EPS Forum Outputs. October Copyright 2015, Health and Social Care Information Centre.

Transcription

1 EPS Forum Outputs October Copyright 2015, Health and Social Care Information Centre.

2 Contents 1. Overview 3 2. Summary 3 3. PSNC issues log review 4 4. Pharmacy Voice issues log review 6 5. Benefits of EPS for patients discussion group 7 6. Prices on labels 9 7. How do we make EPS compelling for patients? Release 3 update Summary care records update Forum evaluation and feedback Next EPS Forum 17 Appendix 1 18 Appendix 2 18 Appendix Copyright 2015, Health and Social Care Information Centre.

3 1. Overview The EPS Forum was held on the 7 th October 2015 at Horizon Events Centre in Leeds. It was attended by 66 delegates across different sectors including GP practices, pharmacy, local NHS organisations, system suppliers, patients and professional bodies. A list of attendees is included under Appendix 1. This document aims to cover the main discussions and themes of the events, present the outcomes of group activities, and how these will feed into future work of the EPS programme team. It does not cover all of the information presented on the slides during the day; the slides are available as Appendix Summary The Forum took the form of presentations from personnel within the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) team at HSCIC and invited speakers, integrated with group activities and discussions around the key topics. Lead by the Programme Head for EPS, Rachel Habergham, the agenda provided an update on deployment and utilisation figures and the progress on pharmacy training. 800 training sessions have been scheduled across England until June sessions with NHSBSA and system suppliers have taken place so far, which have been well attended and received. The PSNC is helping with promotion and engaging LPCs, and pharmacy teams are encouraged to attend. The agenda then concentrated on the following topics: PSNC and Pharmacy Voice issues log reviews Benefits of EPS for patients Prices on labels How do we make EPS compelling for patients Release 3 update Summary care records update. Delegates were encouraged to provide feedback on the event and to suggest agenda topics for future forums. An update on Phase 4 would be uploaded onto the EPS website shortly, and the web addresses for the latest number of nominations by dispenser statistics and dm+d and prescribing systems factsheets for prescribers forwarded to delegates. Delegate feedback from the previous July Forum resulted in the following actions: Briefing note issued to delegates before the Forum to provide brief background to and overview of EPS, and to summarise the agenda topics, so that all delegates attending, professional and non-professional, have an understanding of EPS issues and of what will be discussed on the day. Member of the EPS team facilitated on each table and presenters were available to speak to delegates outside of their presentations. Request for agenda topic suggestions issued 8 weeks prior to the Forum, to encourage delegates to get involved in the Forum and ensure that their issues and concerns are addressed. 3 Copyright 2015, Health and Social Care Information Centre.

4 Use of two roving microphones, in addition to the main podium microphone, to make sure delegate queries and discussions are heard by all. 3. PSNC issues log review Alastair Buxton, Director of NHS Services with the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC), was invited to provide an update on their EPS issues log. Alastair outlined the role of the PSNC, then took delegates through each of the issues which covered the following categories: business continuity; workflow; service model; smartcards; nomination. The issues are detailed on the PSNC presentation in appendix 2; the following highlights the delegates responses. Topic Business Continuity Medicine mapping issues Data Corruption Smartcards Notes General consensus that SLA and supplier contracts / service review recommendations would underpin missing elements of business continuity. There were some rumbles from GP stakeholders that perhaps business continuity arrangements are not widely known. GP practices would benefit from a greater understanding of the difference between local formulary and dm+d. A HSCIC dm+d factsheet released could help with this. Feedback suggested that many in the room had not experienced data corruption, however clearer guidelines and HSCIC support when problems occur were welcomed. General consensus appeared to indicate that RA processes are inconsistent across England (a forum member based in Leeds advised that the RA did not provide fall back cards). It was recognised that it was important to ensure sufficient staff on site have Smartcards and to check who had sponsorship rights. Locums suggested that obtaining Smartcards was difficult with no clear guidance. Rachel Habergham indicated in later follow up that a report of the number of Smartcards per pharmacy could be produced in case useful for supporting HSCIC work with PSNC / LPCs to encourage those pharmacies who many benefit from additional Smartcards (e.g. those who currently have one Smartcard only, but many staff) to obtain these Smartcards for their staff. 4 Copyright 2015, Health and Social Care Information Centre.

