I came across a situation involving substance misuse the other day that got me thinking...
 
If you have a client getting regular daily methadone, but they never attend at all on Sat (for Sat/Sun), is it better to suggest that they pick up the Saturday/Sunday doses on Friday? 

On one hand, collecting on Friday may suggest that the product will be consumed appropriately; on the other hand, is this playing into the hands of somebody who will abuse the weekend supplies? For some patients, clearly they will benefit clinically; but for others the risk of diversion will be large...

 

Let me know whether you feel...

The PSNC have agreed with the DOH to simplify the way we are paid for dispensing Methadone Prescriptions to patients from July 1st. 

This sounds great in principle - we are to be paid for "patient interactions" and not for putting the medication into measured bottles. 
We have been told that the swings will equal the roundabouts; and that the total remuneration for methadone dispensing remains about the same. 

The devil, however, is in the detail...opponents to this simplification have noted that the fees you will receive from July 1st may be significantly lower than you currently receive - if you are fortunate to dispense in daily dose bottles in advance.

 There is a lot of chatter around at the moment about this; and contractors are doing the maths - and many that have invested significantly in their methadone service think that they will lose thousands of pounds a month. There has been a calculator published by East Riding & Hull LPC - which we have hosted on our site.   I urge you to use it, and let us know how you think you will be affected by these changes...