Prescription Pricing Authority

All patients who are prescribed the drug are identified from prescriptions submitted to the Prescription Pricing Authority (PPA). Copies of the prescriptions are sent to the DSRU to provide exposure data on patient and prescribing doctor. After a certain interval, typically 12 months, each GP is contacted and asked to complete a simple questionnaire (the green form ) describing any event that might have been recorded since the first prescription to the individual patient. 

In these situations, dispensing doctors will prescribe and dispense the medication for the patient. In order for the doctor to be reimbursed for the cost of the medicine and to be remunerated for the service, dispensing doctors will submit any prescription forms they have dispensed to the NHS Business Services Authority Prescription Pricing Division (or equivalent) at the end of the month in the same way that pharmacists do (see Section 3.3.8). 

Finally, once the prescription item(s) have been passed to the patient or the patient s representative, the pharmacist or pharmacy technician should confirm that the prescription form has been endorsed properly (to ensure that the pharmacy will be correctly reimbursed and remunerated for the supply - see Section 2.4.1, Part IIIA) and the prescription form can then be filed ready for submission at the end of the month. In England, this will be to the Prescription Pricing Division (PPD) of the NHS Business Services Authority in Northern Ireland, the Central Services Agency in Scotland, Practitioner Services Division (PSD) of NHS National Services Scotland and in Wales, Health Solutions Wales (HSW). 

National Health Services Business Services Authority Prescription Pricing Division website (available via www.ppa.org.uk). 

Responsibility for administration of Part IX of the Drug Tariff is shared between the Department of Health and the Prescription Pricing Division (PPD) of the NHS Business Services Authority. The former has responsibility for policy matters and tire latter for die approval of the four separate lists on behalf of tiie Secretary of State for tiie purposes of i tion 41 of the NHS Act and to determine tiie prices on which payments to contractors are to be based. In addition the PPD has responsibility for operating a mechanism to remove products fiom Part DC. 

European pharmaceutical markets are strongly regulated as regards the introduction of new products onto the market (through authorization and patents) and also as regards prices and consumption (medical prescription and public financing). However, the way in which entry, prices and consumption of pharmaceuticals are regulated varies enormously from country to country. 

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