DH gives go-ahead for EPS Release 2

Tags: DH Pharmacists Pharmacy

18 Aug 2008

A regulatory impact assessment has given the green light to the next stage of the Electronic Prescriptions Service – one of the national projects being undertaken by NHS Connecting for Health.

The assessment considered whether the government should revert to paper prescriptions or the EPS Release 1, in which electronic messages are attached to paper prescriptions.

But it recommended that EPS Release 2, which will allow patients to select or “nominate” a pharmacy to which their prescription can be sent electronically, should proceed.

It argued this was necessary to improve the management of the large volume of prescriptions in the NHS. In 2007, 763 million prescription items were dispensed in primary care and 392 million paper prescriptions were written, dispensed and sent on for reimbursement. Prescription volumes are rising at about 5% a year.

“Electronic prescription pilots have already been carried out and evaluated,” the assessment published on the DH website says. “They found that electronic prescriptions are technically viable and would be acceptable to patients, pharmacists and GPs.

“Further, by December 2009 an external team will have reviewed how the electronic prescription service has been deployed.”

The transmission of prescriptions by electronic means was first mentioned in the NHS Plan in 2000. The EPS is now managed by CfH, which is rolling it out in two releases.

Release 1 implementer sites have been live since 2005. Suppliers have been preparing their systems for Release 2, for which two waves of early implementers have been identified.

A number of further benefits are planned for Release 2, including the electronic cancellation of prescriptions and support for repeat prescribing.

Link

NHS Connecting for Health EPS website

Joe Fernandez

Reader's Comments

Link please

18 Aug 08 14:08

I have searched the DH website but I cannnot find the impact assement on the DH website, a link to it would be very helpful. I am surprised though that the DH might not have allowed Release 2 to proceed especially at this late hour!

Link here

lyn@e-health-media.com

18 Aug 08 16:08

To find the impact assessment, you need to look in the publications and statistics section of the DH website, and then follow through to legislation then to regulatory impact assessments.

Or try this: http://tinyurl.com/5pgasz

The regulatory impact assessment process is part of how government now works. The story records the fact that EPS has gone through this process.

Lyn Whitfield, managing editor, e-health-insider.

The proper link!

john.bishop@leics-his.nhs.uk

08 Oct 08 15:10

I finally found thsi document yesterday, via the CFH eSpace web site

The dcoument name was changed, and the full link is -

http://www.dh.gov.uk/prod_consum_dh/groups/dh_digitalassets/documents/digitalasset/dh_086600.pdf