Primary care trusts must take steps to ensure there is no abuse of the system of nomination of pharmacies under Release 2 of the Electronic Prescription Service, the Department of Health has said.
Latest guidance from the DH sets out the actions the department expects PCTs to take under EPS R2, which gives patients the option to select a pharmacy to which their prescriptions can be sent electronically.
Pharmacy bodies have been concerned that the functionality could be misused if patients are encouraged to use a particular pharmacy, rather than being given a list of all pharmacies in an area as the regulations specify.
The guidance says PCTs must monitor nominations to identify any “unusual or unexpected distribution of nominations.” It says PCTs can do this either through internal monitoring or through externally-sourced routes.
The guidance PCTs will also be able to access nomination reports within the Secondary Uses Service, which will provide summary and detailed information about nominations made.
PCTs can also act on concerns raised or complaints made by dispensers, prescribers or patients, the guidance adds.
The DH says all GP providers, whether under a GMS, PMS or other contract, are not allowed to recommend a particular pharmacy to patients and if asked to do by the patient should give the patient a list of all the pharmacists in the area which provide an electronic transfer of prescriptions service.
If a PCT suspects it has identified a failure to comply with contractual obligations a PCT could take action for breach of contract if appropriate, the guidance adds.
The guidance has been published as the latest set of NHS Directions came into force from the beginning of this month which means GPs in 83 PCTs are now permitted to use EPS R2.
There is no comparable restriction on use of EPS R2 by pharmacists, so an electronic prescription issued in one of the listed PCTs could be dispensed by a pharmacist in any PCT.
In March the DH decided to temporarily stop any more PCTs from taking part in EPS R2, blaming slow progress by suppliers http://www.ehi.co.uk/news/EHI/6694/slow-progress-halts-eps-r2-applications.
Since then, GP system EMIS Web and three pharmacy systems from suppliers Cegedim Rx, Rx Systems and AAH Pharmaceuticals have all received full-out approval.
Two other GP suppliers, TPP and INPS, are predicting full roll-out approval by the end of June and the beginning of July respectively and two other pharmacy systems also expect to receive approval by the end of June.
This week’s guidance says implementation of EPS R1 is almost complete, with 98% of practices and 94% of pharmacies with the software installed.
It adds that while R1 means minimal changes for patients and staff the introduction of R2 will bring tangible benefits for patients, prescribers and dispensers.
Latest statistics published by NHS Connecting for Health this week show nine GP practices and 47 pharmacies are ready to start using EPS R2. So far 54, 055 prescriptions containing 124,783 items have been dispensed and 14, 087 patient nominations set under EPS R2.