5 3G Backup RHS Information Dose Syntax Extra time to process scripts General consensus that this was a good idea. This topic caused considerable debate between LHS and RHS information. Rachel Habergham explained that there were two types of information medical information such as review dates due and surgery advertising such as flu clinics, and it was not the responsibility of the pharmacy to be involved in passing on the latter type of information. However, it was agreed that this topic should be explored more fully again since the last review; and guidance could looked at again and refreshed. Some pharmacies highlighted that the process was to recommend to the patient that they read the slip in the bag, but some members suggested that alternative methods such as and SMS were now available to practices to engage with patients. (PHARMACY ACTION) General consensus that it was being worked on slowly but most in the room were keen for a resolution. There was a discussion about local formularies not containing up to date versions of drugs. A forum member advised that professional records body standards may be looking into some aspects of this. It was mentioned there was a benefit with the forum taking into account developments in Scotland. This item had a mixed response. There were suggestions that there was a tipping point when EPS scripts hit 40% and perhaps pharmacies needed more time at this point to learn EPS processing properly with acknowledgement of the masterclasses in this. However, some suggested that with a correct review of business processes, EPS provided time savings in the pharmacy. 4 item limit There was a suggestion that this would be discussed in more detail at a later forum. Nomination data Issues for suppliers / centralised exemption system Rachel Habergham indicated that this was now on the statistics page, and would be advertised to the group. The group emphasised the importance of exemptions, expiry, amending payments and confirmations. There was a suggestion that some messages did not support batch claim processing or that prescription messages were not always easy to locate in order to adjust information within 5 Copyright 2015, Health and Social Care Information Centre.

6 Standards for transferring data from one pharmacy system to another when an alternative pharmacy system supplier is selected Training Other issues such prescription messages, or send claim notifications for them. Centralised exemption system might ease some of the difficulties with pharmacies needing to record exemption information onto prescription messages. Conversion of old to new pharmacy systems does not always work very well. There was the suggestion that it would be useful to think further about how attendance could be boosted. A centralised exemption system and the need for pharmacy systems not to have to look up external data. Token paper in printers Rachel Habergham advised if anyone experiences issues with the printing of tokens, they should follow the agreed service model and raise with systems suppliers. 4. Pharmacy Voice issues log review John Palmer, National IT Lead with Pharmacy Voice, provided an update on their EPS issues log. John presented 70 issues in 14 categories to the Forum and invited discussion. The issues are detailed on the Pharmacy Voice presentation in appendix 2. The session was very interactive and a vote from Forum members showed some issues remained pertinent, while others could now be closed. Forum members no longer seemed to be having problems with: Smartcard timeouts Unidirectional communications Incorrect GP addresses on prescriptions Payment for prescriptions with a mix of paid and exempt items. Other issues remain and Forum members called for: Structured dose syntax to ease label production Auto-polling by PMR systems to download prescriptions Re-instatement of discretionary payments Per-PMR system user groups Access to the HSCIC status page without a Smartcard Faster prescription resets for a future Forum agenda 3G / 4G dongles for business continuity in pharmacies and GP surgeries The ability to send a note back to the prescriber 6 Copyright 2015, Health and Social Care Information Centre.

