Electronic Prescription Service ( EPS )

The Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) enables prescriptions to be sent electronically from the GP surgery to the pharmacy and then on to NHS Prescription Services for payment. EPS enables prescribers – such as GPs and practice nurses – to send prescriptions electronically to a dispenser (such as a pharmacy) of the patient’s choice. This makes the prescribing and dispensing process more efficient and convenient for patients and staff.

EPS 2 is being implemented across the whole of England. However the uptake has been slow in the London area, this is now being realised and GP practices and pharmacies are being urged to sign up for the service. In 2014 practises in Kensington Chelsea & Westminster have started signing up for EPS 2 capabilities and its important that all pharmacies in our area are ready to dispense these Electronic Prescriptions for our patients and the community.

It is very important for all contractors to be involved in this service and vital that they are ready before their local surgeries are up and running.

Its in the interest of KCW LPC to help all our contractors to be able to provide the Electronic Prescription Service and this page will try to help contractors gain more insight and relevant information in implementing the service and any updates that come through.

PSNC briefing on EPS

PSNC briefing on Repeat Dispensing via EPS can be accessed by clicking PSNC-Briefiing-001.14-Repeat-Dispensing-and-EPS1

EPS Patient Nominations

Its important that patients start the nomination process for which pharmacy they would like their electronic prescriptions to be dispensed. EPS Nomination form for patients to be signed up to the service templets can be downloaded here.

Dispensing tokens

Dispensing tokens can be ordered from Office Services, 15 Marylebone Road, London NW1 5JD tel no: 02033504458, but require the below form to be completed and sent to them

Westminster PCT – pharmacy stationary requisition form

Planned Deployments in Practices & Pharmacies

Information on planned deployments can be accessed online via the EPS Release 2 deployment map or via a downloadable list published in Excel; both resources are updated weekly by the HSCIC.

Updates on Deployment at GP Practice Level

The link below will show you a summary for ETP2 deployment time frames at the GP Practice level that have gone live since September 2014 and Practices expected to go live in the coming months. This list has been updated on 10:23  18/04/15.

EPS Latest Summary Published on 19th Aprril 2015

Please note:

The practices in GREEN have gone LIVE and should be using ETP2 to send prescriptions.

We urge all pharmacies that dispense prescriptions from any of the practices listed in the above summary to ensure that they have their own ETP2 service set-up and running well before their local GP practise go live dates.

Please contact your systems suppliers and get re-accustomed to the processing of EPS R2 scripts.

EPS 2 FAQ

Below is a link for EPS R2 Frequently Asked Questions document created by London LPCs in collaboration with NHSE and EPS leads to help answer some of your questions at the pharmacy level. 

NHSE London Region EPS FAQ Sept 14

Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC)

The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) was set up as an Executive Non Departmental Public Body (ENDPB) and one of their major roles is setting up and managing national IT systems for transferring, collecting and analysing information. They are the organisation that help build and maintain IT systems for the EPS. They on a regular basis release important information on the status of the global EPS system including NHS system down- times, NHS Spine & smart card issues

Updates explaining the EPS issues can be accessed on  the HSCIC EPS news web page