Electronic Prescribing System (EPS 4)
EPS4 INFORMATION FOR PATIENTS
We are upgrading to the next phase of the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) which will mean that almost all our prescriptions will be processed electronically from 1st July 2020.
Electronic prescriptions help save the NHS money.
Most prescriptions are now electronically signed, sent and processed digitally.
You have two choices for how this works for you.
- Nominate Pharmacy:
You can choose a pharmacy to dispense all your prescriptions. When you have presented a request to the practice, it will be processed* and then sent electronically to the pharmacy. There is no need for you to come to the practice, you just go directly to the pharmacy you have chosen.
*Please allow the usual 72 hours (excluding weekends and Bank Holidays)
- No Nomination:
You may wish to decide each time you are issued a prescription where you would like to get it dispensed. In this instance, you will be given a ‘Token’ (paper copy of the electronic prescription) that you can take to any pharmacy. The ‘Token’ will not need to have a GP signature but will contain a unique barcode that will be scanned by the pharmacy to download your prescription from the secure NHS database.
During the COVID 19 pandemic, we are actively discouraging coming to the practice for the purpose of collecting items such as prescriptions, this will also apply to ‘Tokens’. There is a facility where the unique identifier code can be sent to you by SMS text message, if this is suitable for you then we will offer you the option. As a Practice we will be promoting the use of having a ‘Nominated Pharmacy’, to avoid the need to do this.
Normal paper prescriptions will continue to be available in special circumstances, but almost all prescriptions will be processed electronically.
You can change your nominated pharmacy at any time. Simply speak to a member of our Prescription team or at point of contact with your GP.
How you order your prescriptions has not changed.