PIP activity 3: Managing treatment or monitoring a health condition

Managing treatment or monitoring a health condition is activity 3 of the 12 PIP activities, and counts towards the daily living component. Taking prescribed medication and monitoring a health condition at home. Here’s what it covers, the descriptors and the points each one scores, and what assessors look for.

What this activity looks at

Whether you can take prescribed medication at home, monitor your health condition, and carry out prescribed therapy at home.

It doesn’t cover: Treatment you receive at a clinic or hospital. Only treatment at home counts.

Descriptors and points

The assessor picks the one descriptor that best fits you on most days. Only the highest-scoring descriptor that applies counts; points aren’t added up within an activity.

Descriptor	What it means	Points
3A	I don't need medication or therapy, or I manage it unaided	0
3B	I need an aid, supervision, prompting or assistance to manage medication	1
3C	I need help managing therapy that takes up to 3.5 hours a week	2
3D	I need help managing therapy that takes 3.5–7 hours a week	4
3E	I need help managing therapy that takes 7–14 hours a week	6
3F	I need help managing therapy that takes over 14 hours a week	8

What the assessor takes into account

Medication means anything prescribed: tablets, injections, inhalers and creams.
Therapy means non-drug treatment done at home, such as home dialysis, prescribed physiotherapy exercises, or a special diet where the timing is medically critical (for example with diabetes).
Monitoring means noticing when your condition is getting worse and doing something about it.
Dosette boxes and pill alarms count as aids for managing medication.
Inhalers, nebulisers and glucose meters aren’t counted as aids, but if you need help to use them, that does score.
What’s scored is how long someone needs to help or supervise you, not how long the therapy itself takes.
For therapy, the number of hours of help you need each week decides which descriptor applies (3C to 3F).

How to describe this on your form

Describe your worst days, not your best or average days. A descriptor applies if it’s true on more than half of days, and that includes conditions that vary or come in flare-ups.
An activity only counts as something you can do if you can do it safely, repeatedly, to an acceptable standard, and in a reasonable time (no more than twice as long as someone without your condition). If any of these isn’t true on most days, say so and explain why.
Be specific. Give distances, how long things take, how often problems happen, and examples of things that have gone wrong.
Name any help you need using the words the DWP uses: supervision, prompting, assistance, or aids and appliances. “My partner helps me” is too vague; say what they do and why.
Describe what your condition stops you doing, not just its name. Assessors score how your condition affects you, not the diagnosis.
Avoid phrases like “I manage”, “I cope”, “I try my best” or “I sometimes have difficulty”. They suggest you can do the activity, and can cost you points.

How points turn into an award

Your points from activities 1 to 10 are added together for the daily living component.

8 to 11 points: standard rate, £73.90 a week
12 points or more: enhanced rate, £110.40 a week

2026/27 rates. Estimate your points across all 12 activities.

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