Free HRT for eligible patients in pharmacies from June

HRT is a prescribed medicine to treat symptoms of menopause and perimenopause, which replaces the hormones  that decline as a result of menopause.  From June 1st, HRT will be made available free of charge to those who need it. 

From June 1st, pharmacies will receive a dispensing fee of €5 per HRT item, and a €2,000 once-off grant to support transition arrangements including ICT system upgrades. In order to avail of this service, patients who previously paid privately for their HRT, as well as some GMS patients, will need to register for a Drug Payment Scheme (DPS) card.  Patients who do not register for a DPS card will be unable to avail of the free HRT medicine in Ireland.  

Supporting your patients: 

RWA Pharmacy have created new reports to enable customers to make the most of this new scheme. Our new report will list for you both of the following: 

• Private patients who have received HRT in the last 3 months. 

• General Medical Services (GMS) patients who have received unlicensed HRT medicines (without GMS codes) in the last 3 months. 

This enables your pharmacy team to contact these customers and make them aware that they will need to register for a DPS card to avail of the medicine free of charge. This promotes connection with patients, driving retention rates and patient care. 

Managing Claims: 

The Irish Pharmacy Union (IPU) will flag all HRT items as PrEP items from June 1st. This is so that they can be processed through DPS without affecting the €80 limit but still be transmitted with your claim. We recommend that all HRT claims are put through as separate forms to avoid the possibility of rejection and loss of income for your pharmacy.  Unlicensed HRTs without specific GMS codes should now be submitted on DPS under GMS codes (77791 for zero VAT-rated products and 77792 for VAT-related products).  

In order to assist our customers in managing these new arrangements, we’ll make updates to our reports in the 1st week of June. Our reports will: 

• Flag any HRT products that show on your PrEP exceptions page that should be on a separate form. 

• Add a list of any unlicensed HRTs dispensed without the above GMS codes as an exceptions report. 

• List any HRT dispensed to a patient who is not marked as a PrEP patient 

These updates should enable your team to proactively manage claims and ensure no financial opportunities are missed, and will be revised as your PMR is updated in line with the new arrangements.  

Customer Collaboration 

We are delighted to bring these changes to our reports ahead of the go live date of this scheme and want to thank our customers for their collaboration in ensuring all bases are covered in regard to these updates. Working in tandem with our customers is vital to RWA Pharmacy as we strive to ensure their needs are met by our reports. 

If you are interested in learning more about RWA Pharmacy, or indeed these particular reports, please get in touch!