The National Health Service (Charges for Drugs and Appliances) and (Travel Expenses and Remission of Charges) Amendment Regulations 2005

Amendment of regulation 2 of the Charges Regulations

3.  In regulation 2 (interpretation) of the Charges Regulations—

(a) after the definition of “the Act” insert—

““advanced electronic signature” means an electronic signature which is—

(a)

uniquely linked to the signatory;

(b)

capable of identifying the signatory;

(c)

created using means that the signatory can maintain under his sole control; and

(d)

linked to the data to which it relates in such a manner that any subsequent change of data is detectable;”;

(b) after the definition of “appliance” insert—

““bank holiday” means any day that is specified or proclaimed as a bank holiday in England and Wales pursuant to section 1 of the Banking and Financial Dealings Act 1971(1);”;

(c) in the definition of “batch issue”—

(i) for “prescriber”, in each place where it occurs, substitute “repeatable prescriber”; and

(ii) for “repeatable prescription”, in each place where it occurs, substitute “non- electronic repeatable prescription”;

(d) after the definition of “electronic communication” insert—

““electronic prescription form” means a prescription form which falls within paragraph (b) of the definition of “prescription form”;

“electronic repeatable prescription” means a prescription form which falls within paragraph (a)(ii) of the definition of “repeatable prescription”;

“ETP service” means the electronic prescription service which forms part of the NHS Care Record Service;”;

(e) after the definition of “local pharmaceutical services” insert—

““NHS Care Record” means the records relating to an individual patient held by the NHS Care Record Service;

“NHS Care Record Service” means the information technology systems procured by the Department of Health and used by the health service to hold medical records relating to patients;

“non-electronic prescription form” means a prescription form which falls within paragraph (a) of the definition of “prescription form”;

“non-electronic repeatable prescription” means a prescription which falls within paragraph (a) (i) of the definition of “repeatable prescription”;”;

(f) after the definition of “nurses and midwives' professional register” insert—

““out of hours period” means—

(a)

the period beginning at 6.30pm on any day from Monday to Thursday and ending at 8am on the following day;

(b)

the period between 6.30pm on Friday and 8am on the following Monday; and

(c)

Good Friday, Christmas Day and bank holidays;”;

“out of hours services” means services required to be provided in all or part of the out of hours period which would be essential services if provided in core hours,

and in this definition “core hours” means the period beginning at 8 am and ending at 6.30pm on any day from Monday to Friday except Good Friday, Christmas Day and bank holidays and “part” of an out of hours period means any part of one or more of the periods described in paragraphs (a) to (c) of the definition of “out of hours period”;;”;

(g) for the definition of “prescription form”, substitute—

““prescription form” means—

(a)

a form provided by an NHS trust, an NHS foundation trust or a Primary Care Trust and issued by a prescriber; or

(b)

data that are created in an electronic form, signed with a prescriber’s advanced electronic signature and transmitted as an electronic communication to the ETP service,

to enable a person to obtain pharmaceutical services or local pharmaceutical services and does not include a repeatable prescription;;”;

(h) after the definition of “prisoner” insert—

““provider of out of hours services” means—

(a)

an APMS contractor which provides out of hours services under its APMS contract;

(b)

a practice which provides out of hours services;

(c)

a GMS contractor or a PMS contractor which provides out of hours services under its GMS contract or PMS agreement;

(d)

an out of hours services sub-contractor of a GMS contractor or PMS contractor,

and for the purposes of this definition—

“APMS contractor” means a person who enters into arrangements with a Primary Care Trust under section 16CC(2)(b) of the Act (primary medical services)(2) for the provision of primary medical services and “APMS contract” shall be construed accordingly;

“GMS contractor” means a contractor within the meaning of the National Health Service (General Medical Services Contracts) Regulations 2004(3);

“PMS contractor” means a contractor within the meaning of the National Health Service (Personal Medical Services Agreements) Regulations 2004(4); and

“practice” means a practice established by a Primary Care Trust for the purposes of its provision of primary medical services under section 16CC(2)(a) of the Act;”;

(i) for the definition of “repeatable prescription” substitute—

““repeatable prescription” means a prescription which—

(a)

either—

(i)

is contained in a form provided by a Primary Care Trust and issued by a repeatable prescriber which is in the format specified in Part I of Schedule 1 to the GMS Contract Regulations and which is generated by a computer and signed in ink by a repeatable prescriber; or

(ii)

data that are created in an electronic form, signed with a repeatable prescriber’s advanced electronic signature and transmitted as an electronic communication to the ETP service;

(b)

is issued or created to enable a person to obtain pharmaceutical services or local pharmaceutical services; and

(c)

indicates that the drugs or appliances ordered on that prescription may be provided more than once and specifies the number of occasions on which they may be provided;”;

(j) for the definition of supplementary prescriber substitute—

““supplementary prescriber” means a person—

(a)

whose name is registered in—

(i)

the nurses and midwives' professional register;

(ii)

the Register of Pharmaceutical Chemists maintained in pursuance of section 2(1) (the registers and registration) of the Pharmacy Act 1954(5);

(iii)

the register maintained in pursuance of Articles 6 and 9 of the Pharmacy (Northern Ireland) Order 1976(6); or

(iv)

the part of the register maintained by the Health Professions Council in pursuance of article 5 of the Health Professions Order 2001(7),

relating to—

(aa)

chiropodists and podiatrists,

(bb)

physiotherapists,

(cc)

radiographers: diagnostic or therapeutic; and

(b)

against whose name is recorded in the relevant register an annotation signifying that he is qualified to order drugs and appliances as a supplementary prescriber;”; and

(k) for the definition of “the Travelling Expenses and Remission of Charges Regulations” substitute—

““the Travel Expenses and Remission of Charges Regulations” means the National Health Service (Travel Expenses and Remission of Charges) Regulations 2003(8);”.

(1)

1971 c. 80.

(2)

Section 16CC(2) was inserted into the Act by section 174 of the Health and Social Care (Community Health and Standards) Act 2003 (c. 43).

(3)

S.I. 2004/291, as amended by S.I. 2004/906, S.I. 2004/2694 and S.I. 2005/28.

(4)

S.I. 2004/627, as amended by S.I. 2004/906, S.I. 2004/2694 and S.I. 2005/28.

(5)

1954 c. 61.

(6)

S.I. 1976/1212 (N.I.22).

(7)

S.I. 2002/254.

(8)

S.I. 2003/2382, as amended by S.I. 2004/663, S.I. 2004/936 and S.I. 2005/26.