The New Medicine Service (NMS) which provides support and advice on newly prescribed medicines has been extended to the end of the year.
Community pharmacies offer guidance on prescriptions for specific long-term conditions through the scheme.
Initially NMS was commissioned by NHS England to run until March 2013 to improve medicine adherence and outcomes for patients, and had already been extended to 30 September 2013.
The New Medicine Service (NMS) which provides support and advice on newly prescribed medicines has been extended to the end of the year.
Community pharmacies offer guidance on prescriptions for specific long-term conditions through the scheme.
Initially NMS was commissioned by NHS England to run until March 2013 to improve medicine adherence and outcomes for patients, and had already been extended to 30 September 2013.
But the Department of Health has agreed to amend the Pharmaceutical Services Directions 2013 for England to extend the service until 31 December 2013.
An NHS England statement said: “This means that community pharmacies can continue to recruit new patients to the service and will receive payment for this even where the service to patients is completed in January or February 2014.
“The negotiations on the overall community pharmacy contractual framework funding are on-going with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee and these discussions will consider the longer-term future of the NMS.”
A full academic evaluation of the NMS will be produced in February 2014 and will be used to decide the long-term future of the service.
