THE Dept of Health and Aged Care has updated the Take Home Naloxone (THN) Program to clarify entitlements for the payment of fees consistent with the requirements of the National Health THN Special Arrangement 2019.
The dept has identified that since the commencement of the program, service providers have been reimbursed one dispensing fee per pack of naloxone supplied.
The affected service providers include section 90-approved community pharmacies, section 92-approved medical practitioners, and section 94-approved hospital pharmacies (private).
In accordance with the THN Special Arrangement, affected pharmacies are entitled to a single dispensing fee for each supply of a pharmaceutical benefit, which could be up to two packs of the same naloxone products.
If an affected pharmacy is supplying one pack of naloxone, the pharmacy is entitled to one dispensing fee and one Administration, Handling and Infrastructure (AHI) fee.
When two packs of the same naloxone product are supplied, the pharmacy is entitled to one dispensing fee and two AHI fees.
For two packs of different naloxone formulations, the pharmacy is entitled to two dispensing fees and two AHI fees.
The dept is working with the Pharmacy Programs Administrator (PPA) to update the claiming portal to ensure that the portal functionality meets the requirements of the THN Special Arrangement, which is expected to be updated by Mar 2024.
To maintain compliance with claiming the appropriate entitlement, pharmacies are strongly encouraged by the PPA to supply and claim one unit of naloxone (not two of the same product) until the claiming portal has been updated.
Alternatively, two packs of the same naloxone product can continue to be supplied but cannot be claimed until the portal has been updated, PPA explained.
Where two packs of the same naloxone product have previously been provided to consumers and not yet claimed, these should also be held and submitted once the claiming portal has been updated.
Claiming on the PPA Portal has resumed after it was suspended from 20-22 Dec last year, and pharmacies are entitled to reimbursement for naloxone supplied throughout the suspension period, PPA stated. JG
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