Co-op pharmacy first on EPS R2

The Co-operative Pharmacy has announced it is the first pharmacy group to deliver Release 2 of the Electronic Prescription Service across all of its branches in England, as they become available.

The availability follows the installation of Cegedim RX Pharmacy Manager system, the first pharmacy system to receive roll-out approval for EPS R2 last September, at all of the Co-ops pharmacies across the country.

A spokesperson for the Co-op told eHealth Insider Primary Care that the installation means that more than 500 pharmacies in England will be able to begin receiving EPS R2 as and when the PCTs are approved and accredited systems go-live.

Co-operative Pharmacies have already been processing EPS Release1 scripts, where GPs are issuing bar-coded prescriptions, for more than two years.

However, the Co-op has also announced that its Sunderland site is the first site to go-live with EPS R2 outside of the pilot sites.

EPS R2 will allow GPs and other prescribers to send prescriptions electronically to a pharmacy of the patients’ choice. GPs can also electronically cancel prescriptions and the system can calculate when repeats are needed enabling them to manage their workload more efficiently.

Anne de Prez, pharmacy systems development manager at The Co-operative Pharmacy, said: “This is an important milestone for customers of The Co-operative Pharmacy.

“As EPS R2 is rolled out across the UK we will continue to improve our customer service and make it easier for customers to receive their medication when it is convenient to them. Our patients increasingly use technology for healthcare advice and it will be a natural step for them to adopt the same approach when ordering their prescriptions.”