EPS Prescription Tracker

Visit: https://portal.spineservices.nhs.uk/nationalcarerecordsservice/ (HSCN plus a Smartcard or CIS2 is required). We recommend bookmarking the link so you can reach it quickly.

You can search for prescriptions using:

• the prescription GUID number, found on the dispensing token where available, or obtained from the GP practice;
• the patient’s NHS number;
• a date range; and/or
• the pharmacy site (within business continuity mode only).

Use the tracker whenever there is a legitimate need to confirm that a prescription exists or to check its status during prescribing or dispensing. For example, you can see which dispenser downloaded it, when it was processed, or whether it has been claimed.

Sometimes patients arrive expecting a prescription that has not reached the pharmacy. This can happen for several reasons, such as:

• the GP has not yet issued it;
• the prescription is post‑dated, so it has not left the GP system; or
• for repeat dispensing, the next issue has not been pulled down automatically as expected.

Occasionally, technical delays can also affect the arrival of an electronic prescription.

To help pharmacy teams and GP practices troubleshoot, NHS England created the simple “Where is my prescription?” tracker. It enables both teams to check the status of an EPS prescription in moments.

A business continuity mode has been added to the EPS prescription tracker. This mode is available when the pharmacy has HSCN access but the IT system is down.

Pharmacy teams can continue checking outstanding EPS prescriptions and view medicines information for each item. This helps maintain patient services and plan what actions may be needed, including contacting local GP practices if the outage is expected to last.

Pharmacy staff with the pharmacy premises set on their Smartcard can use this feature.

Click to open our tracker business continuity mode factsheet:

Your computer must meet the minimum requirements set out in the NHS Spine warranted environment specification (WES).

Your IT system supplier will be familiar with WES. Speak with your supplier before upgrading any part of your system so they can help ensure that all applications continue to run smoothly together.

Q. How can I be alerted about EPS, tracker, or wider NHS IT issues?
Pharmacy teams can sign up for text or email alerts if national NHS services that support EPS experience issues.

Q. Can the EPS tracker show non-nominated prescription information?
Yes. Non-nominated prescriptions can be found using the tracker by searching with the prescription reference or the patient’s NHS number. These prescriptions will not appear under ‘my prescriptions’ until your pharmacy has downloaded them into your IT system.