Existing patients - subsequent EPS prescription  

Dispensing under EPS requires no less vigilance from pharmacists, dispensing technicians and other support staff than when dispensing the paper prescriptions used in pre-EPS dispensing.  

It remains possible to select the wrong patient, particularly when you are identifying a patient who has not previously had an electronic prescription and especially when there is a list of similar sounding names.

If adequate care is not taken, you may overwrite patient details incorrectly. Please take appropriate note of any warning prompts that appear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once a patient has been the recipient of an electronic prescription, their personal details will be synchronised with those on their GP's system. Subsequent prescriptions will be identified by a patient's unique NHS number.

Existing patients - subsequent EPS prescription

 

In this example, the prescription that has been released is for a patient who has previously had an electronic prescription.

 

This is confirmed by the matching NHS number, along with all the other matching details. No boxes require checking.

  • Any current charges exemption is also displayed at this point. Age based exemptions are calculated from the patient's date of birth. Other exemptions are based on the information stored in the exemption detail of the patient's record.

When you add a new patient to Pharmacy Manager, you can append a prescription-level exemption. You can also use this feature to make a prescription level update. See Setting a prescription level exemption whilst dispensing.

 

If you need to make a change (or you only find out the exemption position when the patient collects their medication), it still possible to edit/update the prescription level exemption to ensure you claim the correct reimbursement. This alteration must be made before you submit a notification. See Updating the prescription exemption after dispensing.

  • Click the Next button to continue to the patient medication display.

Repeat Items

If a patient has previously been prescribed items which now appear on the current prescription, it is possible to "repeat" those items.

 

  • Click to highlight the item you want to repeat. If there is more than one item for repeating, hold down the key and click each item you wish to repeat.

  • Click Next to continue the repeating process.

 

  • To ensure the highest level of clinical safety and to enable precise DM+D code matching, click the adjacent to each item to be repeated and select the matching item from the choices available.

 

Initially, this is an extra step to carry out, but on the whole, repeating saves time. It ensures that the same dispensed quantity, dosage and directions codes are applied. It also ensures that previous choices of items - brands, pack sizes etc - are also repeated once you have been through this process for the first time. Items that have been prescribed previously against the particular DM+D code are matched automatically.

  • When each match has been made, click Finish to continue to the Dispensary tab.

  • You will be required to manually match items if validation against the eMessage DM+D information fails

This repeat operation can be suppressed so the selection of all items to be dispensed is carried out at the Dispensary tab. To suppress this option, click Tools then Pharmacy Details then select Patient selection wizard. Finally, check Don't show the patient history page option.

 

You may want to update a patient's registered GP if the he/she is not the same as the one in the electronic message. Click Prescriber selection for more details.

 

Otherwise, click here for instructions on the next step.

 

Customise patient selection wizard   

You can customise the patient selection wizard.

To increase the number of items that can be displayed on the Patient medication historytab, you can suppress the view of the corresponding directions. Furthermore, you can configure the system to skip this stage entirely.

 

  • If required check Don't show me expanded directions

  • Again, if required, check Don't show the patient medication history option.

If you change your mind about these settings, it is possible to reverse them.

 

See Pharmacy details - Patient selection wizard to reactivate the history view, then on the next prescription dispensed, reset the expanded directions.

 

Updated 1st March 2013