A system allowing pharmacists to request repeat prescriptions online from lists held on GP surgeries’ clinical systems has been launched nationwide.

The MedsRequest service follows others designed to enable online pharmacy services, such as C+D award-winning service myrepeats which allows patients to order their repeat prescriptions online.

MedsRequest was launched by Pharmacy2U and GP supplier EMIS, and will only work with GP surgeries using an EMIS IT system.

One contractor who had been using the new system told C+D: “It means I can look at the drug list in the doctor’s surgery and don’t have to print out a prescription request.”

The makers said being able to see which prescription requests had been accepted and rejected by surgeries represented a “significant improvement over current paper-based management processes.”