preparing for the future
S P A C E INV A D E R S
Is your practice making the best use of space to prepare for extra services required through AQP and the shift of services towards primary care? GEORGE CAREY looks at ways of maximising the potential of your premises
increasing amount of doctors to consider their futures, it’s more important than ever for practice managers to identify new ways to boost their surgery’s income. It may be that there is redundant space sitting in a corner of your practice that’s tantalisingly ready to be put to good use. All it requires is a little planning and an appropriate service for which there is demand in your area. So what could be done with that excess space?
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SALVATION IN A BOTTLE One thing that can be slotted into a surprisingly small space and offer an almost guaranteed boost to income is a pharmacy. That’s not to say that it’s a silver bullet; there are a number of issues that need to be addressed. There are two very different ways of setting up a pharmacy, and which to pursue should be the first point of consideration. The first, and probably the simplest, is to get a third-party pharmacy into your premises. They take a lease,
14 october 2013
ith the increasing pressure put on practices’ incomes and a GP contract that’s causing an
pay you rent, and get on with running the pharmacy, but of course, they take the profit. The second way is to try and do it yourself – engaging a qualified pharmacist to run it, getting a pharmacy contract yourself and taking the risk and profits yourself. Choosing which of these routes to go down is probably the most important decision GPs and practice managers will come up against. Whether you decide to engage a third
party or do it yourself will have an impact on how much work is involved, with the third party taking on much of it in that instance. There will be an area needs assessment
and if it deems there is already sufficient pharmacy provision in the area, a contract will be much harder to obtain. A practice cannot hold the contract at partnership level so you will need to set up a separate limited company in order to make an application, which will then be advertised to see whether there are any objections. You should expect opposition from nearby dispensing practices. If you choose to get a third party on board, you will need to consider how
primary provider
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