Quote:
Originally Posted by Steve G  off the top of my head you can only claim limited stability if the product is stable for less than 14 days after reconstitution. |
It's not just off the top of your head, it's also out of Part III A section D of the Drug Tariff:
Limited Stability Fee
Part IIIA Section D of the Drug Tariff sets out the
arrangements for the Limited Stability Fee. The fee
can be claimed where a preparation which
requires the addition of a vehicle/diluent by the
pharmacy contractor results in a liquid of stability
of less than 14 days, and for pharmaceutical
reasons necessitates supply in more than one
container. For example, after reconstitution, Keflex
suspension has a shelf life of 10 days. If the
prescription requests 14 days supply, the
contractor would have to dispense the product on
two different occasions to ensure that the patient
could complete the course.
The Limited Stability Fee is currently £1.55 per
item and is claimed by endorsing the prescription
with the number of extra containers supplied. Due
to the nature of the endorsement, it is not always
clear to prescription processing staff if the fee is
being claimed by the pharmacy contractor or not,
therefore to ensure accurate pricing, PSNC
strongly recommends that the letters ‘LS’ are also
included in the endorsement.
The fee can only be claimed for products that
have been recognised by the NHSBSA
Prescription Pricing Division as being stable for
less than 14 days following the addition of a
required diluent. The list of recognised Limited
Stability products can be seen, listed right, by
generic name.
Please note that although a generic product may
be listed on the limited stability list, it is possible
that where the product is manufactured by a
number of companies that some brands or
manufacturer’s products are stable for less than
14 days and others for 14 days or more. The
limited stability fee should only be claimed where
the individual product being dispensed has
stability of less than 14 days following required
dilution and it is necessary to supply the product
in more than one container."
Amen.
See my favourite bedside reading material, a.k.a. the PSNC's "Dispensing Resouces 2007-2008" booklet, available to download here:
http://www.psnc.org.uk/uploaded_txt/...007%20%234.pdf