Electronic Prescription Service Tracker - REST API

Use this API to track a patient’s prescriptions within the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) using our Electronic Prescription Service Tracker.

You can search for a list of prescriptions that meet your query parameters by providing: 

• patient's NHS number (mandatory)
• format (mandatory)
• prescription date range (optional)
• prescription status (optional)
• prescription version (optional)

Once you find the prescription, or if you already know its details, you can retrieve it by providing:

• prescription ID (mandatory)
• format (mandatory)
• issue number (optional)

For more details, see Introduction to Spine EPS Tracker.

This API is only for use when the end user is a healthcare worker, not a patient. 

This API can only be used where there is a legal basis to do so. Make sure you have a valid use case before you go too far with your development, by contacting us at [email protected].

You must do this before you can go live (see ‘Onboarding’ below).

The following APIs also give access to EPS:

• Electronic Prescription Service - FHIR API - access the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) - currently you can only use this new API to prescribe or dispense, but not track prescriptions

• Electronic Prescription Service - HL7 V3 API - this API is deprecated

• Signing Service - use this to digitally sign a prescription

The following APIs may be required when accessing EPS:

• Personal Demographics Service - FHIR API - use this to obtain patient data

This API is in production, beta.

If you would like to be involved in our beta programme or have any other queries, contact us.

To see our roadmap, or to suggest, comment or vote on features for this API, see our interactive product backlog.

This API is a platinum service, meaning it is operational and supported 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

For more details, see service levels.

This API is a REST API.

For more details, see Basic REST.

This API is available on the internet and, indirectly, on the Health and Social Care Network (HSCN). 

For more details see Network access for APIs.

This API is application-restricted, meaning:

• the calling application is authenticated - we do care who it is

• the end user is not authenticated - we do not verify who it is or whether they are present

In particular, it uses TLS Mutual Authentication (TLS-MA).

This API is only for use when the end user is a healthcare worker, not a patient.

In addition, we require calling applications to:

• authenticate end users locally with a minimum of user ID and password

• use role-based access control (RBAC) locally to control end user access to the patient data

• keep an audit trail locally of all accesses to patient data by end users

You can test this API using our Path to Live environments.

The base URL for production is https://mm-sync.national.ncrs.nhs.uk/mm/prescriptions

You need to get your software approved by us before it can go live with this API. We call this onboarding. The process can sometimes be quite long, so it’s worth planning well ahead.

Details of the onboarding process are on our EPS onboarding and assurance for IT suppliers webpage.

For a full list of interactions for this API, see the Development Overview.