The National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services, Charges and Prescribing) (Amendment) Regulations 2018

Amendment of regulation 2 of the PLPS Regulations

2.—(1) Regulation 2(1) of the PLPS Regulations(1) (interpretation) is amended as follows.

(2) At the appropriate place in the alphabetical order insert—

““EPS token” means a form (which may be an electronic form), approved by the Secretary of State, which—

(a)

is issued by a prescriber at the same time as an electronic prescription is created; and

(b)

has a barcode that enables the prescription to be dispensed by a provider of pharmaceutical services that is able to use the Electronic Prescription Service for the purposes of dispensing prescriptions, in circumstances where the provider is not dispensing the prescription as a nominated dispensing contractor;”.

(3) At the appropriate place in the alphabetical order insert—

““paramedic independent prescriber” means a person—

(a)

who is registered in Part 8 of the register maintained under article 5 of the Health and Social Work Professions Order 2001(2); and

(b)

against whose name in that register is recorded an annotation signifying that that person is qualified to order drugs, medicines or appliances as a paramedic independent prescriber;”.

(4) In sub-paragraph (c) of the definition of “electronic prescription form”, after “nominated dispensing contractor” insert “or via an information hub”.

(5) In sub-paragraph (b) of the definition of “electronic repeatable prescription”, after “nominated dispensing contractor” insert “or via an information hub”.

(6) In the definition of “prescriber”, after “optometrist independent prescriber” insert “, a paramedic independent prescriber”.

(1)

Regulation 2 has been amended by S.I. 2015/137, 570, 1862 and 1879, and 2016/696 and 1077.

(2)

S.I. 2002/254; amended by S.I. 2009/1182. The Health and Social Work Professions Order 2001 is to be renamed the Health Professions Order 2001 by virtue of the Children and Social Work Act 2017 (c. 16), Schedule 5, paragraph 45, on a date to be appointed.