Therefore, where a pharmacist has been reimbursed for dispensing a generic, its class will be 1, but where a generic is not available and hence a pharmacist has been reimbursed at proprietary prices, the class will be 2. Where a generically written prescription item is deemed to be class 2, the number of prescription items, NIC, etc are allocated among all equivalent proprietaries. This is done pro rata on the basis of the number of proprietary prescription items dispensed. There are a small number of preparations that are not linked to equivalent proprietaries that appear separately with a class of 2. Category D A drug is classified as category D within the drug tariff where there is a problem of availability.
Category D enables pharmacies to be reimbursed at the price they paid.
However as a result of generic drug supply problems, the volume of prescription items that fell within category D of the Drug Tariff increased substantially in 1999. When the drug is in category D and a pharmacist dispenses its equivalent proprietary product against a generically written script, then the pharmacist is reimbursed at the branded price and the item will be recorded as class 3. This equally applies to drugs not included in the Drug Tariff. Adjustments PPA defines a drug as being available generically if it appears on a price list under a generic name. As a result earlier volumes of the PCA publication have shown items being dispensed in generic form where drugs were still in patent and no true generic form was available.