ORDERING REPEAT PRESCRIPTIONS ONLINE
IMPORTANT CHANGES FROM APRIL 2015
Many patients order their repeat prescriptions from our website. The online form, pictured below,
will be familiar to patients who use this method. The layout has changed since the website was
upgraded recently, but the basic information requested is much the same. This way of ordering has
served our patients well for many years, but it does have some drawbacks:
It is rather time consuming to complete and a lot of information has to be typed in.
Once completed, the order is sent to the Practice by email. While this is as secure as any other
email you might send, it does not have a level of security the NHS would normally expect for
the transfer of personal medical information.
On receipt at the Practice the email has to be opened and read, before we can deal with the
request and these stages all take time.
To overcome these problems we will be withdrawing the current system from 8th April 2015. In its
place will be a new system that is much easier to use, for both patients and Practice. You will first
have to register to use the system and more on that later. Once you have registered and logged
into the new system, your current repeat medications will be displayed to you on screen. To order
your medications you simply click in the appropriate box - that’s it. This is an example of how it will
look on screen:
Your order is sent securely straight to our computer system, no email is created. A screen
message alerts the Practice staff to the fact that a request has been made. The request can then
be processed by the staff in the usual way. For now, the actual prescription form still has to be
printed and signed by the responsible GP. In time we will adopt the so-called Electronic Prescribing
System, EPS. This will enable patients to order their medication, have the order approved by a GP
and then have the prescription forwarded to the pharmacy of their choice, all electronically. The
green paper prescription will never be produced. This is still some time away, but we will keep you
informed about this.
I mentioned earlier about having to first register to use the new system.
All Practice computer systems can now use the Patient Access system.
This enables patients to book, check and cancel appointments online.
It allows repeat prescriptions to be ordered online.
In time, it will allow patients to access their medical records online.
Once you’re registered you can use Patient Access from any PC/laptop
or download the App and use it from your tablet or smart phone.
Around 900 Pinhoe and Broadclyst patients have already registered for Patient Access. If you are
one of these individuals, you do not need to take any further action. If you have not registered then
you need to do so, if you want to continue to order your repeat prescriptions online from April 2015.
Please attend the surgery, take some ID - preferably with a photo - and ask to register for online
services. Try to avoid the busy times of the day such as early morning. You can go to either
Surgery to do this. You will be given a single sheet of paper with instructions on how to set up your
registration.
This includes a PIN Number for your personal use. Just follow the instructions carefully and the
whole process should be straightforward. Under confidentiality rules we can only give registration
details to the individual wishing to register. We recognize that you may wish to register someone
else, for whom you order prescriptions. A very elderly and/or infirm relative perhaps? We can issue
a registration document in such cases, but only if you have a signed consent from them agreeing to
this. A simple form of words could be:
“I (insert name) give my consent for (insert name of person collecting document) to collect my
Patient Access registration document on my behalf.” The consent should be dated and signed.
From 8th April 2015, when you log in to Patient
Access, the option to order repeat prescriptions will
begin to appear on the screen, as shown.
You may have registered with Patient Access just to
order your prescription, but you will of course also
then be able to book, check and cancel appointments
online - as indeed many of our patients already
choose to do.
Andy Potter – Practice Manager – January 2015