Prescription status changes after inactivity

Prescriptions move through statuses throughout the prescribing and dispensing process. Different periods of inactivity on a prescription can cause it to be cancelled, expire or marked as ‘no-claimed’ and eventually deleted from Spine.

Prescription statuses and descriptions

View the different statuses of a prescription with their descriptions and Spine IDs.

Spine prescription status	Description	Applicable prescription types	Spine ID
Awaiting release ready	‘Awaiting release ready’ means that the prescription has been signed and submitted to Spine but is not available for release to a dispenser yet. This status is for eRD prescriptions only – it does not apply to acute or repeat prescriptions.	eRD prescriptions only	0000
To be dispensed	‘To be dispensed’ means that the prescription is on Spine and is ready to be downloaded by a dispenser.	All prescription types	0001
With dispenser	‘With dispenser’ means that the prescription has been downloaded by a dispenser. It can be up to 3 days average the prescription is ready to collect. There is no ‘Ready to collect’ status in EPS yet.	All prescription types	0002
With dispenser - active	‘With dispenser - active' means that a dispenser is actively working on the prescription and it is locked to that dispenser. This status is also used when a prescription is partially dispensed.	All prescription types	0003
Expired	A prescription is ‘Expired’ when it has been in Spine for 180 days with no action.	All prescription types	0004
Cancelled	‘Cancelled’ means that the prescriber has cancelled the whole prescription. It can only be 'Cancelled’ when all the prescription items are cancelled or expired.	All prescription types	0005
Dispensed	‘Dispensed’ could mean: a dispenser has prepared the prescription and it is ready to collect a dispenser has dispensed the prescription this status could be sent after the patient has received their prescription	All prescription types	0006
Not dispensed	A dispenser must set a prescription as ‘Not dispensed’ and add a reason for this.	All prescription types	0007
Claimed	A dispenser sets a prescription as ‘Claimed’ when they have sent a claim to get financially reimbursed by the NHSBSA. This could happen at any point after the prescription is marked as 'Dispensed'.	All prescription types	0008
No-claimed	‘No-claimed’ means that a prescription has been left as ‘Dispensed’ for 180 days. A message is automatically sent to the NHSBSA to show the prescription has not been claimed for.	All prescription types	0009
Repeat dispense future instance	Future issues of eRD prescriptions that are not ready to be released yet are marked as 'Repeat dispense future instance'.	eRD prescriptions only	9000
Future dated prescription	‘Future dated prescription’ means that a clinician has set a start date in the future for when a prescription can be dispensed.	All prescription types	9001
Cancelled future instance	The status ‘Cancelled future status’ is used to cancel prescriptions which are stored locally before submitting to EPS. This is held in Spine and when the prescription is submitted, this will cancel the prescription.	All prescription types	9005

Prescription status journey diagram

This diagram shows the different statuses of prescriptions on the prescribing and dispensing journey, with the periods of inactivity that move a prescription from one status to another.

Diagram showing how prescriptions move from one status to another after periods of inactivity

Periods of inactivity before a prescription changes status

This table shows how long each period of inactivity is before a prescription moves to its next status.

		After inactivity period or last action
Status before inactivity period or last action		Expired	No-claimed	Deleted from Spine
	To be dispensed	180 days after prescription start date (365 days for eRD prescriptions)
	With dispenser - active	For eRD prescriptions, 180 days of inactivity after items last dispensed with all dispense notifications withdrawn	180 days of inactivity in all cases other than eRD prescriptions with all dispense notifications withdrawn
	With dispenser	180 days after prescription start date (365 days for eRD prescriptions)
	Dispensed		180 days of inactivity after prescription fully dispensed
	Not dispensed			30 days after being marked as ‘Not dispensed’
	Cancelled			180 days after prescription cancellation date
	No-claimed			36 days after being marked as ‘No-claimed’
	Expired			90 days of inactivity after prescription expiry date
	Claimed			36 days after prescription claimed