NHS England has announced it is rolling out electronic prescription technology to be used by prescribing pharmacists taking part in the health service’s prescriber pathfinder programme.

Writing to senior stakeholders today (August 29), NHSE community pharmacy director Ali Sparke and chief pharmaceutical officer David Webb said the health service “can now begin to roll out” the Cleo Solo EPS system across the 210 pharmacies taking part in the independent prescribing pathfinder programme. 

This will allow pharmacists in pathfinder sites to “start delivering their clinical services”, they said. The letter did not specify a date from when pathfinder sites will be able to generate prescriptions. NHSE told P3pharmacy the technology will be tested and rolled out “in the coming months”.

Community pharmacy leads at integrated care boards (ICBs) will be offered “a series of webinars” on the “next steps” of the EPS rollout, they added, commenting that ICBs are “asked to provide support and leadership” to pathfinder sites until the programme winds down in March next year.  

Researchers from the University of Manchester and ICD international will work with the NHS to evaluate the programme, with the findings to be used to “help us develop a framework which will support the commissioning of independent prescribing” from pharmacies in the future, said NHSE.  

The 210 pathfinder sites will work in accordance with proposed models under three main groupings: existing commissioned services such as acute minor illness; long-term conditions such as heart and respiratory disease; and, in “a small number of ICBs,” proposed services including deprescribing, reviews of antidepressant medication and menopause services.  

The programme is aimed at establishing a framework by the time the first academic cohort of fully qualified independent prescribers joins the register in September 2026.