Key Summary
- CPE is working with NHS England to revise its nomination guidance for pharmacy teams and IT system suppliers.
- Collaborating with the BMA to revise the existing joint guidance on prescription direction to include guidance on service direction.
- NHS England is revising the Patient Nomination Protocols, with inputs from CPE.
Community Pharmacy England (CPE) has been involved in taking steps to address inappropriate electronic prescription system (EPS) pharmacy nomination practices that breach the principles of patient choice.
CPE's Regulatory and IT experts have been working with NHS England, the British Medical Association (BMA), and pharmacy IT system suppliers to address these issues.
The issue, first raised last year, relates to certain IT functionality that allows automatic re-nomination without the consent of patients.
There has been significant progress in tackling the issues. NHS England has written to pharmacy IT system suppliers to reaffirm nomination guidelines and set expectations on system behaviour.
CPE has been working with NHS England to revise its nomination guidance for pharmacy teams and IT system suppliers.
The pledge to protect patient choice of pharmacy also finds mention in the 2026/27 GP Contract.
CPE has also been collaborating with the BMA to revise the existing joint guidance on prescription direction to include guidance on service direction.
NHS England is revising the Patient Nomination Protocols, with inputs from CPE.
The updated guidance clarifies how pharmacy teams, system suppliers and others must manage nominations and use nomination‑related information from the NHS Personal Demographics Service (PDS).
The guidance emphasises that patient choice must remain central, with patients able to select or change their nominated pharmacy freely, without pressure, unintended direction, or the use of technical means that could influence or pre‑empt their choice. It also clarifies the appropriate use of PDS nomination data.
CPE director Gordon Hockey said, “Community Pharmacy England has been clear for some time that inappropriate EPS nominations and service direction are unacceptable and risk undermining patient confidence in the pharmacy sector. We are working to bring about decisive action to stamp out these practices.
"The vast majority of pharmacy owners and their teams work incredibly hard to provide safe, patient‑centred care, and they should not be disadvantaged by the small number of operators who attempt to manipulate the system.
"We welcome the strengthened measures being taken nationally and will continue working with NHS England, the BMA, and IT system suppliers to ensure the rules are enforced consistently and fairly." He said that CPE will keep pushing for robust safeguards.
It may be recalled that Titan PMR’s chief executive, Tariq Muhammad, had in December launched a parliamentary petition seeking to stop pharmacies from re-nominating patients' electronic prescription service (EPS) without their consent.
The petition has called for a ban on the technology that enables pharmacies to auto-renominate EPS patients in bulk, to increase patient numbers and revenue.
In his LinkedIn post on Friday (27), he said, "For too long a small number of unscrupulous pharmacies have used technology to trap patients to their service. Meanwhile, technology companies have developed functionality to enable this and promoted it to gain a competitive advantage over others."
Muhammad said CPE and GPhC "have been running overtime" issuing guidance, but it may not be enough.
He wants NHS England to be given powers to "legally prevent technology companies from making this functionality available to pharmacies."
"We need every PMR system to sign a legally binding contract to say they have removed all auto-nomination functionality."
