Boots UK is to begin offering its customers digital pharmacy prescriptions through Doctor Care Anywhere.
The e-prescription service gives patients the option to have their prescriptions sent electronically to a Boots pharmacy within minutes of their GP consultation.
The service will be piloted in 20 stores across central London. More services and digital led solutions will be introduced throughout 2020, the company said.
Alia Zuhair, a Boots pharmacist in Kings Cross, said: “We see that patients are busy people but they also really value the opportunity to see a pharmacist and chat through their medicines. This service provides the best of both worlds – speedy service combined with the opportunity to speak with one of our trusted pharmacists.
“It takes away the need for paper prescriptions so is very simple and quick, giving patients more options to pick up their prescriptions at a time and place to suit them. The medicines will be waiting for them when they arrive.”
Doctor Care Anywhere (DCA) was the first provider of private e-prescriptions to Boots UK.
It provides a secure way to transfer prescriptions to the pharmacy as they can only be redeemed once.
Patients can keep track of all their prescriptions through their digital patient record with DCA, which can be accessed whenever they need it.
Boots UK already offers an NHS repeat e-prescriptions service.
Richard Bradley, pharmacy director at Boots UK, said: “We know our patients want convenient, simple solutions to manage and take control of their health.
“This new service makes for a modern pharmacy experience, using digital technology to seamlessly link GP consultations and prescriptions with our pharmacies.”
Dr Bayju Thakar, founder and managing director of DCA, added: “This is a major step towards delivering real change in how the UK’s pharmacy market works for everyone in order to make it a more patient-led experience, enabling people to decide where their prescriptions should be fulfilled in the swiftest and most efficient way.
“It places power in the hands of patients and it enables pharmacies to manage stock controls more effectively. I believe that this is the best of pharmacy convenience at work.”
This is not the first time Boots has made a move into the digital health space. In June 2019, the company announced it had developed a free online NHS repeat prescription service, in partnership with NHS Digital and NHS England.