Prescriptions are going electronic - here's what you need to know.

Every working day in England, around 1.5 million prescriptions are issued.  That's a lot of paper, a lot of administration and a lot of trips to the GP surgery to collect repeat prescriptions.

To handle this situation more efficiently, an electronic prescription service (EPS) is being introduced across England.

To find out how the new EPS will benefit you as a patient, NHS Connecting for Health has produced an easy to read leaflet:  Electronic Prescription Service - Information for patients and carers in England (Adobe Acrobat - 157 Kb).

In a nutshell though, the new service lets your GP practice send your prescription electronically to the place from which you choose to get your medication, without the need for paper in most cases.

Across North East Essex, the past few months have seen a hive of activity behind the scenes as GP practices and pharmacies work to ensure all the appropriate systems are in place for the EPS to go live later this year.

At the moment, the phased introduction of EPS across North East Essex is due to start in the autumn.  Not every GP practice and pharmacy will be live from day one but it is anticipated most, if not all, will be live by the end of 2009.

If you would like to know more about the local situation, you can contact the local project manager, Yvonne Benstead, on 01206 288553.