The NHS website has launched a new public-facing profile for pharmacies to better meet the needs of patients, feature improved support for mobile devices, and meet modern accessibility standards.
Under the NHS terms of service, the pharmacy profile editors are reminded that contractors must verify and, where necessary, update the information contained within the pharmacy profile at least once each quarter of the financial year.
The current quarter is July 1 to September 30 2021, therefore if profile editors have not yet verified or updated their pharmacy profile within this quarter, they are encouraged to do so soon to ensure they have included any changes to their opening hours for the August bank holiday (August 30 2021).
The new pharmacy profiles have three sections: overview (contact information, opening hours and facilities); services (structured as before, listing general pharmacy services, NHS, and non-NHS services); and reviews.
The Pharmaceutical Service Negotiating Committee (PSNC) said: "Profile editors are advised to not update any free text sections in their pharmacy profile, as these will not be used in the new profile editor which will launch in early 2022. The new profile editor tool will streamline the process, making it easier and quicker to update a pharmacy profile."
In the meantime, when reviewing and updating a pharmacy profile, please be aware that:
- Profile changes made during the working day will be displayed on a pharmacy profile within three hours of saving the change;
- Profile changes made after 6pm will display on a pharmacy profile by 9am the next working day; and
- To view another pharmacy profile immediately after editing, profile editors will need to log out of the profile editor. This can be done by closing the browser and returning to the NHS website.
