Pharmacy teams should consider ordering a “blank” smartcard as a precaution against being locked out of the electronic prescription service (EPS), PSNC and the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) have said.

PSNC drew pharmacists’ attention to HSCIC guidance, which suggested that teams with a small number of smartcard users should consider taking precautions "in case a smartcard is lost or stolen”.

PSNC said “at-risk” teams should speak to their local smartcard registration authority about obtaining a temporary access card. These blank cards had a “pre-defined set of access rights” and could be activated by the pharmacy team along with a local smartcard administrator or sponsor if the original card was not available, the negotiator said yesterday (July 2).

The temporary cards should be securely stored, and restored to their blank state once a permanent replacement had been obtained, PSNC and HSCIC said.

Both organisations also advised teams with a single pharmacist and no support staff to contact their registration authority to “identify what other options might be available to ensure continuity and access in the event of a lost or stolen smartcard”.

Pharmacy teams can find the contact details of their registration authority by contacting their local NHS England team through the NHS website.

In February, PSNC urged pharmacists to renew their old smartcards to avoid being locked out of EPS ahead of a major NHS IT update. 

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