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Community Pharmacy England (CPE) says it has taken steps to tackle inappropriate EPS pharmacy nomination and service direction that contravene the principles of patient choice.

This was in response to concerns around IT functionality that allowed automatic re-nomination (without patient consent). CPE’s Regulatory and IT experts have worked with NHS England, the British Medical Association (BMA), and pharmacy IT system suppliers to address the issue.

In what CPE describes as a “significant workstream”, progress so far includes:

• Issuing guidance about respecting patient choice for pharmacy EPS nominations
• NHS England writing to pharmacy IT system suppliers to reaffirm nomination guidelines and set expectations on system behaviour
• Working with NHS England to revise its nomination guidance for pharmacy teams and IT system suppliers
• Inviting NHS England’s EPS team to attend the March meeting of the Community Pharmacy IT Group (CP ITG) and provide an update on EPS patient nomination protocols
• Developing a patient-facing website to provide information on NHS pharmacy services
• Collaborating with the BMA to revise the existing joint guidance on prescription direction
• Working to update existing nomination and patient choice materials.
• Considering changes to pharmacy owners’ terms of service to strengthen the provisions on nominations
• Reviewing terms of service provisions on ‘inducements’ which apply to all NHS pharmacy services.

Gordon Hockey, director, legal at Community Pharmacy England, said: “Community Pharmacy England has been clear for some time that inappropriate EPS nominations and service direction are unacceptable and risk undermining patient confidence in the pharmacy sector. We are working to bring about decisive action to stamp out these practices. The vast majority of pharmacy owners and their teams work incredibly hard to provide safe, patient‑centred care, and they should not be disadvantaged by the small number of operators who attempt to manipulate the system.

We welcome the strengthened measures being taken nationally and will continue working with NHS England, the BMA, and IT system suppliers to ensure the rules are enforced consistently and fairly. Protecting patient choice and maintaining trust in community pharmacy remain paramount, and we will keep pushing for robust safeguards.”