Published: 04/10/24

Introduction

This Circular advises community pharmacy contractors of changes to NHS prescription stationery for the CP4/3 prescription form.

Background

PCA (P)(2017)12 advised about the introduction of the ePharmacy CP4/3 form allowing community pharmacy contractors to manage and deliver pharmacy-led services from their Patient Medication Record (PMR) system, replacing the hand-written CPUS form.

The dual form has been used successfully in community pharmacies since its introduction, and as part of a costing savings review, it has been identified that changing the paper type of this form will contribute towards the strategic objectives and priorities of the NHS by providing financial benefit and efficient use of resources.

Detail

Following conclusion of a risk assessment, the CP4/3 form will now be printed on plain white paper with no NHS background or secure tagging, because it is deemed less risky than other prescription form types to prescription form theft to obtain drugs illegally, often controlled drugs (CDs), for misuse.

The paper will still include a perforation, enabling the forms to be separated. The weight of the paper will change from 70gsm to 80gsm, which is the weight of standard printing paper.

The only pre-printed text on the CP4 side of the form will be the form type title and the form type code at the bottom. The PMR system will continue to print the required prescription details on the CP4 form in the exact same way as it currently does, enabling community pharmacies to continue to print and use the form for their internal operational dispensing and patient safety checks.

There is no legislative requirement for community pharmacies to send the CP4 form to National Services Scotland (NSS) for scanning and this form is NOT used as part of the payment process.

To allow the NHS to achieve their efficiency objectives, once the CP4 form has been used for operational processes within the community pharmacy, it should be confidentially shredded locally and NOT sent to NSS for scanning. It is also recognised that the forms can form part of the communication process with other healthcare professionals e.g. for unscheduled care or PGD supplies. This activity can continue.

There will be no change to the blue pre-printed text on both sides of the CP3 form as both the patient and pharmacist consent is still a legislative requirement for Medicines: Care & Review (MCR) registration and withdrawal.

Community pharmacy contractors should continue to send only the CP3 form (MCR Registrations) to NSS for scanning.

The new form has been included in the Annex for illustration purposes.

Rollout of new paper type

Community pharmacies should continue to use the current form until all stock has been depleted locally and in the Health Board stores.

There is no change to the ordering process for CP4/3 prescription forms, and the new forms will be issued automatically once the central stores stock of the old form type is exhausted. The current estimate is that the new forms will start to be issued in November, which is dependent on order volumes from the Health Boards.

Prescription Submissions sent to NSS

When preparing batches of prescriptions for submitting to NSS for scanning, pharmacy teams should ensure that all staples, paper clips, sticky notes, and tape are removed, as this slows down the batch preparation and scanning process significantly. The new scanners are fitted with magnetic detectors and by removing them, it reduces the risk of unidentified staples scratching the scanner glass and will avoid delay to pharmacy claims being processed. Further best practice guidance can be found on the PSD website at https://www.nss.nhs.scot/pharmacy-services/pharmacy-prescriptions/submit-and-retrieve-prescriptions/.