How long does it take for an electronic prescription to be ready

How long will it take for my medication to be ready for collection?

If you have ordered your repeat medication via one of the online apps or by posting your repeat slip through the letterbox before the end of collection opening times we ask that you allow 4 working days before coming to collect your medication. For example; if you ordered your medication using online services before 5.30pm on a Monday for collection at Fenny Compton you can expect your medication to be ready on the Thursday. If however you ordered your medication at 8pm on a Monday your medication will not be ready until the Friday.

If you ordered your prescription to be issued and then posted onto a pharmacy of your choice, you must take into consideration the length of time of using the postal service. We do not have Electronic Prescription Services and are we are unable to routinely email your prescriptions so it is important that you manage the ordering of your medication efficiently.

If you have been advised by a member of the clinical team that they have done a prescription for you that should be collected on the day, please ensure you state which dispensary you would like to collect your medication from and be aware of our collection opening times at each site.

Please allow an extra working day for collections when there is a bank holiday

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View the questions and answers below to help you implement and manage the eRx initiative at your pharmacy. 

Last Updated: May 17, 2016

Q1:

How are non-formulary medications handled by the eRx software?

A:

The eRx software is capable of receiving electronic prescriptions for non-formulary medications. If CHCS determines that an electronic prescription is for a non-formulary drug (which is determined by the formulary status in the CHCS Formulary Management (FRM) file), that prescription will be placed in the CHCS holding queue for pharmacy intervention. Commercially, civilian providers are able to select and transmit any medications within their Electronic Health Record (EHR).

Q2:

How do I print a copy of the eRx?

A:

Within the electronic prescribing holding queue, the user selects one or more eRx's then selects inquiry from the action bar. At the device prompt, the appropriate printer name is entered. If more than one eRx's has been selected, each eRx will be printed on a separate page. Please see training slides or the User Guide for additional information.

Q3:

Why is the auto-match rate of eRx patient to CHCS patient low?

A:

MTF pharmacies may initially have a low auto-match rate of eRx patient to CHCS patient because civilian providers sending eRx's may not be including the specific information required for auto-population in CHCS (e.g. Patient SSN, DOD ID, etc.) Please see training slides or the User Guide for additional information on the patient matching criteria.

Q6:

How is a new provider added to CHCS when validating an electronic prescription?

A:

New providers identified through the electronic prescribing solution are added to CHCS using existing functionality and business processes. Users with the Provider Add/Edit security key should follow current CHCS business rules and local MTF policy for adding providers during the eRx provider validation process.

Q11:

Will electronic prescribing increase the patient wait times?

A:

The electronic prescribing solution provides the MTF prescription information before the patient arrives at the pharmacy and affords the MTF the option to fill prescriptions before the patient arrives; thereby reducing wait times and delays. Wait times, however, are dependent upon a number of factors including the MTF’s current business processes, procedures (batch vs teller), as well as workload.

Q19:

How is formulary status determined?

A:

The electronic prescribing solution utilizes the "non-formulary" and "IP/OP" indicators associated with the pharmacy site's formulary group within the CHCS Formulary Management (FRM) option. Please see training slides or the User Guide for additional information on Drug Matching capabilities.

Q20:

Does "removed" mean deleted from the system?

A:

The status of electronic prescriptions processed with the Remove function are changed from "pending" or "error" to "removed". Electronic prescriptions that are removed from the holding queue are permanently deleted from CHCS after 15 months.

Q21:

Can a provider on base ePrescribe to another base?

A:

The electronic prescribing solution in CHCS does not allow for outbound ePrescribing (e.g. MTF Provider to MTF, Mail, or Retail pharmacies). MTF providers can continue to use AHLTA/CHCS to prescribe medications to MTF pharmacies connected to the same CHCS host.

Q24:

How can I best train my staff on e-prescribing?

A:

The following documents are available: training slides, user guide, implementation guide, and CHCS release notes. Provider outreach to facilitate receipt of electronic prescriptions, as part of the "soft" opening allows MTF staff to become familiar with the electronic prescribing solution prior to full go-live. Please see the Implementation Guide for additional information on Provider Outreach and Go-Live activities.

Q25:

When should I clear the holding/error queue?

A:

The eRx software is programmed to automatically remove electronic prescriptions from the holding queue after 365 days. MTFs may choose to manage the holding queue based on local business practices. Removal of an eRx from the holding queue is irreversible and will require a new prescription to be sent from the civilian provider. Please see training slides or the User Guide for additional information on the holding queue capabilities.

Q31:

Will my pharmacy continue to receive faxed prescriptions from civilian providers once my pharmacy starts receiving electronic prescriptions?

A:

It depends. A provider's EHR may have been configured to send the electronic prescription directly to your fax machine or your pharmacy may have been previously registered as a fax enabled pharmacy with the electronic prescribing network. Reaching out to the provider of a faxed prescription will allow for provider education on the availability and published name (DOD "pharmacy name" ePhcy) of your pharmacy to facilitate the transition. Please see the Implementation Guide, and provider and patient flyers for additional information on Provider Outreach.

Q32:

Can I receive an electronic prescription for a patient not picking-up medications from my pharmacy?

