Bulletin 24.03.2015

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Bulletin 24.03.2015

Centrally Procured NeisVac-C, Boostrix IPV & Fluenz Tetra Nasal Spray
NHSBSA Prescription Services is making practices aware that where vaccines have been centrally procured for the practice through Public Health England, practices should not make a claim under personal administration arrangements to the NHSBSA on form FP34P/D Appendix or FP10. There has been an increase in FP34P/D Appendix forms and FP10 forms claiming payment for Fluenz Tetra nasal spray suspension Influenza vaccine, NeisVac-C vaccine and Boostrix IPV injection where practices have later verified these have been centrally procured via a vaccine ordering facility, such as ImmForm. Practices must not submit payment claims for vaccines or injections obtained in this way to the NHSBSA.

An FP34P/D appendix or FP10 form should only be submitted for payment to cover the ‘dispensing’ of the vaccine for personal administration where the vaccine has been purchased by the practice. Practices who have incorrectly submitted centrally procured vaccines to NHSBSA Prescription Services should contact nhsbsa.repricingrequest@nhs.net.

Work Capability Assessments
GPs often face requests for letters to support appeals to a tribunal for Employment Support Allowance (ESA) following a Work Capability Assessment (WCA). There are Regulations in place that go some way to address concerns about the WCA process and the ESA Regulations 2013 (Regulation 25 and 31) set out the exceptional circumstances where an adverse decision may pose a substantial risk to the claimant or others in the workplace – Regulations 25 (page 22 in link document) and 31 (page 25 in link document). These two regulations should be applied to all cases where a GP makes a clinical judgement that harm is likely.

The GPC position remains that the work capability assessment process should be scrapped with immediate effect and replaced with a rigorous and safe system that does not cause avoidable harm to the weakest and most vulnerable people in society. There is concern about whether the WCA assesses adequately and accurately a patient’s ‘fitness for work’.

Medical Information Requests for Insurance Purposes
The BMA’s joint guidance with the Association of British Insurers (ABI) on the use of medical information for insurance purposes has been withdrawn and is under review. The BMA is aware that some insurance companies are now requesting full medical records (via a Subject Access Request – SAR) rather than asking for a report from the applicant’s GP, as previously agreed with the ABI. The BMA are awaiting guidance from the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) regarding concerns about the use of SARs. Until this guidance is received, the BMA would recommend this letter is sent to any patients requesting their medical records via a SAR. In the GPC’s view, requesting the full medical record for any patient is excessive and potentially in breach of the third data protection principle under the Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA) which states that personal data shall be “adequate, relevant and not excessive” in relation to the purpose for which it is processed. Under the DPA, patients are entitled to copies of their full medical record.

DDRB Recommended Uplift
The Government in England accepted the Doctors’ and Dentists’ Review Body (DDRB) recommendation that GPs should receive a 1% increase in net income. An overall contractual uplift of 1.16% has been calculated using the DDRB’s formula to deliver this net increase. The new global sum figure will be confirmed very soon when the new SFE and GMS guidance documents are published. For this year only, the value of global sum will increase again in October to reflect seniority recycling.

Prescription Charge Increase
The prescription charge in England will increase by 15p from £8.05 to £8.20 for each medicine or appliance dispensed as from 1 April 2015.

Fit for Work Scheme Roll Out
Fit for Work offers free and impartial guidance and resources that can be used by GPs who are supporting patients facing work-related health challenges. It is designed to help employed people with health conditions, or those who want to return to work after a period of sickness absence lasting or expected to last four weeks or more. In addition to accessing online resources around work-related health topics, GPs across England and Wales can use the Fit for Work website to refer patients who have been, or are likely to be, off work for four weeks or more for a health assessment. The roll out of this free and voluntary referral service, which can replace the need for a fit note, will take place over the coming months and will culminate in a Return to Work Plan tailored to patients’ needs and focused on helping them return to work in a way that is right for them. The referral service roll out has not yet reached Tees but GPs can register their interest on the Fit for Work website in order to receive updates about service developments and roll out.

Appraisal & Revalidation Guidance for Sessional GPs
The GPC appraisal and revalidation guidance for sessional GPs has been updated following the recent GPC survey which made it clear that many sessional GPs require further support with the appraisal and revalidation process. For example, sessional GPs reported that they often encountered difficulties gathering appropriate supporting information on quality improvement activity and significant events, and had trouble collecting feedback from both colleagues and patients.

Sessional GP Newsletter
A major feature of the March edition of the sessional GP e-newsletter  is the new and updated appraisal and revalidation guidance for sessional GPs mentioned above as well as other news and information aimed at supporting sessional GPs and blogs from sessional GPs, including one from Dr Mary O’Brien on becoming an Adult Basic Life Support Trainer.

Expert Witness Conference
The Expert Witness conference will be held on Wednesday 22nd April at BMA, House, Tavistock Square, London and will include presentations on:

  • the legal profession’s expectations of doctors as expert witnesses
  • good and bad practice in report-writing
  • setting fees and charging appropriately

The conference costs £168 for BMA members including VAT) and £ 300 for non-members (including VAT). If you are interested in working as an expert witness/who are already experienced expert witness, please view further details and  register online – the conference will address issues pertinent to doctors who fall in both categories!

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