NHS Online Pharmacy

You will need to create an account with NowPatient before you are able to place orders for your NHS repeat prescriptions. You can create an account using your e-mail address or you can use your NHS login credentials.

If you are creating an account using your e-mail address, then you will need to provide the following information:

• First name
• Last name
• Gender
• Date of birth
• Home address including Post Code
• Address of your GP surgery in England
• Contact number

Your contact number can be a landline number or a mobile number. However, if you would like SMS notifications for your medication orders then we recommend adding your mobile number.

This depends on the method that you use to create your account with NowPatient. If you use your NHS login credentials, then your repeat prescriptions will be viewable from the order medications screen of the ‘NHS Online Pharmacy’ feature, which you can navigate to from your dashboard, within 10 minutes.

If you have created an account with your email, then it may take slightly longer. If your NHS repeat prescriptions aren’t in the order medications screen of the ‘NHS Online Pharmacy’ feature after more than 4 hours, then please reach out to our customer care team for resolution.

NHS login is a simple and secure way to access multiple digital health and care services with one set of login details. You can use one email address and password to securely manage and access your healthcare apps and websites. Find out more about NHS login setup.

NowPatient is integrated with the NHS which means you can use your NHS login credentials to directly access NowPatient. You can do this by clicking the blue NHS login button and using your NHS login credentials.

This is common. The NHS may need you to supply additional information so they can prove who you are before granting access to your personal information.

No. You will need a fully verified account with NHS login to be able to use it as a method to log in with NowPatient.

If you use NHS login to access NowPatient services, we will synchronise the data from your NHS account to your NowPatient account. Therefore, if your personal details have changed, then you will need to update your information through NHS login or contact your GP to request a change.

When you create an account with NowPatient, you are effectively choosing NowPatient to dispense your medications.

At present you can only nominate one pharmacy to receive your electronic prescriptions, however, your nominated pharmacy can be switched at any time. You do not need to inform your existing pharmacy.

Remember, you are in full control of which pharmacy provider you nominate and you are not obliged or tied down to any single pharmacy provider.

As part of our terms of use, we require you to nominate our pharmacy to dispense your NHS prescriptions. If we receive notification that we have been de-nominated then your account will be automatically suspended. Do not worry, if you did not mean to denominate NowPatient, we can reactivate your account easily. You can do this by calling or emailing us but the easiest way to reactivate your account is by logging into your account, where you will see a suspense screen asking you if you would like to re-nominate NowPatient. If you confirm the re-nomination request, then your account will be reactivated. If, however, you wish to change pharmacy, then your account will be deleted. All your information will be deleted except for data that is held in line with our data retention policy, which we are required to maintain, by law.

Features can be accessed from feature pages from your account or using quick action widgets that allow you to access the feature and its associated actions from your dashboard. When you create an account you will first land on your dashboard page. From here, you can see a library of quick action widgets. To get them onto your ‘My Favorite Widgets’ section of your dashboard, simply click the star on the widget and it will now appear. You will now be able to take quick on actions on features you use the most.

Once you have logged into your account, you will need to navigate to the NHS Online Pharmacy widget which is located at the bottom of your dashboard. You can then select ’Order Prescription”. This will take you to an ordering screen where you will be able to see a list of your current NHS repeat prescriptions which are available for ordering. Select the medications you require. You will then be prompted to checkout and make payment, or alternatively select an exemption. Once the checkout is complete, your prescription order will be sent to your GP electronically, for approval. This process may take up to 72 hours.

Once your prescription order has been authorised by your GP, we will dispense the medication and prepare it for delivery. At each stage of the process, we will send you status notifications.

You can ‘star’ the NHS Online Pharmacy widget to have it display in the ‘My Favourite Widgets’ section of your dashboard, for ease of future ordering or checking active or past orders.

From time to time, you may need to inform your GP about things like holidays, where you may need an additional supply. With NowPatient we’ve made it possible for you to leave short notes for your GP when you place an order for your prescription such as ‘Please supply me an additional month’s supply to cover my holiday’.

Yes. When you place an order with NowPatient, we will keep you fully updated with the status of your order. Every time the status of your order changes, you will be notified immediately. These notifications will appear in your ‘My Notifications’ section on your dashboard. You can click the notification and it will take you to your active orders screen which will give you a timeline overview of the progress of your order. This can also be accessed using the ‘My Orders’ quick action widget which is on your dashboard. Here, you can access active and past orders.

All orders are shipped in discreet and unmarked packaging. This means it is suitable for delivery wherever you require (home, work, or a neighbour). For thermo-sensitive orders (e.g. Insulin or weight loss injections) we use cold chain-validated packaging. Your parcel will normally receive an estimated delivery window from the courier on the day of delivery.

