Our village pharmacy which is just 200 yards from the GP surgery, has invited me to sign up for the new NHS paperless electronic prescription service.
As far as I can tell this might make life easier for the GP and pharmacist, but I don't see any significant benefit for patients like me.
Whenever the ambulance people attend or I go to a hospital appointment, they always ask to see a list of current medication. Without paper prescriptions, would we be required to keep our own up-to-date list? Seems like more bother than it is worth for us patients.
Anyone else going to sign up for this service?
I agree, this service does not seem user friendly and looks to me as being phased out.
You do raise a good point Paul. I think the benefits of electronic transfer of prescriptions (ETP) are supposed to include saving time visiting the GP to re-order your repeats, and might save a bit of time waiting at the chemist's. With regards to having a list of medication available in an emergency, normally doctors in hospital or A/E will try and get in contact with the GP if they cannot get all of the details from a patient (such as drug name, dose, frequency etc). There's no reason why they can't contact the chemist for example on weekends or evenings when GP surgeries are not open. Keeping your own list may not be a bad idea. Don't feel like you have to enrol in such a scheme. I have only seen it in practice a handful of times.
Tarun (hospital pharmacist)
Hi Paul, there are some patient testimonals and videos on the EPS website which might help you understand how the service can benefit patients and carers:
http://systems.hscic.gov.uk/eps/patients/quotes
http://systems.hscic.gov.uk/eps/patients/films.
Thanks for that. That looks much better than the outdated information I found previously, I take back what I said up above. I see it's the Connecting for Health that's being phased out not the EPS, my apologies.
Hi Paul and Tarun
I thought I would outline a few benefits for patients who are using the EPS currently across different parts of the country.
- EPS is very much patient choice and while you have to agree to ‘nominate’ a specific pharmacy (you can do this at any EPS pharmacy or at your GP practice) you are free to change or remove your nomination at any time.
- We have seen lots of patients receive their electronic prescriptions near to where they work or live without the need to collect their paper prescription from the GP practice. This is particularly convenient for patients who work in a different city/town to where they live.
- Some patients have been set up on repeat dispensing or batch prescribing, if you receive regular repeat prescriptions that do not change frequently then your GP can send a ‘batch to your nominated pharmacy and you just collect them at the usual regular intervals e.g. every month if you are on monthly repeats. This means you do not have to re order at the GP site each month or run out of medications as your pharmacy has access to them in advance of you requiring them. Your GP will decide if you are suitable for batch prescribing.
- As the pharmacy often receives your electronic repeat prescriptions in advance, they are able to order in any out of stock items, hopefully reducing the amount of times you may have to return to collect items owing that the pharmacy may not have in stock.
I hope this has given you a little more information as to the benefits for patients, and will help you to make an informed choice as to whether this will be of interest to you or not.
Fiona McDonald
Clinical and Patient Lead
Electronic prescription service,
Health and Social care Information centre.
Ok, downside number one: It's only when you pick the meds up at the chemist you find out they got it wrong. With the old system, you could get mistakes corrected in the surgery.
Downside number two: it's another opportunity for the government to spy on you - knowing what meds you're taking and how often.
I'm just at the point of getting regular meds (for blood pressure due to all the stress from the NHS et al) and maybe I should be on antidepressants for the same reason (post-traumatic stress of having the NHS abduct my mother). The idea's ok but it's the way it's implemented - if the GP could send info to the pharmacy via simple e-mail, it'd be better.
Paul, I always keep my own list - just because a med is on the paper repeat px doesn't mean to say it's needed. When Mum's gone into hospital I've found they've put her unnecessarily on pain killers, for example, just because they're on the repeat.
Tarun, EPS is not the same as repeat ordering - which in many surgeries can now be done online (via a 'clunky offshoot of patient.info) that doesn't allow you to alter the quantity of the meds or use anything but alphanumeric characters in the 'message' section. It's a pain bothering the GP just to get amounts set either to fit the pack size or to adjust it to a monthly amount.
As for the 'Health and Social Care IC' that's my worst nightmare.
Nothing in it for the patient at all - more HS money wasted. HAd to wait 55mins at our chemist to pick my prescription up. So will try to opt out and get my prescrition the old way.
To confirm - pharmacies print dispensing tokens which look like prescriptions but are white - when this happens a repeat slip is also printed which can then be given to the patient/customer for reordering so you will always have a copy of your current medication list.
While this may not seem appropriate for everyone it saves time, cuts down on the paperwork and may even help patients who forget to seek renewal prescription in good time. It may also avoid errors. Once the pharmacy has a patient's requirements on its computer record then having the meds ready in time must be an improvement for all. Then only when a GP makes a change or introduces a new med will there be a need to update the pharmacy. Specific meds for a short period such as antibiotics can be progressed as normal.
All my family have repeat prescriptions. None of those prescriptions coincide, apart from one or two during the year. The meds come in boxes of either 28, 30, 56 or 60 tablets and the prescriptions rarely take this into account. There is a need here for an agreement between manufacturers and prescribing medics to choose either a set weekly multiple, a month of 30 days or some other figure that will bring about some standard which could then make the whole process simpler. It could also avoid loss; example - when a pharmacist has to cut up a tablet set (reducing 30 to 28, say) and the odd two get added into another prescription with possible oversight from the patient.