7 An end to delayed prescriptions Better token paper to reduce printer jams. There were reminders: The March 2016 Information Governance toolkit submission requires a business continuity plan; to start work on this now. You must upgrade away from Windows XP to ensure adequate Information Governance If you do need to raise a call, do so using the EPS service model, i.e. via your dispensing system supplier, or for Smartcards via your Registration Authority / area team. Pharmacy Voice will continue to engage with system suppliers, HSCIC and relevant stakeholders to tackle the remaining issues. 5. Benefits of EPS for patients discussion group Patients and patient representative groups attending the Forum were invited to take part in a separate discussion group which took place at the same time as the two issues log reviews. The following provides details of those who took part and the responses to questions asked by HSCIC facilitators: Attendees: HSCIC Harpreet Shergill, EPS Benefits Manager; Paul Scott, EPS Stakeholder Engagement Lead; Caroline Woodhouse, Communications. Patients / patient group representatives Margaret Dennison, Healthwatch Barnsley; Julie Butler, Derby County Council and Homecare; Philip Green, Patient and Programme Board Member; Lesley Turner, Patient and Programme Board Member. Also attended by Dr Adam Paxton, GP, and John McKerracher, Pharmacist and Pharmacy Voice. Attendees introduced themselves briefly and it was established that all the patients / patient group representatives were familiar with and quite knowledgeable of EPS. Do you now save time because you don't have to visit your GP practice to collect your prescription? Please elaborate on how much this has improved and what difference it has made. PG EPS is really useful but not yet joined up nor streamlined, two systems running (EPS and paper-based). Need to sell to patients. Patient expectations of EPS and NHS overall high, needs to match high standards of service in other service sectors. MD EPS should be invisible to patients, they shouldn t be aware of a change in the process or drop in service. Are your medicines ready for you when go to the pharmacy to collect them? Please elaborate on why this is important. LT EPS is seamless and easier service, just walk into the pharmacy and pick up, but no alert received beforehand to advise whether medications are ready or not, sometimes not. PG patients often have to be quite persistent with pharmacists to get to use EPS. 7 Copyright 2015, Health and Social Care Information Centre.

8 Has your experience of ordering and collecting your medicines improved as a result of using EPS? Please elaborate on why this is important and how your experience has improved. PG very supportive of EPS, but feeling that it is not quite there yet. Repeat prescriptions work well, but acute prescriptions are different and can be a nightmare. Nominating can be restrictive. Is EPS quicker or is there no real change? Would be useful for the patient to be able to track their prescription a text message would be helpful to let you know if the prescription was ready to collect. AP the expectation for the younger generation is ready now, rather than several days, which the older generation is used to and accepts. Patient pressure for notice / alert to be given that the prescription is ready the same day. It would be a good seller if the patient received a text to say ready, then call in to the pharmacist and find the prescription ready to pick up. LT if there is no proper benefit for the patient, then they won t change and sign up. A selling point is to be able to collect from any pharmacist, not just the one nominated; makes it a national health service. Are you comfortable with the EPS terminology we use at the forum and in wider patient communications? Token and Spine not great words to use with patients / public; EPS is okay as a term. Expectation is built up then forgotten about. Need to simplify information given out what is EPS and what are the benefits? Patients should be consulted when designing forms and leaflets, describing the patient benefits and safety aspects. What are the priorities for patients / potential key messages and issues with regards to EPS? - Keep it simple - Benefits to repeat prescriptions - Text alerts - Benefits ordering - Keeping track of prescriptions - Doctor has more time to see patients. What are the most effective ways / channels to reach and engage with patients? Also link into the afternoon session on how to make EPS compelling for patients / how to promote and increase participation. LT select pilot areas and bulk mail patients with leaflet to test efficacy, rather than national mailing. There is a whole generation of no-savvy IT patients, need to make the message clear not complicated. Perhaps just say that the pharmacist is moving to EPS and not give the patient the choice. 8 Copyright 2015, Health and Social Care Information Centre.

