Reminder: Packaged dose endorsement on prescriptions for methadone oral liquid

When dispensing FP10MDA or FP10 prescriptions for methadone oral liquid, pharmacy contractors can claim packaged dose fees of £0.55 for each individual dose supplied in advance in daily dose containers.

The number of packaged dose (‘PD’) fees to claim for is calculated as the total number of separately packaged doses given minus the number of patient interactions. The endorsing column on the left-hand side of the prescription form must be clearly endorsed with the initials ‘PD’ followed by the number of fees to be claimed for example ‘PD8’.

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) has reported seeing an increase in the number of NHS prescription forms for methadone oral liquid where the PD endorsement is either unclear or incomplete and this has led to inaccurate or missed payments for contractors.

The example below shows the correct use of PD endorsement:

For a patient who is dispensed 14 days’ supply of methadone oral liquid in separate packaged doses and visits the pharmacy 6 times to collect, can claim an additional £4.40 in packaged dose fees. The number of additional packaged doses to be endorsed would be calculated as follows:

14 (total number of separately packaged doses) – 6 (number of patient interactions) = 8 and this will need to be endorsed as ‘PD8’ on the left-hand side as illustrated below:

Hints & Tips for dispensing contractors, produced by NHS Prescription Services, provides examples of common endorsing errors made by contractors when dispensing methadone oral liquid on FP10MDA forms.