Home 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 the NHS Prescription Services. Click on the links below for guidance on the key changes:
EPS R2 Implementation Resources (including Deployment Checklists) (new)
Deploying EPS Release 2 (Including controls on who can issue electronic prescriptions)
Role of PCTs and LPCs in supporting Local Deployment of EPS Release 2
Patient Nomination of a Dispensing Site
Cancellation of Electronic Prescriptions
NHS Dictionary of Medicines & Devices
Electronic Submission of Prescriptions for Reimbursement
Patient Communication Material
Pharmacy system suppliers have a degree of flexibility in how their systems will support the dispensing process in future. It is therefore essential for pharmacy contractors to engage with system suppliers, to provide feedback and make suggestions for the further development of software to ensure that pharmacy systems continue to support the efficient delivery of the NHS community pharmacy service. A range of potential questions that contractors may want to ask their supplier can be found in the system supplier section of this site.
Detailed training and guidance on the operation of individual Release 2 enabled systems will be provided by pharmacy system suppliers.
PSNC is working to ensure that all costs and other resource implications are identified and assessed.
Frequently Asked Questions
I am not EPS enabled yet; do I need to explain the EPS to patients?
Yes, the National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations 2005 state that pharmacy contractors must explain the Electronic Prescription Service to patients, whether or not it is a service which is available through the individual contractor. The regulations also require that where the service is not available at a pharmacy, the contractor shall provide the patient with contact details of at least two pharmacies in the locality in which the service is available, if this information is known to the pharmacist.
What should I be doing now?
PSNC is urging all pharmacy contractors, if they have not already done so, to contact their chosen system supplier and make arrangements to upgrade to EPS Release 1. Once enabled, pharmacy staff should use the EPS service to dispense prescriptions where practical to ensure that any problems with the system are identified and can be resolved before EPS becomes business critical in EPS Release 2. Problems should be reported to pharmacy system suppliers who can escalate the issue to NHS Connecting for Health where necessary.
It is important for pharmacy contractors to also take time now to learn about EPS Release 2 and make suggestions for the further development of software to ensure that pharmacy systems continue to support the efficient delivery of the NHS community pharmacy service.
What are the different components that make up the EPS Service?
The EPS service is made up of a number of key components, ranging from the local system in your dispensary to the centrally held functionality which is commonly referred to as ‘the Spine’. Whilst the NHS centrally manages some of these components, pharmacy contractors are responsible for contracting with suppliers for the provision of others including the necessary hardware and software to access the service and the broadband connection to link in to N3. Most pharmacy system suppliers have chosen to use a central ‘message handler’ to support the transfer of messages between local systems and the Spine. This piece of software is the responsibility of system suppliers rather than the NHS.
Click on the link below to download a diagram of the different components that make up the EPS Service:
Different components of the EPS Service (PDF File)
How do I claim the EPS Release 2 one-off allowance?
Contractors will receive an allowance of £1000 when they deploy Release 2 of the Electronic Prescription Service. Payment will be automatically triggered, when a pharmacy submits a synthetic reimbursement message to NHS Prescription services. System suppliers will provide pharmacies with the barcode of a digitally signed test prescription during deployment of Release 2 in the pharmacy, when the pharmacy sends the test electronic reimbursement message to the spine, this will trigger the payment.
There is no need to complete a claim form and PCTs do not need to authorise the payment.
Confirmation of payment will appear on a contractor’s Schedule of Payments. Reimbursement of the EPS Release 2 Allowance is made with the final payment from NHS Prescription Services for a prescription month rather than with the 80% advance therefore if the synthetic reimbursement endorsement message was sent to NHS Prescription Services in August, payment should be expected in late October.
Can electronic prescriptions sent via the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) be post dated?
Yes. Prescribers are able to post date electronic prescriptions, however, the prescription will be held on the local prescribing system until the date on the prescription. It will not be available for the dispenser to retrieve in advance of the date on the prescription. Prescribers are being advised to consider if repeat dispensing would be a more appropriate solution than post dating electronic prescriptions, where this is necessary.
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