Just a quick question, as suggested from your visit we have started getting some creams from our Dispensing Appliance Contractor on Rx for our local Residential Home,  or for patients that have carers. However, we’ve had complaints because they don’t have dispensing labels on them! The easiest answer is for us to print a label, but technically the DAC are dispensing it, not us, so where would we stand with that, liability wise?

Hi there, I did check this with one of my contacts from a Dispensing Appliance Contractor – please see their response below.

There is no legal requirement to attach dispensing labels to appliances.

Should the pharmacy/dispensary choose to add a dispensing label it would be deemed as secondary dispensing and therefore those colleagues involved in the label process will have professional responsibility and liability for the items.

Hi Amanda,

Can you just confirm for me that if we get a contraception prescription and the drug is only used for contraception then it doesn’t need to state ‘cc’ on the prescription-but if it can be used for other conditions then it needs to state ‘cc’ if it is for contraception use?

Hi, hope you are well?

I have pasted below the statement from the Drug Tariff

So

10.1. No charge is payable for contraceptive substances and listed contraceptive appliances for women prescribed on FP10 or any of its variants.

The great majority of family planning prescriptions will be for contraceptive devices (See Part IXA) spermicidal gels, creams, films, pessaries and aerosols; or those systemic drugs promoted as contraceptives which are listed below: prescriptions for those products will not be specially marked and a prescription charge should not be levied.

Prescriptions for other drugs – If the prescription is for contraceptive purposes the prescriber should mark the item with the symbol ♀ (or endorse the item in another way which makes it clear that the prescription is for contraceptive purposes e.g. CC) and a prescription charge should not be levied for any items so marked. In the absence of such an endorsement by the prescriber, the normal prescription charge will apply to that item.

Where a dispensing doctor paid on the Drug Tariff basis supplies for contraceptive purposes a drug which is not on the list he or she should mark the item with the symbol ♀ (or endorse the item in another way which makes it clear that the prescription is for contraceptive purposes e.g. ‘CC’) on the prescription form before it is submitted for pricing.

yes, I think you are correct, if the item is for Contraception only, then no additional information needs to be added.

If the item has a dual purpose, then you need to mark it with CC.

Hi Amanda,

Can I ask you another question please. Regarding the pricing concessions. I know you’ll be sending out the amendments list soon but just so I know how it works…

1.    if the drug is on pricing concessions and the same price or more than what we paid for it then we don’t need to amend the script

2.    If the drug is on pricing concessions but less than what we’ve paid for it then we amend the script

3.    If the drug isn’t on the pricing concessions at all then we amend the script

Excellent – that is correct 😊