Community Pharmacy

Frequently Asked Questions

Acute Medication Service

Barcodes

Q1: What do I do if I receive a GP10 prescription form which does not have a barcode?
If there is no barcode on a GP10 form then you dispense and claim for the prescription as a non ETP prescription.
Q2: What do I do if I receive a handwritten prescription?
You dispense and claim for a handwritten prescription as a non ETP prescription.
Q3: I have a barcoded prescription but when I scan it I do not receive an electronic message. What do I do?
You can type the Unique Prescription Number (UPN) which is directly below the barcode into your PMR system. This number links the barcode and the electronic message. If a barcode does not scan then entering the UPN should retrieve the electronic prescription information and allow you to continue to dispense and claim electronically as if you had scanned the barcode. You can also do this if your scanner has broken. If this still does not work then just dispense the prescription as a non-ETP prescription (in other words add the relevant information manually). You should, however, still generate an electronic claim message.
Q4: I have scanned the barcode and tried entering the UPN but no electronic prescription details are being returned to me. What do I do?
You should enter the prescription information from the GP10 form manually as you would do for a non ETP prescription. You can then go on and dispense the prescription. However you still should claim electronically, in other words, send an electronic claim message. If this is a recurring problem for prescriptions from a particular GP practice then please contact the PSD ePharmacy Helpdesk, who can follow up with the GP practice.

Scanners

Q5: How many scanners do I need in my pharmacy?
You need at least one scanner in your dispensary and ideally one for each computer/work station that you use for dispensing prescriptions. However the exact number and where they are positioned will depend on the way you choose to work. It is the responsibility of your PMR system supplier to provide you with a scanner(s) and advise you on the options available.
Q6: The scanner in my pharmacy is broken. What do I do?
You need to contact your PMR system to supplier to order a replacement scanner. Meantime you can still enter the UPN to retrieve the electronic prescription message and continue on to dispense and claim electronically as normal.

Electronic Prescribe Messages

Q7: When I scanned the barcode I did not get an electronic message. What do I do?
You can type the Unique Prescription Number (UPN) which is directly below the barcode into your PMR system. This number links the barcode and the electronic message and brings down the electronic message. If this still does not work then just dispense the prescription as a non- ETP prescription but you should still generate an electronic claim message. If this is a regular problem with a GP practice then you should contact the ePharmacy helpdesk who can follow this up.
Q8: What happens if a GP has made an amendment to a barcoded GP10?
If a GP needs to amend a prescription and the patient is still in the GP practice then the GP should cancel the prescription and generate a new prescription. However, a GP can also amend an electronic prescribing message once it has been sent to the message store. If the patient has left the practice then the GP should still contact the patient to let them know of the change. The amended message is linked to the original message and when you scan the barcode you will receive: the amended message; the date of the amendment; any reason for the amendment that the GP may have provided and the original message.
You then make a professional decision on the most appropriate course of action (remember the paper prescription and the electronic message may be different). If you need to contact the GP then you should endorse the electronic claim message (and paper form) appropriately and mark as prescriber contacted (PC) or not contacted (PNC).
Q9: There is a mismatch between the GP10 prescription form and the electronic prescribing message. What should I do?
If the information on the paper form and the electronic prescribing message do not match then you must make a professional judgement on how to best proceed. The electronic message should provide you with any details of amendments or cancellations made by the GP (as in the previous example). However, you may still need to contact the GP for clarification. You then dispense the prescription, endorse appropriately (both on the paper form and in electronic message). PSD will then process the claim using both the electronic claim message and the paper form for reference.
Q10: What happens if I pull down an electronic prescribing message, start to dispense the prescription, then find that I do not have the item in stock and the patient wants to take the prescription to another pharmacy? Do I need to release the electronic message?
If you have scanned the barcode and pulled down an electronic message but then cannot dispense the prescription then you can stop and return the prescription to the patient who is free to take the prescription to another pharmacy for dispensing. You do not have to send back or release the electronic message; electronic messages can be pulled down by more than one pharmacy. The next pharmacy can just pull down the prescription. PSD will only pay the pharmacy that has submitted the paper form.

