EPSr2 FAQs
- Where can I obtain help on Smartcards?
Contact the Smartcard office direct via email , providing contact details and the nature of the issue. Alternatively, you can phone them on 01793 422336. The RA Manager is called Jim Sinclair and his RA agents are called Barbara Stratton and Christopher Henham.
- Where can I order dispensing tokens from?
Allow 3 weeks for delivery
Order by email:
or fax 01392 351383
An up-to-date fax order form can be found on the LPC website
- What is the Prescription Tracker?
The Prescription Tracker is a webpage from the HSCIC website. To access you need a smartcard and access to the internet. Once a practice/pharmacy has opened the page it just needs to be saved as a favourite or put on the desktop. So not too technical and is possibly something the practice can do themselves. Normally a practice will identify which roles or individuals need to track prescriptions and ensure it is available on their PCs, rather than making it available for everyone. If the practice experiences difficulties in accessing, then it will need IT support as it may be something associated with the configuration of the practice system or something associated with smartcards.
If searching by NHS number, ensure you enter a date range.
- Where can I obtain marketing material from?
Funding to produce supporting literature was withdrawn some time ago. A number of reasons for that, the main one being that HSCIC were left with volumes of leaflets that were superseded or were just out of date.
Then in March 2013, Connecting for Health was repositioned and renamed as Health & Social Care Information Centre which made all their literature out of date.
The patient leaflet is now a simpler one page document that can be printed as and when required by practices/pharmacies themselves. There are also posters that can be printed and used.
- How do I handle weekly dosset boxes electronically?
The issue is that Pharmacy staff generally prefer to prepare 4 weeks’ worth of dosset boxes in one go, to save time and avoid leaving split packs of 28 tablets on their shelves. The practice can issue 7 day scripts for dosset boxes on repeat dispensing regimes in the same way as for any other repeat dispensing regime and the pharmacy will get the first one automatically. Once a dispensed notification is returned to the spine from the pharmacy, the second script will drop into the pharmacy EPS script queue automatically one week before it is due. This works well with scripts of 28 or 56 day intervals, but of course, doesn’t help the pharmacy to prepare dosset boxes ahead of time for weekly scripts.
Therefore, many pharmacies are using the following procedure to manage the scenario.
Please bear in mind that this it is not official HSCIC advice
MDS/ 7 day prescribing – As you know, dispensing into MDS for patients who do not meet the criteria of the Equality Act (EA) is not currently funded by the NHS.
7 day weekly scripts should NOT be issued except in rare cases where the prescriber reviews the patient on a weekly basis.
Below is a process that works in pharmacy, should the prescriber in those ‘rare cases’ issue a 7 day interval repeat dispensing prescription.
In order to prepare, dispense and ensure correct cancellation responses are received by prescribers:
1. Download the first issue
2. Reprint the dispensing token from the first issue for however many weeks the pharmacists prepare at the same time
3. Prepare the medication according to how many dispensing tokens have been printed
4. Once the first weeks’ medication has been dispensed to the patient, the dispense notification is sent.
5. The second issue will downloadonce the Dispense Notification has been sent for week one automatically.
7. Quality check the second week’s medication from the second issue and when handed to the patient and send the dispense notification
8. Continue as above
This allows quality checking from the legal prescription each time before dispensing to the patient at weekly intervals. Due to the nature of repeat dispensing, it is acceptable to prepare (but not dispense to the patient) fromthe first issue, as they are direct copies. By sending the dispense notification when the medication is dispensed to the patient, means that a prescriber is still able to cancel a prescription and will receive the correct messages in response to the status and appropriate action can be taken to ensure the patient receives medication as intended.
- How can I convert drug quantities if I am on TPP Systm1?
A step by step guide to updating the quantities:
- Go into system one
- Go to "set up"
- Then "Bulk Operations" from drop down box
- Then "Repeat Template Quantity Replacements"
A screen with all the drugs to be amended comes up, then:
- Click ONCE on drug name
- Press "continue"
- Double click on drug name
- Enter quantity/quantities
- Press "continue"
- Press "run"
- Press "ok"
This will take you back to the list of drugs and you can progress to the next drug.If continue button is not highlighted, press "reset".
Ensure you keep track of which drug you have converted since it takes 2 days for them to disappear from the list.
- Who do I contact in the first instance for help on EPSr2?
Janet Bate
IM&T Project Manager
NHS Central Southern Commissioning Support Unit
T: 01380 736019| M: 07776 161218 | E:
- What are the system supplier helpline numbers?
TPP – 0113 20 50082
EMIS – 0845 125 5529
- Where can I obtain further information on EPSr2?
