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The HSE has suspended the distribution of the flu vaccine to GPs and pharmacies after it became known that claims for 600,000 doses were missing.
In a letter sent to doctors and pharmacists on Monday, the HSE said approximately 1.3 million vaccines have been distributed to date, but only 700,000 of them have been registered as administered vaccines in the claims system used by healthcare professionals. to reimburse costs.
As a result, it is unclear whether or not the remaining 600,000 vaccines have been administered.
The correspondence stated that “all doses administered by GPs and pharmacies this year must be claimed through PCRS and absorption in eligible groups is currently unclear from available information.”
The Primary Care Reimbursement Service (PCRS) is part of the HSE and is responsible for making payments to healthcare professionals, such as general practitioners, dentists, and pharmacists, for free or reduced-cost services they provide to the public.
According to the letter: “Although 1.3 million doses of the vaccine have been distributed, to date only 700,000 claims have been registered.”
The HSE said it was pausing deliveries of the vaccine “until more information can be obtained on the doses administered.”
To assist in this, GPs and pharmacies have been asked to ensure that claims for administered doses are up to date.
The remaining 50,000 doses of the vaccine will be released when “more information is available.” The letter adds that to maximize the benefit of the remaining stock, “the most vulnerable will be prioritized.”
Talking with him Irish independentMonaghan’s GP, Ilona Duffy, said she was deeply concerned about the discrepancy in the numbers and that it raised questions for the HSE.
“How does the HSE not know where these vaccines are?” she asked. “We have a process by which we connect to the Internet and claim to administer the vaccine. It is a coded system and you have to give the reasons for administering the vaccine: pregnant, over 65, chronic kidney disease, chronic diabetes.
“The data is uploaded electronically and this is how you get paid for the vaccines. The important thing is that it is quite in real time, everyone wants to get the claim because they are notoriously bad to pay if you leave it too late.
“Anyone who can claim is claiming almost immediately and most GPs and pharmacies are computerized so I don’t think there is a delay in claiming 600,000.”
Ms. Duffy said the practice she works at had received only 240 flu shots to date, for a patient core of nearly 11,000 patients.
“There hasn’t been enough since day one,” he said.
“We have patients at risk calling and [we] I just can’t get it for them. One of the pharmacies sent me a message today saying do you have any you can give us? They thought they would get a delivery on Thursday and now they tell them they won’t get any. “
In a statement, the HSE said it had “complete records of the 1.3 million doses that have been distributed to date.”
He added: “Reimbursement requests have been submitted through PCRS for 700,000 doses, indicating that a substantial amount of vaccine has been distributed, but has not yet been administered. We intend to establish the general position regarding supplies before distributing the last 50,000 doses to ensure that everyone in need receives the vaccine. “
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