THE UK Government has proposed new legislation which would formalise arrangements for the supply of free medications via pharmacies in the event of future major pandemic incidents.
An updated Health and Care Act 2022 would see certain items supplied by the Government and centrally stocked in community pharmacies, such as vaccines, medicines used for the prevention or treatment of pandemic disease, and accompanying products such as syringes.
Under the proposal new powers would be delegated to standardise National Health Service (NHS) procedures so pharmacies could receive designated products free of charge, eliminating the need for NHS reimbursement.
The UK Department of Health said if made law the proposal would "strengthen the legal basis for scenarios where the usual supply routes are bypassed".
Under current arrangements, the only practical way to achieve centrally stocked free supplies on a secure legal footing would be for the NHS to sell stock to wholesalers - who would in turn sell to community pharmacies, which are then reimbursed by the NHS - a clearly inefficient process.
The Department noted that the provision is only to create the "enabling powers" for such arrangements in the future, with no immediate impacts expected, as the exercise of such powers would be subject to other legislation which may or may not be implemented in the future.
The UK Government stressed that it did not intend to "radically change NHS pharmaceutical service provision or payment mechanisms to community pharmacies or the pharmaceutical supply chain that they use", but was aiming to provide a legal basis for such an arrangement in the event of a future health emergency.
The wide-ranging Act also covers a range of other amendments relating to hospital food standards, licensing of cosmetic procedures, medicines information systems, eradicating human trafficking and slavery and climate change.
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