Health officials have said the take-up of a prescription tracking feature on the NHS app is currently limited to just 15% of English pharmacies, while revealing that the DH has “no plans” to extend real time exemption checking to all pharmacies.
In October, NHS England (NHSE) revealed plans to roll out “prescription tracking” on the NHS App following a pilot that concluded that month.
The feature, which functions “like the Domino’s Pizza tracker”, allows patients to see “where their prescriptions are at [throughout] the whole journey,” NHSE clinical lead for digital medicines Nishali Patel told Pharmacy Show delegates at the time.
Read more: ‘Domino’s-style’ prescription tracking to roll out from January following pilot
Yesterday, parliamentary under secretary for health and social care Baroness Merron (May 20) revealed that “nearly 1,500 pharmacies are now offering the new prescription tracking service”.
Merron added that work has “also commenced on an ‘in App’ notification”.
“[This] will enhance this feature further,” she said.
“No current plans”
Meanwhile, health minister Karin Smyth yesterday said other pharmacy IT developments are not set to roll out futher.
The comment came after deputy Liberal Democrats leader Daisy Cooper asked whether the DH “plans to ensure all electronic prescription service (EPS) pharmacies use the real time exemption checking service (RTEC)”.
“As of May 8, the total number of active EPS Pharmacies using the RTEC is 10,254, which equates to 90.94% of all such pharmacies,” Smyth had revealed earlier this month.
Read more: Pharmacies to digitally check script exemptions for patients on universal credit
But yesterday the minister confirmed that “there are no current plans to mandate use of… RTEC” in the remaining 10% of pharmacies.
In 2022, the NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA) announced that all pharmacies using the RTEC system would be able to check if some patients on benefits were eligible for free NHS prescriptions.
The move meant that patients receiving benefits from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) – including universal credit – no longer needed to specify they are exempt from prescription fees on an EPS token.