Of course nothing is guaranteed; anything that introduces simplification has to have some benefit.
Convenient but very worrying.
At my GP practice you take in your repeat form and then have to go again two days later to pick up the prescription - so EPS sounds much more convenient.
I'm very worried because I only found out about this from a mailshot sent out by a company 200 miles away that wants to be my nominated pharmacy and provides home delivery only. This looks like a serious attack on the local pharmacies and the service they give; you have to read quite carefully to discover that you can ignore this choose EPS with a local pharmacy. This looks like yet another apparently good public service idea that has been hijacked for profit and eventual loss of services.
I'm also somewhat worried by the fact this mailshot targeted me, who have repeat prescriptions. The small print says that my GP did NOT provide my details - so who did? Maybe a coincidence, but I doubt it because I'm the only recipient in the household who got the letter.
Greg (patient)
I'm not sure I like the big brother aspect to this EPS system. Total I went to the doctors to collect a repeat prescription only to be told it had already been sent to the pharmacy via the EPS.
Well I never signed up for any electronic service and both the pharamcy and GP surgery deny signing me up as well.
I find it very creepy that pharmacists have access to the NHS spine and can see what medications you are on, etc. I also think it is wrong that your prescription/personal details can be sent to any pharmacy without your prior consent.
In principle EPS seems like a good idea but I imagine as will all government IT projects it will end up being a mess, with lots of mistakes, breaches of data protection and people like myself being signed up against their will.
I love it! The doctors send it in right in front of you and it has limited mistakes!! I think it's a win/win for paitent and doctor!
Everything is going electronic these days
Hi Paul,
I signed up for this service, but my surgery offers prescriptions and booking doctors appointments, to me having the option to order prescriptions online makes it easier for me, than phoning the surgery or booking an appointment just to see a doctor.
What I do not understand Paul is do they not give you option to order the Repeat Prescription slip with your medication? I use this when needed by paramedics or the dentist, it shows them all my medications I am currently on. My medications are all online, if I need them - so I could print them out.
Regards,
Les.
Regards,
Les.
I've just had a chat with my pharmacist about this and I'm very scepticle about it.
I currently order my script online and collect it from the surgery then pop into the chemists and that's fine for me it doesn't take loads of time and I still have to go to the chemist to collect it so going to Drs first is not a problem. Sometimes the chemist don't have certain meds so I go to another chemists as the meds I'm on I cannot just stop taking them if I have run out which I do sometimes.
I asked the pharmacy if I joined this service and they get my script and they don't have what I need what would happen and he replied you would just have to wait till it comes in!. Also if I've ordered my script online and I'm going away (within the uk, I am often) and I don't get to my chemist before I go away I don't have the option to pop into a different chemist while I'm away!.
Sod that to be honest I'd rather have a paper script and be able to go to another chemist if and when I need to.
Also my mum uses the electronic service and when she goes to collect it from them its never ready at the time they say it will be!.
No thanks lol
Hi Kristopher ~
You are correct as the pharmacist will tell you that you will have to wait but here, they do give us an option...whether to keep it there or they can transfer it for you...do you have the same options? Perhaps you do but they drugist hadn't told you this so they wouldn't lose business however, I believe mine knows out of respect I'd continue with them because of their honesty. Hope this helps with your situation.
Frustrated
*but = until it gets (wow, forgot a lot of words so it would make some sense) lol good luck
ONe more thing to follow up on what I previously wrote :
If your pharmacist won't allow it to be transferred, you could always call a different drug store and ask if they have the medication and then call back your GP and ask them to resend it to the available druggist. It is a bit more time consuming but then again, it will give the first pharmacist a message, be honest or you'll lose business anyways!!
Frustrated
Hi Paul,
There is a good reason for this service, especially for people like myself.
The NHS is Trialing the Personal Care Service at numerous places in the UK. Let's say in my case I go in to an Epileptic Seizure, my wife would normally call for an Ambulance, however these days its Paramedics first. If your condition becomes worse then an Ambulance is dispatched. During all this time the paramedic would be asking you the same questions everytime a seizure comes.
Now, let's look at the same procedure but using the Personal Care Service - Firstly, if you have Epilepsy seizures then you will have been given medication in case of a seizure, to be administered by the person named as the carer. You would have been given a time of around 5-10 minutes in which this medication should have 'kicked' in, if not then dial for an ambulance, a paramedic would be sent out first as usual, but under the new system they have full access to your GP, Consultants and any other relevant records and which medications you are currently on, thus saving on a 'mountain' of paperwork. The paramedic will have access to everything on you, therefore making the whole process quicker.
I use the EPS (Electronic Prescription Service) as well, I am on 13 types of medication 2 of which are Class 'A' drugs and require me to sign additional box on the prescription. The only part I do not use is the medication delivery, I have been offered on numerous ocassions but turned it down. I can order prescriptions and book appointments online which is a godsend, when you have 'limited' mobility.
I know the services would not suit everyone but having them available makes life a lot easier for the patient and everyone that is required for emergencies or just a prescription.
Regards,
Les.