For your protection and safety, your first order can only be delivered to the address that is registered with the NHS. Future orders can be delivered to any other address, for example, your workplace.

Yes. We use a specialist courier service for all thermo-sensitive deliveries. This is to ensure that cold chain integrity is always maintained and thus the product quality, safety and efficacy.

Learn more about how we handle the delivery of temperature sensitive products.

Yes. We use a specialist courier service for all controlled drug deliveries. This is to ensure safe custody is maintained.

We currently deliver to all UK postcodes. Some postcodes in rural areas may have a slightly longer delivery time.

We aim to ship all orders placed Monday – Friday before 3pm on the same day. Orders placed outside these times will be shipped the next working day. All deliveries are shipped with Royal Mail, DPD, or DHL who deliver Monday – Saturday.

Our delivery options have the following delivery times:

• Royal Mail Standard Tracked & Signed for Delivery for NHS prescriptions – 2/3 day delivery (normally 48 hours)
• DHL Express Tracked Delivery – 1/2 day delivery (normally 24 hours)
• Royal Mail Special Delivery – Next working day (Royal Mail Guaranteed before 1pm)

Delivery is normally made promptly after your dispatch notification is received. You can check the tracking details of your order in the ‘My Notifications’ section of your dashboard, at any point after dispatch.

Unfortunately, packages can sometimes get lost in the delivery system, if after 10 days you have not received your delivery, please contact us and we will do all we can to resolve the problem.

In cases where you have not received items that you were expecting, it is likely that the GP did not approve them.

This may be for several reasons such as:

• Your order was placed too early
• Your GP would like to review your medication with you directly
• Your treatment course has expired and is no longer repeatable

In any of the above cases, you should make direct contact with your GP.

You can get free NHS prescriptions if, at the time the prescription is dispensed, you:

• Are 60 or over
• Are under 16
• Are 16 to 18 and in full-time education
• Are pregnant or have had a baby in the previous 12 months and have a valid maternity exemption certificate (MatEx)
• Have a specified medical condition and have a valid medical exemption certificate (MedEx)
• Have a continuing physical disability that prevents you from going out without help from another person and have a valid medical exemption certificate (MedEx)
• Hold a valid war pension exemption certificate and the prescription is for your accepted disability
• Are an NHS inpatient

You’re also entitled to free prescriptions if you or your partner (including civil partner) receive, or you’re under the age of 20 and the dependant of someone receiving:

• Income Support
• Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance
• Income-related Employment and Support Allowance
• Pension Credit Guarantee Credit
• Universal Credit and meet the criteria

If you’re entitled to or named on:

• A valid NHS tax credit exemption certificate – if you do not have a certificate, you can show your award notice. You qualify if you get Child Tax Credits, Working Tax Credits with a disability element (or both), and have income for tax credit purposes of £15,276 or less
• A valid NHS certificate for full help with health costs (HC2)

People named on an NHS certificate for partial help with health costs (HC3) may also get help.

There’s a simple way to find out if you’re eligible for free NHS prescriptions and any help with other NHS costs. Use the eligibility checker.

A PPC (prepayment certificate) lets you get as many NHS prescriptions as you need for a set price, a bit like a season ticket for the bus. A PPC is valid for either 3 months or 12 months, depending on the type of certificate you buy. The prescription charge in England is currently £9.90 per item.

A PPC costs:

• £32.25 for 3 months
• £114.50 for 12 months

You can buy one online, or get more information from the NHS

We only use medication that is sourced, produced and packaged in the UK. We supply the brand recorded on the prescription. Should you need a specific brand contact us at [email protected] or inform your Doctor that you prefer a specific brand of medication so that they can add it to your prescription.

If you have been getting that same brand all the time, we will be able to see this on your patient record and ensure only that specific brand is provided.

The easiest way to do this is to go to your GP as usual and ask them to send your prescription by EPS to Infohealth Pharmacy (FM824). The request will then come to us, and we will process it, sending your items to you with no delivery charge.

If you have a paper prescription and you would like NowPatient to process it, you should ask your GP surgery to recreate it as an electronic message (EPS) and send it to us. Our provider code is FM824.

Alternatively, the surgery can mail the prescription to NowPatient c/o Infohealth Pharmacy, 28 Chipstead Valley Road, Surrey CR5 2RA.

No. NowPatient accounts are unique to each individual.

This service is commissioned by NHS England and is only available to patients in England. You will not be able to use the feature if you live in Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland.

No, you do not need to inform your GP. After you have created an account, we will automatically link your account to your GP. This allows you to view and order your available NHS repeat prescriptions from your NowPatient account.

Using NowPatient does not cost the NHS any more money than if you were to use a high street pharmacy. Every pharmacy in the country is paid a set fee for each item they dispense to the public. It is then up to that pharmacy what they do with that money.