Prescriptions

The Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) is an NHS service. It gives you the chance to change how your GP sends your prescription to the place you choose to get your medicines or appliances from.

What does this mean for you?

If you collect your repeat prescriptions from your GP you will not have to visit your GP practice to pick up your paper prescription. Instead, your GP will send it electronically to the place you choose, saving you time.

You will have more choice about where to get your medicines from because they can be collected from a pharmacy near to where you live, work or shop.

You may not have to wait as long at the pharmacy as there will be time for your repeat prescriptions to be ready before you arrive.

Is this service right for you?

Yes, if you have a stable condition and you:

• don’t want to go to your GP practice every time to collect your repeat prescription.
• collect your medicines from the same place most of the time or use a prescription collection service now.

 It may not be if you:

• don’t get prescriptions very often.
• pick up your medicines from different places.

How can you use EPS?

You need to choose a place for your GP practice to electronically send your prescription to. This is called nomination. You can choose:

• a pharmacy. a dispensing appliance contractor (if you use one).
• your dispensing GP practice (if you are eligible).

Ask any pharmacy or dispensing appliance contractor that offers EPS or your GP practice to add your nomination for you. You don’t need a computer to do this.

Can I change my nomination or cancel it and get a paper prescription?

Yes you can. If you don’t want your prescription to be sent electronically tell your GP. If you want to change or cancel your nomination speak to any pharmacist or dispensing appliance contractor that offers EPS, or your GP practice. Tell them before your next prescription is due or your prescription may be sent to the wrong place.

Is EPS reliable, secure and confidential?

Yes. Your electronic prescription will be seen by the same people in GP practices, pharmacies and NHS prescription payment and fraud agencies that see your paper prescription now.

Sometimes dispensers may see that you have nominated another dispenser. For example, if you forget who you have nominated and ask them to check or, if you have nominated more than one dispenser. Dispensers will also see all the items on your reorder slip if you are on repeat prescriptions.

Reassuring our Patients – ‘Your medication may look different on the outside – but essentially it’s the same on the inside.’

Your medicine may look different from your last prescription this may mean you have been prescribed what is known as a generic medicine.

• A generic medicine contains the same active ingredient as the equivalent original branded drug
• Generic medicines are produced to the same standards of safety, quality and efficacy as original branded drugs
• Generic medicines have to demonstrate in clinical studies that they are bioequivalent to the original product: ie.,they deliver equal medical benefits to the patient
• The main benefit of generic medicines is that they are usually less expensive.  Generic manufacturers do not have to recoup research costs
• Each year generic medicines save the NHS around £9.5 billion

St Agnes and Mount Hawke Surgeries are both following a generic prescribing surgery.

By law, the NHS ceases to have responsibility for the medical care of patients when they leave the UK. In addition, GPs are not required by their terms of service to provide prescriptions for the treatment of a condition that is not present and may arise while the patient is abroad.

The NHS does accept responsibly for supplying ongoing medication for temporary periods abroad of up to 3 months. However, if a person is going to be abroad for more than 3 months, then that only entitles them (at NHS expense) to a sufficient supply of regular medication to get to their destination, where they should find an alternative supply of that medication.

Patients residing abroad for a period of more than 3 months will be removed from the registered patient list. Upon return to the UK the patient may wish to re-register with the practice providing their UK address is within the boundary of the practice area.

St Agnes and Mount Hawke Practice Policy

Travelling out of the country for less than 3 months
– For patients who inform us they will be out of the country for less than 3 months, we will provide sufficient medicines for an existing condition (e.g., Asthma, diabetes.) for the period while the patient is away where it is safe to do so.  Drugs that require frequent monitoring may not be prescribed where there are safety concerns. 1 months’ supply only will be issued for drugs normally available over the counter, such as paracetamol.

Travelling out of the country for more than 3 months 
– Patients who inform us they will be leaving the country for more than 3 months will be prescribed sufficient medication to enable them to make alternative arrangements at their destination (up to 3 months’ supply where safe to do so). 
– They will also be removed from our patient list. We will be pleased to re-register patients on their return to residence in the UK and reassure patients that their electronic notes are kept on file for reference on your return.
– Patients and relatives should not seek medication for themselves while they are abroad as this constitutes NHS fraud.

Prescriptions for medicines in case of illness while abroad
– GP’s will only prescribe NHS prescriptions in this case for exacerbations of pre-existing illnesses, e.g., antibiotics for patients who have frequent infections secondary to an underlying lung condition.
– GPs may provide private prescriptions if it is clinically appropriate, and they can be self-administered safely without medical assessment while abroad. Those prescriptions are not free.
– Patients should be aware that some drugs commonly prescribed in the UK may be illegal in certain countries and you should check with that countries embassy before you travel.

From time to time St Agnes Surgery receives requests from patients to give out prescriptions for more than one month’s medication.

NHS guidelines promote 28 day prescriptions. This is  largely to reduce waste from unused medication as medicines which have been prescribed cannot be re-used if the healthcare needs of a patient change. It also reduces the dangers associated with excess drugs in the home. Our local Integrated Care Board (Cornwall & Isles of Scilly ICB) have stated that they ‘believe 28 day prescribing is the best balance between patient convenience, good medical practice and minimal drug wastage in a time of scarce NHS resources’. 

In recognition of the advice received by the Practice, our clinicians are strongly encouraged to avoid issuing longer prescriptions and to adhere strictly, wherever practicable, to St Agnes Surgery policy of routinely issuing prescriptions to patients for 28 days’ supply of repeat medications. This gives a regular routine for patients and allows for ordering in good time. It is convenient if issues of different medications regularly needed can all be brought into line and issued together so as to reduce the number of requests and achieve a more co-ordinated approach to care. (We acknowledge that there are reasonable exceptions where a patient plans to be away from home on holiday or on business, and to cover Christmas and other Bank Holidays.) 

The above policy need not cause inconvenience to the patient. Prescriptions can be sent automatically to the patient’s nominated pharmacy of choice as part of the electronic prescription service (EPS).

We are also promoting ‘electronic repeat dispensing’ (ERD), whereby the surgery authorises the pharmacy to dispense on multiple occasions. This means that instead of coming back to the surgery every time for a repeat prescription, the patient can make their request directly to the pharmacy. (Patients can still request early issue from the pharmacy for the exceptional circumstances already mentioned above.) 

Please talk to our dispensary team if you wish to set up EPS or discuss ERD.