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The Electronic Prescription Service will allow prescriptions to be sent electronically from the GP surgery to the pharmacy and then on to NHS Prescription Services for payment.
The Service is recognised as a key pillar of the National Programme for IT.
National Roll Out Model
The national roll out model is made up of a relay (or holding station) which is linked to the NHS Care Records Service. Pharmacies are able to ‘pull down’ electronic prescription messages from the relay on receipt of a bar-coded prescription token.
Release 2 of the Service will also allow patients the option of ‘nominating’ a pharmacy to receive their prescriptions electronically. In this scenario a pharmacy will be able to pull down messages from the relay in advance of the patient reaching the pharmacy.
Click on the link below to view the Connecting for Health high level EPS Implementation Plan:
EPS Implementation Plan (PDF Format)
The plan provides guidance on the 2 EPS System Releases and 4 phases of implementation.
EPS Release 1
In early March 2005, the NHS Connecting for Health ETP Team announced that they had started rolling out the Electronic Prescriptions Service through a limited number of initial implementer sites across England. Over 90% of pharmacies are now EPS Release 1 enabled. Click on the link below for detailed information on Release 1:
EPS Release 2
The roll out of Release 2 of the service will signal the start of Phase 3 of implementation. Release 2 will support the use of advanced electronic signatures, e-repeat dispensing, patient nomination of their selected pharmacy, the cancellation of e-prescriptions, and the submission of prescriptions electronically to NHS Prescription Services. Initial Implementation began in late 2009. Click on the link below for more information:
Deployment Statistics
Connecting for Health post weekly deployment statistics on their website. Click on the link below for more information:
EPS Deployment Statistics (Weekly digest)
GP and Pharmacy System upgrades do not need to be be co-ordinated during Release 1 of the Electronic Prescription Service.
EPS & The Pharmacy Contract
The Electronic Prescriptions Service will form a key part of the New Contract Essential Services. Click on the link below for more information on the New Contract IT/EPS Allowances:
New Contract Funding: EPS Allowances
The Department of Health have stated that at an appropriate point in the future, it is likely that the Terms of Service will be changed to mandate all community pharmacies to operate the Electronic Prescription Service.
More Information
EPS Section of NHS Connecting for Health Website
New Contract Funding: ETP Allowances
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