Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps he is taking to support uptake of the Electronic Prescription Service.

Uptake is driven by the prescribing and dispensing communities, who realise many of the benefits of electronic prescription service (EPS) within their businesses and have a vested interest in promoting the EPS. They are being supported by the NHS Digital Implementation and Business Change Team who provide support to prescribers and dispensers of the service. The NHS Business Services Authority also have a programme of work to support the uptake of EPS in practices across the country. The other key strand of activity is the future introduction of Phase 4 the point at which all eligible prescriptions can be sent electronically and patients will no longer have to nominate a pharmacy. NHS Digital is also working with other care settings and their system suppliers, e.g. urgent and emergency care, to introduce the benefits of EPS into other areas of the NHS.