Electronic Claim Messages

Q11: PSD have not been receiving any electronic claim messages from my pharmacy. What do I do?
Firstly you need to check that there are no connectivity problems in your pharmacy. For example have you been able to retrieve prescribe messages? You should also ensure that you are running all your system updates and completing housekeeping regularly. If you find that you are still having problems or, for example, you are not even receiving any acknowledgements from the message store to claims you are sending then you should contact the PSD ePharmacy Helpdesk.
Q12: How long are ETP barcoded GP10 forms and electronic messages valid for?
An ETP barcoded GP10 form is valid for the same length of time as a non barcoded prescription (6 months or 28 days for a CD prescription). The electronic prescribe message is also valid for the same length of time as the paper form. A time limit comes into play if you need to amend an electronic claim message after it has been sent. You have 14 days to amend an electronic message once it is in the message store. Any amendment must also be completed on the paper form for consistency.
Quick reminder
You must send an electronic claim message to the message store. You can send an electronic claim at a time that suits your way of working e.g. when the patient comes to pick up the item(s), at the end of the day when all items have been picked up, at the time when the patient is on the premises.
Q13: What happens if I try to make an amendment to an electronic claim after the 14 day time period, for example three weeks after the claim was submitted?
Electronic claim messages are held in the message store for 14 days after which they are then retrieved by PSD. This is in line with the journey of the paper prescription forms which you submit bi-monthly/monthly to PSD. It is possible, during the 14 days, to retrieve and amend an electronic claim. However you should not alter an electronic claim message once you have sent the paper form to PSD because the paper form and electronic claim should carry the same endorsement. It is not possible to amend a claim once PSD has retrieved the message (after the 14 day period).
Q14: What happens if I have made an electronic claim message and then the patient wants to take the prescription to another pharmacy instead?
You should cancel the electronic claim message if you have already sent it (and it is not older than 14 days). PSD will only pay the pharmacy that submits the paper form.
Q15: At the end of the month I often have prescriptions awaiting collection by patients and they often do not come in until the following month. Should I send the electronic claims anyway even if that means that the paper forms may not get in until the next submission date regardless or should I wait until I have the paper forms completed by the patient and send the claim message then?
You are best to send the electronic claim message once you are satisfied that you have all the correct information included in the both the electronic claim message (e.g. patient's exemption, evidence seen if relevant, items dispensed and issued to patient, endorsements, etc.) and also captured on the paper (e.g. patient's signature, evidence seen if relevant, endorsements etc.). Of course you do have 14 days to make an amendment after you have sent the electronic message but submitting the claim before the patient has collected the prescription may reduce the time to make any changes. Therefore, unless you are very sure that you can supply all the accurate information ahead of the patient collecting the prescription then you should wait and send the electronic claim once the patient has collected their prescription.

DM&D

Q16: What happens if an item has no dm+d code?
Drug mapping to dm+d codes is being gradually added to IT systems so there may be some items initially without a dm+d code. Both electronic prescribing and claim messages can be created and sent without a dm+d code. Any items detailed in either the electronic prescribe or claim message without a dm+d code are processed manually by PSD.
Q17: A dm+d code is printed on the paper form and appears in the electronic message but it does not match with any dm+d code in my PMR system?
You are still able to manually select an item for dispensing and then to endorse electronically but should inform your PMR supplier. This alerts them to add the dm+d code to their drug dictionary.

General Questions

Q18: A patient has opted out of receiving an ETP prescription. What happens when they need a prescription?
Patients who have opted out of ETP will receive non barcoded prescriptions and hence no electronic message. You just dispense these prescriptions in the traditional way.
Q19: Will ETP speed up community pharmacy payments?
No. It is still the arrival of the barcoded paper GP10 paper form that is the trigger for payment and therefore payment processing takes the same length of time. However processing will be much more efficient by using the electronic messages.
Q20: What happens with prescriptions for MDS boxes which are dispensed weekly? Do I have to scan the barcode every week to capture the claim information?
No. You scan the prescription once to retrieve the relevant electronic prescription data and dispense the prescription. Once all the instalments have been dispensed/given to the patient then you endorse the prescription, providing any instalment endorsing details (e.g. total quantity dispensed and number of instalments). You then send the electronic claim message to the message store and endorse the paper form and set aside for submission to PSD.
Q21: If my local GP has asked me to make an emergency supply to a patient in advance of receiving the prescription what do I have to do if I get the prescription and it is an ETP prescription with a barcode and electronic message?
If the doctor has requested you to make an emergency supply of a complete prescription then there are two possibilities: If the prescription has actually been generated then there will be a paper prescription that has a barcode and Unique Prescription Number (UPN) printed on the form. The UPN can be shared with the pharmacist who can then manually enter the UPN and retrieve the electronic message. The pharmacist can then dispense and generate an electronic claim message in exactly the same way they would do for an ETP prescription. When the prescription is received in the pharmacy there is no need for the pharmacist to scan the barcode as it has already been used to generate the electronic claim message. The pharmacist just has to endorse any necessary details manually on the paper form and set it aside with the other forms to send to PSD. If the prescription has not yet been generated or the barcode and UPN are not available to the pharmacist then they just dispense the prescription as a non-ETP prescription. This is because an electronic claim message cannot be generated if there is no barcode or UPN to match it with. When the prescription arrives then the pharmacist does not scan the barcode but endorses the prescription manually and batches it for sending to PSD.