What the Drug Tariff is
NHSBSA produces the Drug Tariff each month on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care. It is used by contractors and GP practices and sets out reimbursement and remuneration information across several sections.
For procurement analysis, the key practical point is that tariff data is time-dependent. A comparison made against one dispensing month should not silently inherit another month's reimbursement value.
October 2026 context
NHSBSA has published the October 2026 Drug Tariff, including October 2026 Part VIIIA data. NHSBSA also reports that Category M reimbursement prices changed from 1 October 2026 to reflect underlying market movements and an adjustment to medicine margin.
Official sources: Drug Tariff and Drug Tariff Part VIII.
Procurement data model: two different prices
NHS reimbursement reference
Comes from the applicable Drug Tariff or other relevant reimbursement rule for the dispensing period.
Supplier acquisition price
Comes from the supplier account or catalogue and represents the commercial purchase cost for the matched pack.
Those values can be compared, but they should not be stored as though they are the same kind of data.
Why monthly versioning matters
If a system stores only “the Drug Tariff price” without the dispensing month, it loses important context. PharmShop's intended model is to attach reimbursement information to a defined tariff period so historical purchasing decisions can be reconstructed.
What the Tariff does not tell you
The Tariff does not tell you which wholesaler has the item in stock, the price offered to a specific supplier account, whether a basket minimum applies, or whether a commercial manufacturer scheme changes the effective acquisition cost. Those require additional procurement data.
Bring the decision into one workflow
PharmShop is being built to connect medicine identity, reimbursement context, supplier results and purchasing decisions without losing the evidence underneath.
Open PharmShop