Written question asked by Vikki Slade (Liberal Democrat) on Tuesday, 10 June 2025, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 16 June 2025 (named day). It was answered by Stephen Kinnock (Labour) on Monday, 16 June 2025 on behalf of the Department of Health and Social Care.

Prescriptions

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the potential merits of providing funding for dispensing GPs to offer electronic prescribing.

Answer

Following its launch in 2005, the Electronic Prescribing Service (EPS) is now used in more than 96% of general practices (GPs). While GP IT services and funding do not cover dispensing services provided by dispensing doctors, EPS is used in prescribing and dispensing, so currently a dispensing doctor practice will receive funding for the prescribing element of its EPS systems but not the dispensing element.

Dispensing practices receive a dispensing fee, approximately £2.00 to £2.30 per item, which is intended to cover dispensing costs. This fee is calculated based on the forecasted volumes of prescriptions to be dispensed and the size of the funding envelope, according to a methodology agreed by the Department, the General Practitioners Committee of the British Medical Association, NHS Employers, and the Welsh administration.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 58806
Session: 2024-26
Subjects: Prescriptions
Link: View this Written question on www.parliament.uk

Prescriptions

Secondary information

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