A:

Yes, there is a chance that your pharmacy may receive electronic prescriptions for patients that will not pick-up a medication. The electronic prescribing network allows connected providers to send an electronic prescription to any connected pharmacy. The MHS ePrescribing solution attempts to reduce the occurrence of erroneous eRx's from reaching your pharmacy through the standardization of the published pharmacy names (i.e. DOD "pharmacy name" ePhcy).

Q36:

Can I validate prescriptions in the error queue?

A:

Yes, the electronic prescribing solution allows validation of eRx’s in the error queue. The electronic prescribing solution notifies the user of identified errors. Please see training slides or the User Guide for additional information on the error queue capabilities.

Q41:

Am I required to process (Validate, Remove, etc.) the electronic prescriptions from the holding queue in a certain time frame?

A:

No, the electronic prescribing holding/error queue was designed to receive, store and process eRx's. Business rules have been built in the holding/error queue to assist with maintenance. When an electronic prescription reaches 366 days old from the date written, the eRx status changes to Expired and no longer viewable from the holding/error queue. Expired prescriptions older than 15 months are deleted from the underlying database. Processed (Validated) eRx's are associated/linked with the resultant's CHCS prescription and are not deleted. Please see the CHCS Release notes, user guide and training slides for additional information on Validation, Removal and other business rules.

Q47:

When a separate pharmacy is not designated as the "ePhcy", how will I know that the medication I am filling/checking originated as an eRx?

A:

Any CHCS prescription may be viewed using the Prescription Inquiry (PRI) option. An indicator to the right of the order number identifies the prescription source. A prescription received as an eRx is identified with indicators of "(eRx SYS - Entered)" or "(eRx PHR - Entered)."

Electronic prescriptions may be printed via the holding/error queue Inquiry function prior to processing (Validated). The use of a specific printer that can be defined in the Outpatient Site parameters; different colored paper and scanning the printed eRx may be logical extensions depending on your pharmacy's policies, processes and workflow. Please see the CHCS Release notes, user guide, and training slides for additional information on PRI screen enhancements, holding queue actions, and other related functionality.

Q48:

Will I receive information (name, address, phone, etc.) about the civilian provider on an electronic prescription?

A:

Provider information required for a legal prescription based on local, state and Federal rules, regulations and laws will be received. Generally, the civilian provider's EHR is configured to send the practice name, provider name, street address, city, state, zip code and phone number, as well as the provider's National Provider Identification (NPI) and/or Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) number(s).

Q51:

When an electronic prescription is received for a non-formulary medication, what indicators are available to alert me?

A:

The electronic prescribing solution contains business rules to alert users when a non-formulary or inpatient use only medication is selected. The CHCS Drug portion of the Validate screen displays a "NON-FORMULARY" or "INPATIENT ONLY" indicator. The business rules do not take into account a populated Inactive Date. The identification and maintenance of non-formulary medications listings in CHCS facilitate increased auto-creation and accurate alerts. Please see the CHCS Release notes, user guide, and training slides for additional information on drug auto-matching, holding queue actions and other related functionality.

Q54:

How many epharmacy sites do I need in CHCS?

A:

For MTF pharmacies that current accept prescriptions from civilian providers, the minimum number is one, while the maximum is scalable to accommodate the business practices of each MTF. As with faxed prescriptions, ePrescribing enables the prescription to reach the pharmacy prior to the patient arriving; therefore allowing greater flexibility with how, when, and where to process.

Q56:

Can I forward e-prescriptions after validation?

A:

When an eRx has been Validated, the result is an actionable prescription and may be processed in the same manner as prescriptions received from AHLTA or entered by the pharmacy staff.

Q58:

How can I view the provider information without using the validate function?

A:

Within the electronic prescribing holding queue, the user selects one or more eRx's then selects inquiry from the action bar. At the device prompt, the appropriate printer name may be entered. If more than one eRx's has been selected, each eRx will be printed on a separate page when a device is specified. The eRx information will be displayed on the screen when a device was not specified. Please see training slides or the User Guide for additional information.

Q61:

We keep getting fax prescription even if CHCS is up. What can we do?

A:

A provider's EHR may have been configured to send the electronic prescription directly to your fax machine or your pharmacy may have been previously registered as a fax enabled pharmacy with the electronic prescribing network. Reaching out to the provider of a faxed prescription will allow for provider education on the availability and published name (DOD "pharmacy name" ePhcy) of your pharmacy to facilitate the transition. Please see the Implementation Guide, and provider and patient flyers for additional information on Provider Outreach.

Q62:

The provider sent the eRx but can't be found in the system, what do we do?

A:

All eRx will be in the holding queue; the user can look up a patient using different methods (please see the "search function" in the training materials. If the eRx does not appear in the holding queue, try checking the error queue. There are several reasons why an eRx maybe sent in this queue (please refer to the error queue section of the training material).

Q64:

Is there a way to unvalidate an eRx that has been accidentally validated?

A:

CHCS does not currently have the capability to unvalidate a validated electronic prescription.  The validation process associates the electronic prescription to the actionable prescription and may be processed (edited, transferred, cancelled, etc.) in the same manner as prescriptions received from AHLTA or entered by the pharmacy staff.

Q68:

When will I be able to receive controlled substances?

A:

Currently there are no plans to enhance the electronic prescribing solution in CHCS to support receipt and processing of controlled substances via electronic prescribing. The future MHS Electronic Health Record may be able to support the receipt and processing of controlled substances.

Last Updated: May 04, 2017

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