NHS Scotland introducted the under 26 exemption change on 24th August 2021. This is available in EXACT from V13.433 and will become automatically available from 24th August 2021.

When starting an NHS Course of Treatment for a 18-25 year old patient the new exemption screen (below) will show.

SNHS Guidance for dealing with existing open treatment for 18-25 year old patients

As you are aware, with effect from 24 August 2021, NHS dental care will be provided free for patients aged 18-25 (inclusive) and we have provided guidance to dental practices via our website, which provides some worked examples. In summary, PCA(D)(2021)4 specifies what actions must be taken for open courses of treatment for a fee paying patient aged 18-25 (inclusive) where the acceptance date is prior to 24 August 2021 and that treatment will continue after 24 August 2021.

These treatments must be closed off with a completion date of 23 August 2021 and submitted for payment, with the patient paying a patient charge for all relevant treatment that has already been completed where a patient charge applies. Practices will have until 23 November 2021 to submit these claims. A new course of treatment should then be opened with an acceptance date from 24 August 2021, using the new Under 26 exemption/remission category and the patient will not pay a patient charge. These claims should not be treated as continuation cases, they should be treated as two separate claims.

Where prior approval was granted for the initial course of treatment and the case has been closed as above, if the total cost of the remaining treatment exceeds the prior approval limit or contains an item that individually requires prior approval, the practitioner should create a new prior approval request with an acceptance date on or after 24 August 2021. They should enter the following standard message in the observations section: ‘Previously approved on dd/mm/yyyy - closed as per PCA(D)(2021)4’ and submit for approval.

Where prior approval was granted for the initial course of treatment and the case has been closed as above, if the total cost of the remaining treatment does not exceed the prior approval limit and does not contain any items that individually require prior approval, the practitioner may complete the outstanding treatment and submit a claim for payment in the normal way.

There is some additional guidance on our website on how to deal with Orthodontic cases that require to be stopped and then re-started due to the introduction of the Under 26 category

You can find outstanding NHS treatment using the List Outstanding Treatment report with an added Select Patient Query:

You can also use Care Manager to find open NHS courses.

Please Note: If you are copying and pasting treatment for any reason from one Course of Treatment to another it may include the original fees so you'll need to rechart the services from scratch.
You can copy and paste clinical notes if required.