Two NHS systems decide where a patient’s prescriptions go: the Electronic Prescription Service, which routes them, and the NHS App, which is now the most common place patients set their nomination and order repeats. Pharmacy owners who understand both can see why nominations move, what the pharmacy can and cannot influence, and what any website or app provider can truthfully claim. This guide is that working knowledge, without the NHS jargon.
EPS in one page
The Electronic Prescription Service sends prescriptions electronically from the prescriber to a dispenser. For a community pharmacy in England, the mechanics that matter are:
- Nomination. A patient can nominate one community pharmacy (and separately an appliance contractor and, where relevant, a dispensing doctor). Prescriptions for a nominated patient are sent straight to that pharmacy when the prescriber signs them, with no paper token. A patient with no nomination gets a token they can take anywhere.
- Setting a nomination. It can be set or changed by the patient in the NHS App or an NHS login–enabled service; by the GP practice at the patient’s request; or by the pharmacy in its PMR system, with the patient’s informed consent recorded. NHS England’s guidance is explicit that nominations must be set with consent and that pharmacies must not offer inducements.
- Electronic repeat dispensing (eRD). The prescriber authorises a batch of issues; the pharmacy dispenses each issue when due without a new request. eRD patients are the most stable nominations a pharmacy has.
- The Spine and the tracker. Prescriptions sit on the NHS Spine and can be traced with the prescription tracker, which is how “my GP says it was sent” conversations are resolved.
- Distance-selling pharmacies operate entirely through EPS nominations, which is why they market so hard for them.
The NHS App in one page
The NHS App is NHS England’s patient app, available to anyone registered with a GP practice in England with an NHS login. For prescriptions it lets a patient:
- Order repeat prescriptions directly from their GP practice (the practice approves and issues them)
- See their repeat medication list and the status of issued prescriptions
- Choose or change their nominated pharmacy, including searching for and selecting a new one
It also handles GP appointments, records, referrals, and increasingly other services. Uptake is very high and still growing, and for a large share of patients it is now the default way to manage repeats. NHS England’s NHS App pages describe the current feature set.
What this means for a pharmacy
Nominations are decided on a phone, often without you
A patient changing pharmacy in the NHS App sees a list of nearby pharmacies with names and addresses. Your name, address and the NHS.uk listing behind it are all you have in that moment. Make sure the pharmacy’s NHS profile (via the NHS Profile Manager) is accurate and complete: hours, services, contact details. It is the source for the NHS App and for NHS.uk.
The GP repeat route bypasses your website
A patient who orders repeats through the NHS App sends the request to the surgery, not to you; the prescription then arrives via EPS if you are nominated. That is fine and you should encourage it for patients who prefer it. Your website’s repeat form is for the patients who want the pharmacy to manage repeats on their behalf (the managed repeat service, with consent and item-by-item confirmation) — a different, complementary route. See online repeat prescription ordering.
Watch the numbers, monthly
Because nominations move silently, track your nomination count and item count together every month. A GP practice dispensary, a new chain branch or a distance-selling pharmacy’s campaign can move dozens of patients in weeks. How to increase EPS nominations covers the counter ask, the online form, and closing the loop.
What a website or app can truthfully claim
This is where pharmacy owners are most often misled. There is no public interface that lets a third-party pharmacy website or app set an EPS nomination, submit a repeat to a GP, or read a patient’s NHS record. Any provider claiming “NHS App integration”, “EPS-connected” or “NHS-approved” should be asked to name the NHS interface and show it working. What a well-built website or app genuinely does is:
- Capture a patient’s request and consent to be nominated, for the pharmacy to set in its PMR and confirm back
- Capture a repeat request for the pharmacy to action under the managed repeat rules
- Take service bookings and shop orders, which the NHS App does not do
- Send “ready” and “on its way” messages, which only the pharmacy can send
That is valuable, and it should be described exactly that way. PharmGrowth’s websites and White Label App are built on this division and claim no NHS integration; pharmacy app vs the NHS App sets out the two side by side.
Practical checklist
- NHS Profile Manager: hours, services and contact details correct and reviewed quarterly.
- Nomination consent process written into your SOP; every pharmacy-set nomination recorded.
- Nomination and repeat request forms on the website, worded as requests, landing in a dashboard.
- Monthly nomination and item counts on a single sheet.
- eRD offered to suitable patients with the prescriber’s agreement.
- Counter script for the nomination ask; confirmation message when set.
Sources
- NHS England — Electronic Prescription Service: guidance for community pharmacy, including nomination and consent
- NHS England — NHS App: features and help pages
- Community Pharmacy England — EPS and nominations guidance
- NHS England — NHS Profile Manager (managing your NHS.uk profile)