Patients who use a Dispensing Appliance Contractor (DAC) for some of their items can set a DAC nomination, as well as their pharmacy nomination.
The contracts for pharmacies and DACs set out which prescription items they are permitted to dispense; nominated prescriptions should only be sent to them for appropriate items.
Community pharmacies and distance selling pharmacies (DSPs)
These are required to dispense any item, including appliances (if the pharmacy supplies the products in the normal course of their business).
Dispensing Appliance Contractors (DACs)
These are only permitted to dispense certain items, listed in relevant parts of the Drug Tariff, such as:
- Appliances – as listed in Part IXA
- Incontinence appliances – as listed in Part IXB
- Stoma appliances – as listed in Part IXC
A DAC cannot dispense any medicines, ACBS foods and toilet preparations (as listed in Part XV), or chemical reagents (as listed in Part IXR). These items should not be sent to a DAC nomination.
When sending a nominated EPS prescription, most items would normally be sent to the patient’s nominated pharmacy. Prescribers should check with the patient to ensure that items are sent to the correct nominated dispenser and make sure that only specific items, as set out above, are sent to DAC.
