Skip to main content

Patient prescription tracking use cases

Through our user research with patients, prescribers and dispensers, we have identified a number of core user needs and use cases for the national prescription tracking service for patients.

Core user needs

Our 3 core user needs are: 

  1. A patient needs visibility of their prescription status so that they can better manage their health. 

  1. A prescriber needs patients to have access to prescription information, like their medication and status, so that queries into their organisation are reduced. 

  1. A dispenser needs patients to be able to track their prescriptions so that the number of queries and unnecessary patient visits are reduced. 


NHS App use cases

As a user of the NHS App I wish to:

check if my repeat prescription order request has been approved by the GP​

Prescribers want patients to be better informed about the status of a prescription. Patients are often left confused about where their prescription is, or what the next step in the process is. The GP practice then has to spend time and effort resolving these queries.

Language used around GP approval of prescription requests differs amongst participants and can make updates unclear.

Analysis of NHS App survey feedback shows that patients consistently check when their requests have been approved by using the status features of the app, and comment that this is a useful feature for them.

Users of the current 'Approved prescriptions' expect to see where they are in the prescription journey. For example, approved, with pharmacy, or ready to collect.

 

check if my nominated repeat prescription is being processed by the pharmacy​

There is currently little visibility of what happens once participants request a prescription, with most citing they "wait a few days" and then go to or contact their pharmacy.

Analysis of feedback on prescriptions on the NHS App tells us that patients need continuous reassurance that their repeat prescription request has been received and that it is being processed through various stages. Patients currently do not know which part of the process the prescription is in and need to have sight of this at each different stage. This provides patients with expected timelines and reduces burden on pharmacies.

Patients have no confirmation that their prescription requests have been made with a prescriber, resulting in them chasing before a prescription exists. Pharmacies too want to keep patients better informed about their prescriptions and when they are ready for collection. Patients knowing when a prescription is ready for collection would help to control the flow of patients within the pharmacy.

Providing patients with progress updates at an individual item level could help with tracking prescriptions and also managing patients’ expectations of what they’re getting from the pharmacy​. Patients often feel that there should be a status next to each of the medications they have ordered so they know what's happening with each item​.

Patients specifically want to know how long the process is taking. If things are going to be delayed, then they should be explicitly made aware of this. Patients are increasingly frustrated with the lack of status updates about their medications, particularly in the face of unprecedented stock issues. As a result, GP Practices are often required to set expectations around prescription timelines in the absence of prescription tracking.

Presence of a digital 'approved' prescription on the NHS App does not indicate to patients what stage of the process their medications are at. Patients need explicit indication of the process and the individual states within, although users are using it as a way of checking statuses.

check if my nominated repeat prescription is ready to collect​

EPS statuses 'to be dispensed' and 'with dispenser' did not meet participant expectations. They would all expect to receive a 'Ready to collect' message to be sent shortly after the 'with dispenser' message.

Pharmacies want to keep patients better informed about their prescriptions and when they are ready for collection. Patients knowing when a prescription is ready for collection would help to control the flow of patients within the pharmacy.

Smaller pharmacies cannot afford technology needed to send a ‘ready for collection’ message to patients.

know when my delivery service prescription has been dispatched by the pharmacy​

Patients want to know how long the process is taking. If things are going to be delayed, then they should be made explicitly aware. There needs to be clear indication when the prescription arrives at the pharmacy, so that people can estimate delivery or collection dates.

collect my non-nominated acute prescription from a community pharmacy using the barcode shown against the prescription in the NHS App ​

Patients are often advised to go to the incorrect pharmacy to pick up medications, as clinicians only look at the nomination on record, not where the prescription has actually been sent to, or the prescription has been raised as a non-nominated.


Ongoing research

We will be publishing more user research updates here as we develop and rollout the service.

Last edited: 7 May 2024 5:45 pm