the cap may not be eligible for payment.
Stay Up to Date
For the latest guidance on consultation fees, monthly payments, bundling requirements, and caps, refer to the Funding & Claiming Payment section on the CPE website.
Practical Steps for Implementation
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Pharmacy owners: Use the Pharmacy owner implementation checklist: Pharmacy First service (available on the CPE website under Getting Ready to Provide the Service) for the actions required before providing the service.
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Pharmacists: Use the Pharmacist implementation checklist (available on the CPE website under Getting Ready to Provide the Service): Pharmacy First service for individual readiness steps.
- IT systems: NHS England has worked with several suppliers to support the service:
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- HxConsult (Positive Solutions)
- Pharmacy Manager (Cegedim)
- PharmOutcomes (Pinnacle Health)
- Sonar health (Sonar informatics)
Further suppliers may be added, please check the CPE website for updates.
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- Signing up: Pharmacy owners must register to provide the service via the NHSBSA Manage Your Service (MYS) portal.
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Competency and training requirements
Pharmacy owners must ensure all staff providing the service are competent and up to date with their knowledge and skills.
This includes:
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Otoscope use (except DSPs)
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Familiarity with the clinical pathways, clinical protocol, and PGDs. This may involve completion of training.
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Documentary evidence that pharmacy staff involved in the provision of the service are competent and remain up to date with regards to the specific skills and knowledge that are appropriate to their role, and to the aspects of the service they are delivering.
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Full resources for the Pharmacy First service including videos and templates can be found on the CPE website.
Training Support
Please note this information is not endorsed by CPH.
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CPPE – Pharmacy First Information and Support
CPPE guidance on Pharmacy First services:
https://www.cppe.ac.uk/services/pharmacy-first/
CPPE have also developed, with NHS England, a Pharmacy First self-assessment framework, which pharmacists can use to assess their knowledge in relation to the service and to identify any gaps in their knowledge, which need to be filled. -
SPS Pharmacy First Podcast Series
In the SPS podcast series pharmacy colleagues and expert clinical speakers discuss issues surrounding the new service in community pharmacy and try to debunk some of the clinical myths. Each episode focuses on one of the clinical conditions, with an additional episode dedicated to paediatrics:
https://www.sps.nhs.uk/articles/pharmacy-first-podcast-series/ -
Pharmacy Magazine
News, articles, and training modules on Pharmacy First. Free to sign up:
https://www.pharmacymagazine.co.uk -
Agilio – Free Courses for Pharmacists
7 e-learning courses supporting the NHS Pharmacy First rollout. Accredited and free:
Agilio Courses PDF -
Record Keeping
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NHS Pharmacy First: Essential skills e-course – includes record-keeping module
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NHS Pharmacy First: Clinical assessment – covers record keeping
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Professional Support
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HWE ICB held local webinar events for GP practices and community pharmacies on how GP practices can refer for Pharmacy First. A recording of these webinars is available below:
- Ardens SystmOne training webinar (24 September 2024)
- EMIS training webinar (17 September 2024)
- Hertfordshire and West Essex (HWE) Training Hub – Pharmacy First
- Side by Side Clinical Pathways
Campaign and promotional materials are available through the CPE website: Pharmacy First promotional resources
We have compiled answers to common questions received from pharmacies covering areas such as training and competence, service delivery, consultations and clinical pathways, and payments and claims. For detailed guidance, please visit our Pharmacy First FAQs page.
Help your GP colleagues understand the service and refer appropriately.