9 The NHS is one of the best brands in the world. One patient message could be saving paper, put a value on saving money in the NHS; join EPS and you ll help save money. The saving message is more relevant to older patients, speed the message for younger patients. Using resources better freeing up GP time and GP appointments available. Make the Doctor consulting against Doctor signing. The general message should be simpler: moving towards. MD Patient participation groups are an important resource to understand patient views and concerns. Use of leaflets in surgeries remember that most people in GP surgeries are not at their best. Ease, safety and speed are the big patient messages. Cross reference messages, eg. with bowel cancer and breast screening leaflets. Benefits are not so obvious to patients. Suggested poster line: What can you do for your NHS join EPS! HSCIC actions Include the responses into the wider benefits review survey to help determine the benefits and dis-benefits of EPS. Responses to be taken into account in planning future EPS Forums and wider communication materials. Build on the participation of the patients / patient representatives and involve in future discussion groups. 6. Prices on labels On the 1st July 2015 Jeremy Hunt MP (Secretary of State for Health) announced the intention to publish the indicative medicine costs to the NHS on the packs of all medicines costing more than 20, which will also be marked funded by the UK taxpayer. In order to implement the Secretary of State s announcement, a working group comprising representatives from the Department of Health Medicines Pharmacy and Industry Group, NHSBSA Prescription Services, HSCIC Electronic Prescription Service and HSCIC Pharmacy Terminology Service has been put together. This presentation by Stuart Abbott (Senior Terminology Specialist at the HSCIC) provided an introduction to the subject and how the working group currently see it being implemented. Susan Grieve from the Department of Health provided the background to the initiative, outlining the three strands of work required: - the necessary legislation and regulations to enable; - the patient reaction / need to engage with patients and get a clear message across; - implementation. The straw man proposal, distributed to delegates before the Forum, is a working document on which input is sought, including from today s EPS Forum. 9 Copyright 2015, Health and Social Care Information Centre.

10 There was strong reaction and concerns from some delegates to the prices on labels proposal. Questions included: - in Europe, manufacturers put their price on labels; response: the price shown will need to reflect the cost to the NHS. - are we penalising patients with young children and expensive prescriptions? Response: this is an issue of patients attitudes towards costs. Susan Grieve advised that an accompanying piece of work would be needed on explaining the proposals to patients and on supporting pharmacists. The principle is to provide an indicative price to patients, rather than the true / overall cost of prescribing. The timeframe for rollout would be at least 12 months away, given need for public consultation and legislation. Further queries included adding Controlled Drugs 2 and 3 to EPS first of all, and the safety aspects of having too many labels on medicines which might cover essential information. Delegates were encouraged to respond to the public consultation. 7. How do we make EPS compelling for patients? Dr Adam Paxton, Digital Clinical Champion (NHS England) and GP, was invited to lead delegates on How do we make EPS compelling for patients?, providing the opportunity for table discussions on how to promote EPS and engage with patients. The following includes delegates suggestions for a patient poster: Safer and more secure. More efficient patient journey you don t have to go and collect it. It s the future like garlic bread. Are you making the most of EPS? We click, you collect. EPS have you made the switch? - Secure - Convenient, direct to pharmacy of your choice - Easy - Combine your request with patient access for 24/7 access. EPS is safe, secure and speedy - sorted. I can send your prescriptions straight to your pharmacy. The 3 Rs - Reduce your journey - Reduce your waiting time 10 Copyright 2015, Health and Social Care Information Centre.

11 - Repeats sent automatically - And order online! Time is right. Sign up or we ll strike you off! Save yourself time / journey. Prescriptions are changing. Your GP is using EPS are you? Give your GP more time for patients. No more lost prescriptions. Paper-free prescriptions the modern way to get prescriptions to your pharmacy. Are you busy? Want to save time? You don t need to visit to get your prescription, use EPS! See your pharmacy or receptionist for more information. Go paperless! Electronic prescription service Every prescription saves time Go electronic now Speak to your GP today during your appointment. The following includes general comments from delegates about EPS from the patient perspective: Cannot lose script unlike green Rx. Efficient system will sell itself. Time saving, secure, efficient, convenient; time saving for GP practice, paperless, auditable, will not change your relationship with GP Nomination not a word patients understand. Best kept secret we need 100% convenience. Ask schools. Change name to paper free prescriptions. Convenient fewer trips / flexibility. 11 Copyright 2015, Health and Social Care Information Centre.

