The difference between what you pay for a medicine and what the Drug Tariff reimburses is called margin. Margin is a deliberate and agreed part of your income from the NHS — it is not a windfall, it is built into the financial framework.

Reimbursement is being paid back when you have spent your own money to fulfil an NHS prescription. Think of it like mileage expenses — you outlay the cost, and the NHS pays you back. The Drug Tariff sets the prices it will reimburse.

For 2025/26, the mapped guaranteed income increased by £20m to £100 million. This money is mapped from Part 7 of the Drug Tariff into guaranteed funding for the network. This mechanism is unique to Scotland and does not exist in England, Wales or Northern Ireland.

The Guaranteed Minimum Income for 2025/26 is £120 million, confirmed in PCA(P)(2025)07. This is the floor below which margin delivery cannot fall — if it does, Scottish Government and Health Boards must make up the shortfall. It has increased by £10m each year since 2023/24.

The Global Sum for 2024/25 was uplifted by 6% from the 2023/24 figure of £219.5m. CPS secured this uplift as part of annual negotiations with Scottish Government. The same 6% uplift pattern applied in 2023/24.

The Establishment Payment is a flat rate of £2,500 per month paid to every contractor on the pharmaceutical list on the first day of the dispensing month. It is not activity-related — it recognises the fixed costs of running a pharmacy. Part-time ESPs receive a proportionate amount based on hours open.

The Service Efficiency Payment requires you to submit at least 80% of all possible electronic claims, including care home, instalment and stoma claims. Fall below this threshold and you receive no payment for that month — though you can apply to your Health Board for an exceptional payment if the failure was outside your control.

Contractors providing NHS Pharmacy First Plus receive £3,000 per month for each month the service is made available. The pharmacist IP must be able to prescribe on the NHS, available for at least 25 hours per week, and for at least 45 weeks of a rolling year.

Reporting shortages via the CPS Shortage Reporter gives CPS the evidence it needs to apply for price adjustments. When market prices rise above tariff, the Part 7 basket is disrupted and margin falls. CPS needs contractor data — alongside wholesaler intelligence and other nations' actions — to make the case for adjusted prices. Once granted, adjusted prices apply for the whole month.

Part 7 is a financial tool, not just a price list. Prices are set at the start of the year with the expectation that across the basket of Part 7 medicines, the network retains a target level of margin. Some lines deliver more, some less, but the basket as a whole is designed to hit the agreed target.

The survey uses pharmacy purchasing data — what pharmacies actually paid — not wholesaler prices. There is a clear agreement that margin must be measured using real pharmacy costs. Selected contractors provide invoices for sample drugs, and CPS validates every price point before sending results to Public Health Scotland for the official calculation.

New contractors receive an advance of (days open / 31) x £18,000 for their first month. If they opened on the 1st of the month, month two onwards is calculated as the mean of actual months available. If taking over from an existing contractor, they inherit the predecessor's dispensing history for advance payment purposes.