NHS Dispensing Fees and Markup

The NHS Dispensing Fees and Markup window is used to enter the fees and markups set by the PBS. These are subject to change in accordance with Medicare's smonthly PBS Changes.

For more information on PBS Pricing, see the PBS website: http://www.pbs.gov.au/info/healthpro/for-pharmacists

To open the NHS Dispensing Fees and Markup window, click the Setup menu, then click NHS Fees.

The fees and markups shown in this topic are for illustrative purposes only, and are subject to change.

Field Description
Dispensing Fee - Ready Prepared Standard, regardless of the expense of the medicine. The costs of professional care required to supply medicines is not related to the cost of the medicine supplied.
Dispensing Fee - Extemp Paid for supplying reconstituted items (for example, Amoxycillin Syrup) and extemporaneously-prepared PBS medicines such as mixtures and creams. Does not change when quantities above or below the PBS maximum quantity are prescribed.

Govt Recovery - Ready Prepared

and

Govt Recovery - Extemp

Also known as the ‘Allowable Extra Fees’. These fees apply when the PBS dispensed price is below the general maximum patient contribution. They are added to the PBS dispensed price in lieu of charging private prescription rates, and are paid by the patient.

These fees are agreed between the Pharmacy Guild and the Government and wereintroduced to contain the costs to the consumer, compensate the pharmacist, and ensure that prescriptions for medicines priced below the patient contribution are still recordable on the PRF.
Surcharge Also known as the Safety Net Recording fee. Paid for recording medicines below the maximum general patient contribution on the PRF.
Narcotic

Also known as the Dangerous Drug fee. Paid for supplying a Schedule 8 medicine, in addition to the mark-up and the Dispensing Fee.

This fee is designed to cover additional costs such as handling fees charged by wholesalers and additional supplying and recording duties associated with dangerous medicines.

Container Fee - Non-Injectable

and

Container Fee - Injectable

Charged for ready-prepared items. These fees apply only when dispensing a quantity less than the manufacturer’s pack. They are not payable on quantities greater than the manufacturer’s pack.

Both the Government Recovery and the Surcharge are optional fees. It is at the pharmacist’s discretion whether these fees are charged.

If the cost of the medicine, including the mark-up and the dispense fee is close to the maximum patient contribution, the Government Recovery and the Surcharge fees may take the cost of the medicine over the maximum patient contribution. In this scenario, only part of the Surcharge and/or Government Recovery will be charged, bringing the total cost of the medicine up to (and not over) the maximum patient contribution.

Levels 1 to 3 are not currently used for NHS dispensing in Fred Dispense. Levels 4 to 6 are used to store the mark-ups applied under the Sixth Community Pharmacy Agreement (6CPA).

NHS Dispensing: Using the example markups shown above:

  • Items with a wholesale cost up to $180 are marked up with a flat fee of $3.94.
  • Items with a wholesale cost between $180 and $2089.71 are marked up by 3.5%.
  • Items with a wholesale cost over $2089.71 are marked up with a flat fee of $72.43.

Section 100 Dispensing: Using the example markups shown above:

  • Items with a wholesale cost up to $40 are marked up by 10%.
  • Items with a wholesale cost between $40 and $100 are marked up with a flat fee of $4.
  • Items with a wholesale cost between $100 and $1000 are marked up by 4%.
  • Items with a wholesale cost over$1000 are marked up with a flat fee of $40.
  • Minimum Patient Contribution and Maximum Patient Contribution: These apply to general patients, and are indexed annually in accordance with the Consumer Price Index
  • Concession Patient Contribution: indexed annually in accordance with the Consumer Price Index.
  • Water Fee: An additional fee allowed when preparations are dispensed that require water to be added (for example, Amoxycillin Syrup).
  • ICSP Reconstitution Fee: Intravenous Chemotherapy Supply Program fee. Charged for the reconstitution of each dose.