12 Reducing patient footfall, patient could be at university miles away and not have to change GP to receive normal regular meds. If patient away within England but not close to home, leads to reduction in emergency supplies as we can now contact your GP and request regular medication. HSCIC actions Include the suggestions / comments into future key messages and stakeholder engagement. Responses to be taken into account in planning future EPS Forums and broader patient communications activity. 8. Release 3 update EPS Programme Head Rachel Habergham provided the update on Release 3. The EPS team is currently working on delivering the Release 2 business case which is due to expire on 31 st December Release 3 is the future of the EPS and will begin on 1 st January 2017 and last for 5 years. The EPS team is presently writing an overarching programme business case which explains that the overall theme of Release 3 is to continue the current service to ensure delivery of benefits from earlier releases, as well as set of new developments to enhance the service and a set of areas which require exploring further. Developments within Release 3 were selected through discussions with key stakeholders. When the programme business case is approved, the EPS team will then focus on the projects within it. This will involve engaging stakeholders and looking into the proposed developments in much more detail, to ensure that they will provide value for money. Multiple project business cases will then be written and submitted for approval. Queries from delegates included: has the EPS team looked at Release 3 within the context of IT developments in five years time? and can multiple DAC nominations be extended to include multiple pharmacy nominations? Rachel responded that consideration of such issues demonstrated the need for wider detailed discussion on Release 3, and for such feedback and suggestions from Forum members. HSCIC actions Delegates to be kept informed of Release 3 progress and to be involved in discussions on new developments and exploratory work. 9. Summary care records update The NHS in England is using an electronic record called the Summary Care Record (SCR) to support patient care. The SCR contains key clinical information, including a patient s acute and repeat medications, known allergies and any adverse reactions to medication. Some patient records will also have additional information, such as test results and diagnoses. Nationally only 1% of patients have opted out of SCR. 12 Copyright 2015, Health and Social Care Information Centre.

13 The presentation from Mohammed Hussain provided a brief introduction to Summary Care Records, and the findings from a proof of concept project completed earlier this year which provided SCR access in community pharmacy. It also covered next steps for wider implementation and future planned developments. At present, only the patient s GP practice can add information, with access via a Smartcard only. Work has started on a pilot to investigate the potential for information to also be added by the pharmacy (aka read / write access), providing read only access at the moment. Most viewings by community pharmacists are taking place outside of rather than in-hours. In 92% of encounters where SCR was accessed, the pharmacist avoided the need to signpost the patient to other NHS care settings. In 82% of encounters where SCR was accessed, the pharmacist indicated that overall waiting time was reduced. 90% of patient respondents agree that treatment is quicker if pharmacists have access to SCR. The main response in the feedback is one of surprise that pharmacists don t already have access to SCR. Implementation plans to provide access to SCR for community pharmacists include: early preparation : - Smartcards - technical requirements - governance - SOPs delivery organisations / head office will organise engagement and training sessions and support for pharmacists CPPE e-learning to be completed by all users ongoing utilisation. 10. Forum evaluation and feedback 10.1 Introduction Attendees were asked to complete evaluation forms following the Forum in order for the EPS Programme to gauge opinion and suggestions on content, activities and facilities. Below is a summary of common themes from the feedback forms; full evaluation comments can be obtained by contacting the EPS team Most useful elements Attendees were asked to list the most useful elements from the day. The most popular responses in descending order were: Prices on labels update PSNC issues log review Opportunity to network and hear the views of others / Summary Care Record update EPS programme update and roadmap. 13 Copyright 2015, Health and Social Care Information Centre.

