Wales’ First electronic prescription service launches in Rhyl

The new service, launched today [Friday 17 November], makes the prescribing and dispensing of medicines for patients and healthcare professionals easier, safer and more efficient.

For the first time, GPs no longer have to physically print, sign and hand a green paper prescription form to the patient or wait for it to be taken to the pharmacy. Instead, the prescription is sent electronically from the surgery via the IT system to the patient’s chosen pharmacy – even without the patient needing to visit the surgery to pick up a repeat prescription form.

As well as patient benefits, moving to electronic prescriptions will save up to 40 million paper forms from being printed and handled each year.

The new service will be gradually rolled out across Wales from January 2024, and is part of a wider commitment to introduce digital medicines and e-prescribing in all hospitals and primary care in Wales.

Visiting the first GP practice and community pharmacy to use electronic prescriptions, Rhyl’s Lakeside Medical Centre and Wellington Road Pharmacy, Minister for Health and Social Services Eluned Morgan MS said,

We are at the start of an exciting digital transformation that will completely change the way prescriptions are managed in primary care, streamlining a process that has not altered significantly in decades.

“Electronic prescriptions will make a huge difference to the NHS and patients and is a major milestone in our journey towards digitising every prescription in every healthcare setting across Wales.”

“I would like to thank the staff at both the GP practice and pharmacy for their support as the first adopters of the Electronic Prescription Service technology and I hope we can explore how other primary care settings can use digital prescribing.”

You can read the full story here – https://media.service.gov.wales/news/first-electronic-prescription-service-launches-in-wales