HSCIC Website:
Avon LPC Website:
Below is a useful link to the BSA from HSCIC. It gives information on EPSr2 and also gives the ability to ask questions (copy and paste link onto the internet and select EPS). The topics it covers are…
-Amending or cancelling claims
-Dispensing, submitting or processing claims
-EPS tokens
-Payments
-Release 2
-General information
- Can I visit a practice that has gone live with EPSr2?
Yes, it is very beneficial if you can visit another practice to see how they are using EPS and what preparation tips they have. Contact Janet Bate on the details above to arrange this.
- How can I find out about dates for Business change sessions and go lives?
This information can be found in the section on BANES EPS on the Avon LPC website:
- Does EPSr2 enable the online ordering of repeat prescriptions in GP practices?
EPS does not affect whatever method of script reordering the practice/pharmacy/patient have been using. EPS does not include any functionality for reordering.
So if the practice want to use online reordering, then they can. It will still involve the prescription clerk readying the request for the GP to sign, unless they are using EMIS Access which puts the request into Workflow. Other systems may have equivalent functionality in the future.
If the pharmacy/patient wants to carry on using paper requests, then they tick the items on the right hand side of the token and return these to the surgery.
- What is the process for issuing delayed prescriptions e.g. antibiotics?
If it is issued under EPS one way could be for the script to be sent through with a note to the dispenser saying may not be required so not to prepare the script until the patient requests it. The alternative is for the patient to call the surgery if required and instigate the EPS script at that point. They will not need to go to the practice - just go straight to the pharmacy.
Another way to ensure the patient can't get it dispensed before it might be appropriate, would be for the prescriber to post-date the script for antibiotics, but it would still need a message on the token for the pharmacy staff to understand that it should not be dispensed unless the patient requests it.
The practice need to choose the way that suits them best and may want to discuss with the local pharmacies.
- Can a practice or pharmacy add nominations before go live?
Most pharmacies are already EPS enabled so can input nominations into their system before go live. However, practices are only able to input nominations once they have gone live and their practice is EPS enabled.
Practices can either make a list of patients with their nominated pharmacy to input after go live or they can ask the pharmacies to input these nominations for them before go live. Alternatively, practices can ask patients to get themselves nominated at their chosen pharmacy.
- At the practice system, is ‘preferred pharmacy’ the same as ‘nominated pharmacy’?
No, preferred pharmacy is a different field to nominated pharmacy. This is because the patient needs to be informed of what they are signing up to i.e. the EPS service.
- Will the patient nominations collected at the pharmacies be automatically transferred to the GP system on go live?
Yes, once the practice has gone live with EPS, the patient nominations will show on their system. If a patient hasn’t nominated, then the preferred pharmacy field will still show that information. If a patient has nominated, the preferred pharmacy field for that patient will convert to the nominated field.
- What happens when a pharmacy is unable to fulfil the prescription and the patient is not prepared to call back?
The pharmacy should give the patient the dispensing token and send the EPSR2 message back to the spine. The patient should then go into another R2 accredited pharmacy (95% of pharmacies are live), where they scan the token and pull down the message. They can then dispense. The nomination stays with that pharmacy.
- How can the pharmacy change the font size of their dispensing token?
The printing on the dispensing token is determined by the pharmacy system suppliers. So the pharmacy needs to address this query to their system supplier (e.g. to request larger font on the right hand side of the token)
- What are the benefits of repeat dispensing?
·The pharmacy are unable to order prescriptions/ items as the prescriber has set up a number of batch issues and maintains overall control.
·The prescriber can prescribe according to when the patients medication needs reviewing, so in some cases after 12 months, in others after 6 months (over 65’s) the pharmacist cannot re order repeat dispensing prescriptions unlike routine repeats, the patient must do that themselves.
·In repeat dispensing the pharmacist is professionally obliged to ask the patient at each issue, if they require all the items on the RD issue. This differs from repeat prescriptions as they are not professionally obliged to ask at every repeat.
·It is estimated ( research done in 2002) that around 70% of patient’s on repeat medication could be moved onto repeat dispensing prescriptions, with huge reduction in prescription admin/authorisation/ signing and footfall at the GP surgery.
·The advantage of electronic RD is that medication can be cancelled at item or whole prescription level, so where a change needs to be made this can be applied and re prescribed with dosage changes if necessary electronically without the need to retrieve multiple paper FP10’s. .
·The exceptions are any patient that is titrated regularly, e.g. anti-coagulants, it is advised to remain on repeat prescriptions.
Janet Bate/EPSr2 FAQs/25.09.14