14 10.3 Least useful elements Attendees were also asked to state what they considered to be the least useful elements, listed in descending order: Pharmacy Voice issues log review Prices on labels update How to make EPS compelling for patients PSNC issues log review / Release 3 update Facilities and content feedback Very good / good Satisfactory Poor Design and format of the day 92% 8% Forum content 75% 22% 3% Activities 83% 17% Facilitators 94% 6% Venue 100% 10.5 Changes and improvements Attendees were asked What changes / improvements (if any) do you feel should be made to this Forum in future? All suggestions are listed below verbatim: It was noted during the forum that this one was heavily weighted towards pharmacy and I agree with that (even as a pharmacy representative!). I think it's important to keep the balance right. If all stakeholders are going to participate in the forum the presentation content should reflect this. If there are specific topics to discuss, e.g. Pharmacy Issues Log, these should be done as a separate group similar to the process you adopted for the patient group or have all the relevant updates to all stakeholders in the morning and have the organisational specific focus groups in the afternoon so that delegates can choose to leave if they are not included. I was very disappointed that the patient group who had spent much of the morning in a separate group were not given the opportunity to lead the feedback during the 'How do we make EPS more compelling' presentation. It felt like this was a bit of an agenda filler. Slightly later start time to allow easier travel from the South. A more balanced attendance from each of the stakeholder groups. More roving mikes - and make them more effective (switch / battery issues?). As a DAC, a lot of content can be aimed more at pharmacy and consideration to DAC is needed. Phase 4 and Release 3 have risk to DAC and so very importantly needs full discussion and disclosure. Perhaps because I missed the opening couple of presentations because was late and then joined the patient discussion, I thought the format for me was about right. Not sure if my opinion would have changed if had to sit through the earlier presentations. As a pharmacist and member of the PV ITG I was familiar with the contents of Alastair and John s presentations I may well have been an instigator on behalf of the company I work with for numerous of the issues they mentioned. A more even mix of GP / pharmacy topics, it seemed pharmacy heavy. 14 Copyright 2015, Health and Social Care Information Centre.

15 Chilled drinks! Pharmacy centric sessions, i.e. Pharmacy Voice log review to be a pharmacy breakout (not really relevant to GP staff). Be realistic with timings; 20 minutes for Pricing on labels was optimistic at best. Case studies from higher use practice areas. More inclusive and fun. Not so much silo mentality on issues. Colour coding of lanyards / IDs to allow identification to facilitate networking. Lunch doesn t need to be 1 hour long. Some coverage of prescriber system issues. Use forum for cross-speciality discussion or have speciality specific breakouts. Patient session should have been longer / Remember the patient. Agenda only covered the issues of pharmacy contractors; what are the issues relating to GP contractors? Encourage GP system suppliers to attend SystmOne TPP not represented? Not been for a while but location (bigger) and format and agenda seem much better than they used to be. More feedback from patients. I found it heavily attended by pharmacists. Needs to be more focused for DACS as well. These suggestions have fed into the actions for the next forum: More balanced agenda covering dispenser, prescriber and patient issues. Inclusion of more topics as suggested by delegates. Depending on the final agenda, simultaneous and separate workshop / breakout sessions for delegates, allowing in-depth discussion on specific and relevant topics. Review of permanent Forum location in Leeds with view to a Forum in 2016 taking place in the South of England. More balanced attendance from each of the stakeholder groups Communication of key messages We asked attendees how they would disseminate key messages from the forum to colleagues and professional groups. Summary report for cross-functional colleagues and face-to-face meetings for operational colleagues. Sharing of info and slides to colleagues in the ops team as well as Superintendents dept and IT. Discussion at next monthly EPS group meeting. Training to be discussed with regional managers to decide on best approach for engagement of pharmacy staff. By providing a monthly highlight report to the LPC, NHS England and CCGs. Business change presentations will be updated with key messages for GP practices and pharmacies. Discuss with colleagues and publicise some content to pharmacy contractors via PSNC comms channels. Verbally within my own organisation; will make detailed notes and pass with HSCIC information to membership. Manager meeting and staff sessions. Chat with colleagues at all levels. Pass on the slides to our area manager team. Bring the messages to our next LPC meeting. 15 Copyright 2015, Health and Social Care Information Centre.

