The Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) is an NHS service. With effect from March 2020 a prescription will no longer be printed.
What does EPS 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 or if you have not registered a preferred pharmacy with the Surgery you can collect a token from the dispensary.
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.
What will change for patients who already have a nomination?
More than 28 million patients already have a nomination. Their nomination will remain valid and nothing will change.
You do not need to do anything.
What will change for patients who do not have a nomination?
If a patient does not have a nomination, their prescription will be sent electronically. You will need to print a token and this must be given to the patient, the patient’s representative or their prescription collection service.
The token contains a unique barcode and you should advise patients to take it to a pharmacy or DAC of their choice in England. The electronic prescription will remain on the NHS Spine until dispensing staff scan the token to retrieve it and begin the dispensing process.
Tokens do not need a signature because the prescription is signed electronically.