NHS Prescription Services have noticed a trend in data on prescriptions being obscured by dispensing checking stamps. These stamps are used to monitor progress through the pharmacy and indicate that that scripts have been:
- Clinically Assessed
- Accuracy Checked
- Dispensed
- Handed Out
These stamps must not be used in the areas of the prescription that are required for capture for NHS Prescription Services capture process. They should not be used in the drug, prescriber or patient details.
The processed data is used to pay dispensing contractors, to provide prescribing information to the Department of Health and Social Care and NHS and to support analytic initiatives that provide valuable insight into patient care, safety, probity and quality within the wider NHS.
During processing, information on prescriptions is captured by an ICR (Intelligent Character Recognition) scanning system. It is therefore vital this information is not obscured by pharmacy or dispensing checking stamps to allow for accurate capture.