16 I will brief them at a team meeting. Copies of presentations and my notes and discussions with others. By to the members of the Pharmacy Voice IT group and others. Formal meetings and . Via prescribing process work stream which I am part of. Through local and national meetings. Chat to colleagues. Relay pharmacy issues to the GP team / release 3 subjects etc. Patient forum for discussion on patient relevant subjects. Relay information to relevant primary care individuals. Notes to directors and LPC. Share notes on CCG intranet. Short written summary. team with relevant / key points and notes taken from each session. Give link to slides / outputs when provided by HSCIC. Share locally through GP practice managers forum. Tweet message about Masterclasses. Through Meds Policy Advisory Group at CCG, down to locality prescribing groups; also direct to local pharmacist. Speak to LPC and forward any ed information onwards. I will be reporting back to Healthwatch Barnsley Board and to staff both verbally and in writing, and will be passed through to Healthwatch England. To PMR / EPS lead at work and via Pharmacy Voice ITG. Loudly and quickly. As PM for rollout at Leeds CCG, highlight report that I send out will be used to pass on relevant information. Through discussion / feedback session to management. access to relevant team members. Disseminate through LPC Future agenda topics Delegates were also asked What items would you like to see on the agenda for future EPS forums? Release 3 update (7 suggestions) Phase 4 update (4 suggestions) / full details of R2 Phase 4 changes and reasons for changes; any objections. The relevance and importance of the Dispense Notification. Nominations (3 suggestions) / the dynamics behind them / An 'any NHS Pharmacy' nomination for those who have a regular nomination. Kept up to date with DSS issues / resolution of problems. Rhs of scripts and better use of messaging. The prescription journey from surgery to patient. This would help GPs and pharmacists to understand the whole cycle instead of just that that they control. Presented generically, i.e. steps involved regardless of which system is used. Reduction of split scripts. Information on the development of the HSCN. EPS - clarity of claims / NHSBSA info. Best practice patient recruitment, patient experience. 16 Copyright 2015, Health and Social Care Information Centre.

17 How did successful practices do it? Best practice for e-repeat dispensing at both prescriber and dispenser ends. Best practice sharing for repeat dispensing / daily dose dispensing (both GP and pharmacist perspective). Would be interesting to know of issues by GP practices or some GP feedback on areas that need addressing. Why are there delays between sending an acute EPS and receipt by dispenser causes frustration for patients and loss of confidence. Look at prescribing / GP side issues to inform pharmacists. Planning new features. Timescales for projects (timelines). Updates on HSCIC planning (although Release 3 update provided and phase 4 will be on the internet). Session from PSNC+PV very good as it gives an idea of issues in pharmacy, and what pharmacists want. Less pharmacy heavy / a much more balanced agenda. Perhaps an e-learning package / element for pharmacy teams / GPs with CPD points / system specific. Summary care record. Exemption checking. Pressure on suppliers to deliver IT solutions to the long and growing list of issues. Update on CD via EPS when will system providers have functionality ready? 10.8 Any other comments Please keep to the same venue if managed 'up North'. An opportunity to attend a venue 'down South' occasionally would be appreciated though. Open online forum for EPS run by HSCIC, with responses from HSCIC. Is it time to just use one pharmacy PMR system when it comes to EPS etc. Perhaps HSCIC or the department could nationalise the service and buy out one of the PMR providers. It feels like a pharmacist / PMR focused forum with GPs there to sense check what is going on. Is this the case? It s not clear to prescribers what are GP system issues or inherent to EPS. Can you forum members when consultation for prices on labels starts please. Professional advice was under-utilised today (usually much more worthwhile). No, would just like to keep being invited. Maybe start later in the day with coffee at 11am and finish at 4.15pm. Very useful. Of value. Great to be involved. More input from the patient representatives in the main room. One of the best. Very useful. Please provide slides on the day so contemporaneous notes can be written. Becoming more accessible to patients. I was nominated by John Palmer as a PV delegate but had no badge when I arrived. Very valuable. Tried hard to include patents by avoiding jargon and this worked well. 17 Copyright 2015, Health and Social Care Information Centre.

18 11. Next EPS Forum The next EPS Forum will be held on Wednesday 3 rd February 2016 at Horizon Events Centre, Leeds. Invitations will be sent out to delegates in December 2015, according to the EPS Forum Terms of Reference (Appendix 3). Appendix 1 List of attendees from the October 2015 EPS Forum: Delegate sign in list Oct15.xlsx Appendix 2 Slides used by presenters at the October 2015 EPS Forum: Please note that the slides for the Summary Care Record update have been reproduced in PowerPoint for consistency and ease of access, rather than the Prezi format used at the Forum. Appendix 3 EPS Forum Terms of Reference: EPS Forum ToR v1.0.pdf 18 Copyright 2015, Health and Social Care Information Centre.