Scope and oversight (EPS)

NHS oversight

NHS IT teams oversee the national infrastructure that supports many NHS digital services.

For community pharmacy teams, one of the most important services is the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS). EPS allows NHS prescriptions to be sent electronically between prescribers and dispensing contractors, helping to improve efficiency, patient convenience and prescription processing.

Read more on our NHS IT ops, orgs and IT policy webpage.

How EPS was introduced

EPS was introduced in stages.

The legacy Release 1 (R1)

Release 1 enabled electronic transmission of prescription information, but the barcode prescription form remained the legal prescription.

Release 2 (R2)

Release 2 introduced a range of new features, including:

• Electronic NHS prescriptions;
• Electronic Repeat Dispensing (eRD);
• Patient nomination of a chosen pharmacy;
• Cancellation of electronic prescriptions by prescribers; and
• Electronic submission of reimbursement claims to the NHS Business Services Authority (NHSBSA).

Since then, EPS has continued to expand beyond GP practices and community pharmacies into a wider range of NHS care settings.

Legal basis for EPS

An electronic message becomes a legal NHS prescription when it is:

• created electronically;
• signed using an approved electronic signature;
• sent through the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) and not another messaging system*; and
• transferred electronically to the dispensing site.

Reference: The NHS (Pharmaceutical and Local Pharmaceutical Services) Regulations.

NHS electronic prescriptions dispensed by pharmacy owners must be transmitted and processed through EPS. Electronic prescriptions use an appropriate Advanced Electronic Signature (AES), as required under relevant medicines legislation.

What can be prescribed through EPS?

Prescribers can use EPS for:

• Acute prescriptions;
• Repeat prescriptions; and
• Repeat dispensing prescriptions.

EPS cannot currently be used for:

• Bulk prescriptions for schools or institutions (Drug Tariff Part VIII, Note 10); or
• Private prescriptions.

Each NHS electronic prescription can contain up to four items.

Technical limitations

Occasionally, a prescriber may be unable to issue a prescription through EPS because of technical limitations.

Examples include:

• The item is not listed in the NHS Dictionary of Medicines and Devices (dm+d); or
• The prescribing system does not contain the relevant mapping for the product.

These issues are most likely to affect less commonly prescribed products, including some specially manufactured or extemporaneously prepared medicines.

Electronic prescribing across the UK

See UK section of EPS across settings.

Frequently asked questions

1. Can a nurse prescriber working in a GP practice issue prescriptions through EPS?
2. Yes. Community practitioner nurse prescribers, independent nurse prescribers and supplementary nurse prescribers working within GP practices can issue prescriptions through EPS, provided they have the appropriate roles and GP practice locations registered within their NHS Care Identity profile. The prescriber type will be displayed when the electronic prescription is received.
3. If a prescriber signs a prescription token, does this make it a legal NHS prescription?
4. No. A signed prescription token is not a legal NHS prescription. The legal prescription remains the electronic prescription held within EPS. Pharmacy owners are reimbursed for dispensing against the electronic prescription, not the token. To reduce the risk of confusion, prescribing systems overwrite the signature box on tokens with a reminder that the token should not be used as a prescription.

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For more information on this topic please email it@cpe.org.uk