Optical Referral for Hypertension Case Finding Service Pilot

Commissioner:

NHS England on behalf of H&NY ICB

Optical Referral for Hypertension Case Finding Service – Across Humber & North Yorkshire

Service Period:

April 2025 to March 2026

A revised service specification has been implemented for this service with effect from the 1^st of April 2025. New combined service platforms are now in use across both Humber and North Yorkshire pharmacies and optical sites. This service is available to all residents of Humber and North Yorkshire who present for a sight test at a participating Optical practice.

SUMMARY OF THE SCHEME:

Referrals will be made via PharmOutcomes, and pharmacies will provide the NHS Hypertension Case Finding Service to the referred patients if appropriate.

The referral service will enable contractors to increase BP testing and potentially achieve ABPM target levels, thereby generating additional service income for community pharmacies whilst also reducing the demand for GP appointments.

Resources:

The following resources are available to download from the PharmOutcomes Platform:

• Service Specification
• PharmOutcomes guide to completing the platform for this service
• Better Health & Wellbeing pathways

Training:

Read the Service Specification in full and complete the necessary training/CPD to provide the service.

A webinar was be held on the 17th of May 2022 for pharmacists and opticians interested in finding out more about this proposal.

The webinar from 17th May 2022 7-8pm is available to watch here.

Also please see link for the recorded training webinar session which took place on 14^th June 2022 (the recording is 31 minutes). This session was specifically for Community Pharmacies and explains how PharmOutcomes will be used throughout the pilot.  Please click here to access the recording.

You can express your interest to provide this service by emailing: hnyicb-ny.primarycarecontracts@nhs.net

Any questions about the pilot may also be directed to: hnyicb-ny.primarycarecontracts@nhs.net

Claims:

All claims for the annual retention fee and referral acceptance fees must be submitted via the PharmOutcomes platforms. All payment claims will be raised via the PharmOutcomes automated invoicing mechanism on the 4^th day of the month.

All participating pharmacies can claim an annual retention for this service; additionally, from the 1st of April 2024, a fee is paid to the pharmacy for each referred patient accepted into the service. To trigger the fee, you MUST complete the PharmOutcomes platform and choose the COMPLETE NOW option, then complete the questions raised.

Pharmacies must complete the PharmOutcomes platform for every referral received, regardless of whether the HCFS has been provided to the patient or not.

• If the HCFS is provided: Record the outcome of the intervention within the PharmOutcomes platform.
• If you have been unable to contact the patient or the patient has declined the HCFS, then record this in the PO platform to close the referral. Note, the pharmacy must try to contact the patient on at least 3 occasions. Completing this platform triggers the acceptance fee payment.
• If you need to reject the referral, then you must record this.

Please download the PharmOutcomes guide to help you complete the platform for this service.

Please click here to visit our Hypertension Case Finding Service page for more informati0n on the national service, including: introduction to the service, webinars, BP meters, resources and more.