Almost all prescriptions can now be sent electronically to a chemist of your choice. If a chemist is not nominated on your medical record, it will sit on the “NHS spine“ which means any chemist using electronic prescribing can access the prescription and provide it to you. All you need to do is provide the pharmacist at your chosen chemist with the patient name, address and date of birth.

Sending an electronic prescription has many advantages. It not only saves paper but saves the time as you no longer require to pick up any paper prescription from the surgery to take to the local chemist.

If an instant or urgent prescription is needed at the pharmacy please ask the surgery to provide you with the barcode. This is easiest text to you. Every chemist can vary with how quickly they can download a prescription. Some may say they have not received it from the surgery but the barcode is evidence of the electronic prescription being done by the surgery. Having the barcode allows the chemist to instantaneously enter this on their system allowing them to provide you your prescription immediately.

Electronic prescribing also allows prescriptions from the surgery to be sent anywhere in England. For example, if you are working away or are on holiday.