Community pharmacies across England that cannot source Part VIII medicines at or below the published Drug Tariff price are being asked to report the problem directly, rather than absorb the cost or stay silent. The reporting mechanism feeds into a wider process that can lead to price concession applications to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), but only where submissions provide enough evidence to demonstrate a genuine, widespread sourcing problem.
Why the reporting system matters
The Drug Tariff sets the reimbursement price pharmacies receive for dispensing listed medicines. When wholesale or manufacturer prices rise above that published figure, pharmacies can end up dispensing at a loss unless DHSC agrees a temporary price concession. Community Pharmacy England (CPE) does not set these concessions itself; it collects evidence from pharmacies on the ground and uses that evidence to argue the case to DHSC. Without a critical mass of consistent reports, naming suppliers, brands, and prices paid, there is little basis for intervention.
This is why the reporting form asks for specific, granular detail rather than general complaints. A pharmacist who bought a product from one wholesaler but received stock manufactured by a different company, for example, is asked to record that discrepancy explicitly, since supply chain substitutions can affect both availability and price tracking.
What the forms are designed to capture
Two separate routes exist depending on the scale of the issue:
- A single-item feedback form for pharmacies reporting one product affected by a shortfall.
- A downloadable spreadsheet for pharmacies reporting multiple products purchased above Drug Tariff price, which is then emailed to the concessions team.
Both routes request details such as the wholesaler involved, whether stock was out across multiple suppliers, the price actually paid, and the practical impact on patients where relevant - for instance, delays in dispensing caused by shortages. Pharmacies can also opt to receive confirmation that their submission was received, which provides a basic audit trail for their own records.
The broader supply chain context
Medicine shortages and price volatility are not new phenomena in UK pharmacy, but they have become more visible in recent years as global manufacturing disruption, currency fluctuation, and concentrated supply chains have made certain generics harder to source consistently. When a product becomes scarce, wholesalers may charge more than the Drug Tariff reimbursement rate, leaving the dispensing pharmacy to cover the difference unless a concession is granted. This creates a direct financial pressure point for independent contractors operating on tight margins.
Price concessions are therefore best understood as a corrective mechanism rather than a routine feature of pharmacy funding. DHSC grants them selectively, and CPE's role is to filter and present evidence so that concessions reflect genuine market conditions rather than isolated incidents. The published Price Concessions page allows pharmacies and the public to see which products have been granted concessions, offering a degree of transparency into where supply pressures are currently concentrated.
Implications for pharmacy contractors
For contractors, the practical takeaway is that silence carries a cost. A single unreported shortfall may seem minor, but patterns across many pharmacies are what justify DHSC action. Accurate, detailed reporting - including wholesaler names, brand substitutions, and actual prices paid - strengthens the evidence base and can shape whether a concession is granted at all. Pharmacies with further questions about the process are directed to contact CPE's dedicated team by email rather than relying on informal channels, ensuring that reports are logged consistently and can be tracked against DHSC outcomes.