Customer stories
Electronic prescribing frees up time and improves patient safety
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Managing paper prescriptions can be time-consuming and create unnecessary delays, adding pressure on both GP practice staff and patients. Nantymoel Surgery in Bridgend has transformed its prescription process by introducing the NHS Wales Electronic Prescription Service (EPS), making workflows more efficient, eliminating lost prescriptions, and improving staff and patient satisfaction.
EPS allows prescriptions to be sent digitally from GP practices to pharmacies. It reduces paper use, it’s secure, and it improves efficiency by streamlining medication dispensing for both healthcare providers and patients.
Nantymoel Surgery, which serves approximately 3,350 patients, was one of the first in Wales to switch from paper prescriptions to EPS.
"EPS makes it much easier for GPs to sign scripts. Issues are flagged automatically in EPS with EMIS Web®, and it’s done without having to move between paper and the computer for reviewing the patient record. It speeds up the prescription process, it’s more efficient and safer."
The practice staff dealing with patient enquiries have more time to focus on patient care too. Sarah added: “We’re in a rural area, with limited access to town, so our patients select one of the two local pharmacies to pick up their prescriptions. Nowadays, the volume of prescriptions is massive, making a paper-based system inefficient and prone to errors or prescriptions being misplaced. Our receptionists could be on the phone to a pharmacy for 10 to 15 minutes to track down a prescription, or the pharmacy would call us to chase up paper prescriptions. It was time consuming and prevents staff from answering other important calls. With EPS it’s all in the system, no need for those phone calls. It’s user friendly too, making the process much simpler.”
"Now, we know exactly what stage a prescription is in the process and we have no need to reissue prescriptions which are misplaced. The information is secure, our patients are familiar with the process, and everyone is much happier."
In the first two months of EPS being launched in Wales, over 700,000 prescriptions had already been dispensed via the service, with more practices due to switch to EPS in 2025 and 2026.