Issues with MYS and PharmOutcomes syncing

UPDATE 18th March 2024

The NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA) has emailed pharmacy owners 14th March to inform them that they will further extend the submission deadline for the February Pharmacy First claims. The deadline is now 11.59pm on Thursday 21st March 2024.

NHSBSA has confirmed  that pharmacy owners who submit their February declaration by the revised deadline, will receive their Pharmacy First payment on 1st May 2024 as expected. Therefore the above extension should  not have an impact on when pharmacy owners will receive their February payment for Pharmacy First.

NHSBSA said they are continuing to work with IT system suppliers to help them resolve their issues with the Pharmacy First data that they have supplied.

Community Pharmacy England is continuing to escalate this matter within NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), raising serious concerns about the management of the issues  and their  unacceptable impact on pharmacy owners and their teams.

We will be pressing for urgent action to resolve the backlog of unresolved issues, secure the payment mechanism and restore pharmacy owner confidence.

Janet Morrison, Community Pharmacy England Chief Executive said:

”Community pharmacy teams have been hit by a combination of IT hurdles in the past week and this has had a very negative impact on  pharmacy teams who have worked exceptionally hard to prepare for and deliver the Pharmacy First service since launch.

We have made clear to Government and the NHS the unacceptable effect this has had on pharmacies’ workload and stress and we are extremely concerned about the impact on both providers and patients. We are pressing Government and the NHS for urgent action to resolve the problems and restore faith in the data and payment mechanism so that pharmacies are fairly recompensed for their hard work in delivering a vital new service.”

FAQs

1. What should I do if there are discrepancies on my MYS submission?
   Pharmacy owners should continue to work with their Pharmacy First IT system supplier helpdesk to escalate any discrepancies. They should also not confirm their claims in MYS until the issue has been resolved.
2. What should I do if I have submitted my claim with incorrect information?
   Pharmacy owners should email the MYS team (mys@nhsbsa.nhs.uk) for further guidance on how their claim will be reviewed. We have requested further clarification on the review process; we will provide an update when this is available.
3. Will I not get paid for the February 2024 submissions if I don’t submit by the deadline (11.59pm on 21st March 2024)?
   If pharmacy owners do not submit by the above deadline, later submissions will be accepted if made within three months of 5th March 2024. However, later submissions will result in delayed payments. Any submissions made after three months will not be accepted by the NHSBSA.

Further extension to Pharmacy First submission deadline – Community Pharmacy England (cpe.org.uk)

Previous Correspondence: 

We have escalated this national issue to Community Pharmacy England and continue to on behalf of our contractors. We have raised a query just within the hour from another contractor who has been on hold for 3 hours and then disconnected.

Pharmacy owners have reported to us that the change occurred at around Tuesday 4.45-5pm yesterday.

Since then, you’ll have seen that PharmOutcomes have asked for any questions to be directed their way. PharmOutcomes advises pharmacy customers of the following support:

1. the PharmOutcomes online doc mentioned at the start of the chain;
2. the ‘linked’ FAQ doc referenced within it (includes FAQs on barcodes, locums, authenticators, steps etc); and
3. the tel number mentioned earlier 0345 450 6279.

This route is so that PharmOutcomes processes and guidance can be enhanced and issues can be addressed by them. PharmOutcomes technical answers will continue to be updated as required, so please continue to signpost to PharmOutcomes directly.

We’re aware that PharmOutcomes have notified the NHS about the issues and impacts.

Unfortunately, I am unable to contact PO on your behalf however do suggest you keep a trail of your email (s) correspondence to PO.

PO has also issued last night a multi factor authentication guidance. https://pharmoutcomes.org/pharmoutcomes/guides/support/PharmOutcomesNewMFAProcess.pdf

FAQ does offer advice for locums and those with multiple access/sites.

As soon as we have any further information I will of course inform you and all contractors.