NHS Electronic Prescription Service explained

You can contact your GP directly to find out if they’re set up for the NHS Electronic Prescription Service. They will then help you with the information you need to sign up for the EPS. 

If you would rather collect a paper prescription than an e-prescription, you can ask your GP when they're prescribing your medications. 

The NHS Electronic Prescription Service has been designed with safety and security in mind. Only authorised healthcare workers can access the Electronic Prescription Service and they must be authenticated using the NHS Care Identity Service 2 (NHS CIS2). 

Only the same people who can see paper prescriptions can see digital prescriptions. This includes GP practices, pharmacies, NHS prescription payments and fraud agencies. 

The Electronic Prescription Service allows patients to nominate a pharmacy or another dispenser to receive their e-prescriptions. Any nomination must be the patient’s choice and cannot be changed without their direct consent. 

A patient can decide to change their nomination whenever they like. If you want to change your nomination, you can speak to any pharmacist or dispenser that offers the Electronic Prescription Service, or your GP practice. Make sure to tell them before your next prescription is due or your digital prescription may be sent to the wrong place. 

If you want to make temporary changes to your nominated dispenser, for example if you need to collect it at a time when your nominated dispenser is closed or if you’re away from home, mention it to your GP or pharmacist during your consultation. They can issue you with a non-nominated digital prescription or paper prescription which you can take to the pharmacy of your choice. 

If there’s an issue with your NHS electronic prescription, your GP or dispenser will contact you to inform you of the issue and arrange a new prescription to be issued after the consultation. 

You can use the NHS Electronic Prescription Service when you are on holiday anywhere in England. You will need to arrange this with your pharmacist, dispenser or GP before you leave by giving them the address and postcode of the pharmacy or dispenser you wish your prescription to be delivered to. 

You cannot use the NHS electronic prescription service while abroad. 

A pharmacy typically receives an electronic prescription as soon as it’s been sent by the prescriber. 

It can take up to two working days for your prescription to be fully processed and ready to be dispatched or collected.

At Pharmacy2U, we also offer the Pharmacy First service, which is a key part of improving the patient experience. Find out how you can help the NHS by getting clinical advice and treatments for selected common health conditions such as UTI’s, impetigo, sore throat and insect bites without needing to see your GP.