Dispense notification
Once the patient has collected their medication, a dispense notification should be sent.
This is to prevent unclaimed EPS prescriptions from remaining in the system for 180 days until they become void.
If a patient does not collect all items on a prescription, it should be set as partially dispensed.
Dispense claim message
Once the patient has collected their medication, a dispense claim message should be sent.
If the dispense claim message is submitted before this point, the following could happen:
- the patient could become exempt between the dispense claim message being sent and the prescription being collected
- the patient could no longer be eligible for free prescriptions when they collect the prescription.
If the claim has been submitted as paid, the charges will be collected when processed.
If the prescription has been claimed as exempt and the customer is not exempt, they will have to pay.
The money collected from the customer would not be recovered by the NHS during processing.
You would have to make a separate arrangement with NHS England to have this recovered.