This list covers some of the more significant changes, but is not exhaustive:
- GPs who earnt over £156,000 in pensionable income from NHS work in the financial year 2021/22 are required to self-declare their earnings to NHS England by midnight on 30 April.
- From 17 April covid booster jabs will be offered to older people living in care homes, those over age five who are immunosuppressed and all adults over 75.
- The New to Partnership Payment Scheme is due to end, GPs who have joined a partnership prior to 31 March have until 30 June to apply to it.
- The new HRT prescription prepayment certificate is available from 1 April, NHS Business Services Authority has published a full list of treatments covered.
- PCSE have announced changes to the prescription reimbursement process effective from 1 April, meaning only a GP’s prescriber number will be accepted on claims rather than a pooled list code.
- EMIS have confirmed that QTools will be extended to June 2024 following steps taken to reduce problems around possible incompatibility with SNOMED-CT.
- EMIS are also phasing out their panic button feature due to it being incompatible with certain other systems and therefore not totally reliable.
- HEE’s Independent Prescribing Courses have been fully funded for 2023/24, with pharmacists employed directly by practices or under ARRS eligible to apply.
- Version 1 of the digital weight management programme e-referral template will expire on 31 March 2023. Practices must use the Version 2 referral template and remove the version 1 referral form from their systems. The new form has already been distributed to local data quality and IT support teams, Ardens Healthcare, Primary Care IT, DXS and PRISM.
- The Medical Examiner System is due to come into effect from 1 April, however the usual issuing of guidance and promotional material we would expect around this has not started. Nor have we seen recent communications confirming the implementation date or addressing concerns about the mechanism whereby records in general practice will be accessed by MEs.