EPS Release 2 (EPS) will affect all members of pharmacy staff in England so it is important that you understand what is involved.
Benefits
What are the benefits of EPS Release 2?
- EPS reduces work load associated with re-keying prescription information.
- Electronic prescriptions are received before a patient arrives in your pharmacy, allowing you to streamline workflow by preparing prescriptions in advance.
- Helps with stock management.
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Pharmacies offering a Repeat Prescription service will no longer have to physically collect prescriptions for patients who have nominated them.
Need help registering patient nominations?
We have an EPS nomination support pack available which includes everything you need to begin registering patients to your pharmacy.
Are you a ProScript user in England?
Register your interest in an EPS Release 2 upgrade
Background of EPS
The Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) for England has been a talking point for a number of years.
As a result of the sheer size of the programme and number of stakeholders involved the pace of development has appeared to be slow at best.
However, pharmacy system suppliers have been working to drive the programme forward providing a valuable insight in to work flow and processes that are in some cases unique to pharmacy.
EPS Release 1
Rollout of EPS Release 1 started around 5 years ago and is currently used by 90% of community pharmacies in England. It was designed to put the foundations of the electronic prescription service in place and to ensure compatibility between the computer systems used by GPs and pharmacies.
EPS Release 1 uses N3 broadband technology to send electronic prescription messages from GPs to pharmacies. The prescription details are downloaded in the pharmacy by scanning a barcode printed on FP10 prescription forms.
1.5 million prescriptions are issued across England every day and with this total expected to rise by 5% every year steps are required to improve the efficiency of the system.
EPS Release 2
EPS Release 2 is the second phase of the electronic prescription service and has been designed to improve the efficiency of the prescribing and dispensing process.
A key part of Release 2 is that patients can 'nominate' the pharmacy they want to receive their prescriptions. A patients prescription will then be sent automatically from their GP to their nominated pharmacy to be fulfilled.
Registering patient nominations is crucial to ensure you retain your existing patients for the future.
