Home Release 1
EPS Phase 1: Initial Implementer Sites
In Release 1, patients still receive a paper prescription in parallel with the electronic transmission of the prescription message. The paper prescription remains the legal prescription in all circumstances.
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. The sites were selected based on systems in use and in consultation with relevant strategic health authorities and primary care trusts.
Each pharmacy and GP system has to put their system through a rigorous compliance testing process set out by CFH including implementation at an Initial Implementer Site(s).
Connecting for Health established Pharmacist and GP user groups to review the impact of the new service on working practices within surgeries and pharmacies and to provide advice and guidance. The pharmacy group is made up of practising community pharmacists using a wide range of pharmacy systems and operating in different practice environments.
EPS Phase 2: Nationwide Deployment of Release 1
Over 90% of pharmacy and GP sites have now deployed EPS Release 1.
In order to be able to use the Electronic Prescription Service pharmacy contractors need to have:
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an EPS compliant pharmacy system accredited as such by NHS Connecting for Health (either Release 1 or Release 2).
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appropriate network connectivity to be able to operate the Electronic Prescription Service.
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staff operating the service who are registered users and have been issued with smart cards and PIN numbers by their PCT’s Registration Authority. (NB: During R1 it is only necessary for pharmacists to have smart cards or alternatively have a 'premises' card).
PCTs are responsible for issuing the smart cards required to operate the Electronic Prescription Service. PSNC is concerned that there may be delays in issuing smart cards in some PCT areas. For this reason, pharmacy contractors are strongly advised to contact their PCT to find out what the local arrangements will be for issuing smart cards. There is a risk that some pharmacy contractors may start paying increased ongoing costs for connectivity and the maintenance of EPS R1 Compliant Systems but will find themselves in the position that they cannot claim their ongoing EPS Allowance because they haven't been able to obtain a smart card from their PCT.
Practical Advice for Using Release 1
In October 2008, NHS Connecting for Health, the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) and the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) published joint advice for all pharmacies in England on using release 1. Click on the link below to download a copy:
EPS Release 2
The focus now is deployment of Release 2. For more information see the Release 2 section of the site.
Frequently Asked Questions
My PCT is encouraging me to use EPS Release 1. Why should I bother?
There are a number of reasons why pharmacies should use Release 1 of the ePs service where practical:
Through using the service, pharmacies can ensure that any remaining problems such as connectivity issues can be identified and resolved before the service becomes business critical in Release 2. If problems are identified in using the service, these must be reported to pharmacy system suppliers, ensuring the call reference number is recorded to support followup.
Using the service now will also help make the transition to Release 2 easier, for example when a Release 1 prescription is dispensed, the patient’s NHS number will be stored in the local system. This number will be required in Release 2 to set the patient’s nominated dispensing contractor so collecting it now will deliver operational benefits in the future.
The first time that a prescription is downloaded for a patient; there is a need to link the prescription to a patient record on the local system. Some pharmacies have chosen to use EPS Release 1 to support undertaking a data cleansing exercise on their local records, identifying and removing duplicates records that may exist. Once the initial link has been made, it will save time when future electronic messages or electronic prescriptions are received.
If your local GP surgery is not issuing a consistent flow of bar-coded prescriptions, it is worth getting in contact with them, either directly or via the PCT, to let them know that you are EPS R1 enabled and capable of processing EPS R1 prescriptions.
The CFH/NPA/PSNC guidance booklet, ‘Practical advice on using EPs Release 1’ provides more detailed guidance on EPS Release 1 and can be downloaded using the link above.
DOWNLOADS: Some documents are available in PDF format, you will require Adobe Acrobat Reader 5.0 or later for viewing which can be downloaded from the Adobe Website
DOWNLOADS: Some documents are available in ‘Microsoft Word’ format. If you do not have Microsoft Word, you can read these forms by downloading the free 'Word Viewer'. This program can be downloaded at the Microsoft website