1. Electronic Prescription Service Release 2
LPC Pharmacy Event - NNCCG Area
20th October 2016

2. Project Overview Objective
Roll-out EPSr2 in all Norfolk practices by March 2017
Deployment Method
Kick-off Meeting - Overview
Business Change Meeting – Process Changes
Go-Live, EPSr2 is enabled

3. Proposed Deployment Timescales

4. Progress Update North Norfolk CCG
Practices due to go-live with EPSr2 ahead of the Christmas period.
Drayton (including St. Faiths and Horsford Surgeries)
Mundesley Medical Centre (including Bacton Surgery)
Sheringham Medical Centre
Ludham Surgery (including Stalham Green Surgery)
Other confirmed dates:
The Market Surgery

5. NNCCG Deployment Order & Dates
Practice
Kick-off
Business Change
Go-Live
Drayton Medical Centre (including St. Faiths and Horsford Surgeries)
28/07/2016
20/09/2016
27/10/2016
Mundesley Medical Centre (including Bacton Surgery)
05/10/2016
03/11/2016
Sheringham Medical Centre
14/09/2016
12/10/2016
16/11/2016
Ludham Surgery (including Stalham Green)
08/09/2016
14/10/2016
29/11/2016
The Market Street Surgery
01/12/2016
13/01/2017
09/02/2017

6. NNCCG Deployment Order & Dates
Kick-Off meeting Date
Business Change Date
EPSr2 Go-Live Date
Tuesday 4th October
Thursday 3rd November
TBC
Wednesday 5th October
Tuesday 11th October
Thursday 10th November
Wednesday 12th October
Tuesday 18th October
Thursday 17th November
Wednesday 19th October
Tuesday 25th October
Thursday 24th November
Wednesday 26th October
Tuesday 1st November
Thursday 1st December
Wednesday 2nd November
Tuesday 8th November
Friday 2nd December
Wednesday 9th November
Tuesday 15th November
Thursday 12th January
Wednesday 16th November
Tuesday 22nd November
Friday 13th January
Wednesday 23rd November
Tuesday 29th November
Thursday 19th January
Wednesday 30th November
Friday 20th January
Tuesday 6th December
Thursday 26th January
Wednesday 7th December

7. Lessons Learned Prescription Preparation Timeframes
GP’s told to relay correct message
GP’s told to be mindful of terminology used
Opportunities for joint working
Importance of attending Kick-off and Business Change Meetings
Importance to send different members as staff
Arrange regular meetings with Practices
Pharmacy IT Systems
Escalate reoccurring IT problems with your IT System supplier and Area Manager
Prescription Preparation Timeframes
Practices are advised to ensure they do not suggest timeframes for collecting medication is changing or will initially be any quicker.
We have been clear in telling GP’s specifically to be conscious of the wording they use when explaining this patients.
Opportunities for joint working
Kick off & Business Change meetings are joint meetings for the practice and the pharmacies to get together. These are important meetings to ensure each is aware and understands the challenges each organisation faces and the process changes that will be needed. Often these changes impacts the other organisation so it is essential these are communicated to ensure a smooth, trouble free deployment. We have seen once a pharmacy attends one they do not attend further meetings however we would suggest you attend as many as you can an encourage as many members of staff, not all organisations have the same processes in place.
Pharmacy IT Systems
We encourage the practices to be aware the changes within the pharmacies are significant and to therefore be sympathetic towards you in the early days. However we have seen some pharmacies have unreliable IT systems and have often and repeatedly asked the practice to revert back to FP10s. If this continues to occur and lasts for prolonged periods of time the pharmacy needs to work to resolve the issue by escalating to their area managers and IT providers. Practices may only be sympathetic for so long.

8. Lessons Learned Importance of using EPS Tracker
Practice & Pharmacy should be checking this first
Essential Pharmacy Training
Acknowledge EPS is coming soon
Ensure ALL staff are trained (including part-time or Saturday staff) and know how to process scripts from beginning to end, including returning scripts to the SPINE.
Prescription Release Management
We encourage practices to digitally sign the scripts constantly throughout the day and not in batches at the end. This will hopefully improve the throughput of scripts making it easier for pharmacies to download and prepare.
Importance of using EPS Tracker
We advise practices as we do pharmacies, it is essential to use the EPS Tracker to check the status of a script before contacting the pharmacy with any patient queries.
Essential Pharmacy Training
We appreciate the changes within the practice are minor compared to those needed within the pharmacy, we also appreciate EPS was something pharmacies were geared up for a long time ago but it never happened and now that it is happening a lot of the support you once had is no longer available. However it is essential you realise this is happening and therefore ALL staff (including part-time or Saturday staff) must have received training on how to process electronic scripts from beginning to end and use the EPS Tracker.

9. Any Questions?
EPSr2 Project Team –