Receptionists and Prescription Clerks

• EPS will reduce the amount of paper currently generated by the dispensing process as well as reducing the extra workload involved by repeat prescription generation and collection from the surgery and potentially enabling higher usage of the repeat batch dispensing service.
• Pharmacy nomination is a new process giving the patient the option to choose a dispensing contractor (Pharmacy or Appliance) for their prescriptions to be sent to electronically. Reception Staff can change or add a nominated pharmacy using the 'nominate pharmacy' tab on the clinical system

Understanding Repeats

Raise the repeat prescription normally and then, instead of printing, send it electronically to your GP, who digitally signs the prescription using their smart card pin, the prescription is then uploaded to the NHS Spine. Once it is on the spine, the pharmacist will download the prescription and start dispensing the medication. Prescription requests will still take 48 hours to complete as normal.

Understanding Acutes

Acute prescriptions are raised, which are marked as an acute prescription and digitally signed (using smart card pin), either in consultation or on return to office if raised during a home visit and uploaded to the NHS spine. The acute prescription is downloaded by the dispenser from the NHS spine as an 'urgent' prescription, medication picked and dispensed. Please be aware that this may take an hour to complete as dispensers still require time to download the prescription and pick the medication for dispensing.

Queries regarding EPS?

Please contact your EPS system supplier at the following helpdesk numbers;

Emis Web (Link to the online support centre) : 0845 122 2333

SystmOne (press F1 for online help): 0113 20 500 91

Vision (link to the online support centre) : 0207 501 7000

For further information please see:

Practice EPS Resource Page (will redirect to NHS Digital website)

Electronic Prescription Tracker

This tool allows users to enter a prescription ID and find out where in the process a prescription is at that time. It will confirm if the prescription has left the prescribing site, if it has reached the spine or if it has been delivered to a dispensing site.

You can access the tracker using your PC and smartcard. Click the following link or paste it into your web browser: http://epstracker.cfh.nhs.uk/check.php.

Your system must meet the following requirements for the tool to work correctly:

System Requirements:

• Internet Explorer 7.0 or 8.0
• Screen resolution 1024 x 768 pixels or higher
• NHS NCRS Smartcard Reader
• NHS Identity Agent v11 or higher
• NHS Network (N3) Connectivity

Compatibility:

• Older versions of Internet Explorer (IE) may not work with this application.
• The tool may work with other browsers such as Chrome or Firefox, but no user support can be given if using such browsers as IE is the NHS standard.

The application will first check your browser is compatible and inform you of any compatibility issues. If the checks are successful, you will be taken to the Electronic Prescription Tracker.

In order to access the Electronic Prescription Tracker you will need to login using your smartcard.

You will not be able to access the tool until you have entered your smartcard PIN and your smartcard has been authenticated. Access is not restricted to a specific smartcard role or activity. You will not need to have additional roles or activities added to your card to use the tool.

Please note, some organisations restrict internet access to a specific list of websites. Your system supplier or head office may need to add this address to its approved list of sites.