Important: Do Not Submit CP4 Paper Forms for Scanning

Submit all community pharmacy-led service claims electronically through your PMR system under the Universal Claim Framework (UCF). CP4 paper forms must not be sent to Public Services Delivery Scotland (PSDS) for scanning, even if printed or used locally, as they play no role in claims or payments.

Last year, PSDS received 706,000 CP4 forms. At this scale, even a small proportion being printed and submitted results in significant duplication, extra handling work, delays to processing, and avoidable environmental impact. In the largest dispensing months, receiving and processing unnecessary CP4 paper forms may put at risk making payments on the agreed date, so it is in the interest of each community pharmacy to comply with the instructions below.

What you need to do

• Check your internal processes to make sure CP4 paper forms are not being included in your submissions for scanning. CP4 forms are easy to spot – they’re white – so please remove them from your bundles.
• Only the CP3 form (MCR Registration) should be sent for scanning. See the Scottish Government circular PCA2024(P)29 issued on 4 October 2024.

Deactivating the printing of CP4 paper forms

If CP4 forms are not required for your internal procedures, printing can be deactivated through the relevant menu options within your PMR system. This functionality is typically located within the section that displays all Universal Claims Framework (UCF) services, where printing can be disabled at the individual UCF clinical service level.

Please note that where a CP4 form is necessary to support the transfer of medication information to a patient’s GP practice, the form will continue to print regardless of the disabled setting. These mandatory forms are identifiable by the printed wording “Send to GP” in the lower-left corner. In some cases, the ability to disable CP4 printing may be centrally managed at a pharmacy group level. As a result, this option may not be accessible to pharmacies operating within a corporate group structure.

Check Your GP34 declaration form before submission

When submitting prescriptions, you must include a fully completed GP34 declaration form in black ink. Check you have submitted all forms you have declared on your GP34. The GP34 declared forms and items figures should not include electronic only claim counts, this includes any CP4 claims (Pharmacy First Scotland and UCF).

More detail on how to speed up the scanning of paper prescriptions can be found on our guidance webpage.