How pharmacy payment accuracy is measured
Published on 15 October 2026
The payment accuracy measure shows how accurately Public Services Delivery Scotland (PSD Scotland) makes payments to pharmacy contractors. It only includes payment errors caused by PSD Scotland. Contractor errors are not included. The figure is reported monthly and will now form part of the operational update in our Pharmacy Matters newsletter.
View the latest payment accuracy performance graph.
What is the target?
The target is 99.5%.
How is the percentage calculated?
We look at the total amount paid to pharmacy contractors each month and compare it with the value of any payment errors caused by PSD Scotland. This gives the payment accuracy percentage.
What is included?
Overpayments and underpayments are included in the number of errors. The adjustments included in any one month can reflect payment errors from earlier months.
For example, the graph in the link above shows that the March 2026 figure included an adjustment for a long-standing error involving Not Collected/Not Dispensed items. The system had not recognised some items as Not Collected/Not Dispensed, so they were paid when they should not have been. As the adjustment was made in March, it affected the March payment accuracy percentage.