Thousands of patients to benefit from new way to pick up prescriptions at Boots UK

Boots UK is taking another step in its mission to make healthcare on the high street, convenient and accessible with the Doctor Care Anywhere (DCA) digital prescription service.

DCA provides thousands of online GP consultations each year and this new ePrescription service now gives patients the option to have their prescriptions sent electronically to a Boots Pharmacy within moments of their consultation.

The new service is being piloted in 20 Boots stores across central London.  Alia Zuhair, a Boots Pharmacist in the Euston Road, Kings Cross store, commented: “We see that patients are busy people but they also really value the opportunity to see a pharmacist and chat through their medicines. This service provides the best of both worlds – speedy service combined with the opportunity to speak with one of our trusted pharmacists. It takes away the need for paper prescriptions so is very simple and quick, giving patients more options to pick up their prescriptions at a time and place to suit them. The medicines will be waiting for them when they arrive.”

With 90% of the UK population being within 10 minutes of a Boots store, customers can access healthcare services on their local high street. Boots is the UK’s leading pharmacy, known for its convenience, accessibility and trusted advice. Now Boots UK is combining the valuable role that pharmacists play in giving care from within the community with digital innovation to make healthcare services quick and easy to access. More services and digital led solutions will be introduced throughout 2020.

Richard Bradley, Pharmacy Director at Boots UK, said: “We know our patients want convenient, simple solutions to manage and take control of their health. This new service makes for a modern pharmacy experience, using digital technology to seamlessly link GP consultations and prescriptions with our pharmacies.”

DCA will become the first provider of private ePrescriptions to Boots UK. Its Managing Director and Founder, Dr Bayju Thakar, said: “This is a major step towards delivering real change in how the UK’s pharmacy market works for everyone in order to make it a more patient-led experience, enabling people to decide where their prescriptions should be fulfilled in the swiftest and most efficient way. It places power in the hands of patients and it enables pharmacies to manage stock controls more effectively. I believe that this is the best of pharmacy convenience at work.”

DCA’s ePrescriptions provide a secure way to transfer prescriptions to the pharmacy as they can only be redeemed once. Patients can keep track of all their prescriptions through their digital patient record with DCA, which can be accessed whenever they need it.

Boots UK already offers a NHS repeat ePrescriptions service, so extending this service to private patients with DCA is a natural step to further increase accessibility and choice for customers.

Boots UK has been transforming how customers access healthcare by bringing together the convenience of online ordering with the care of over 6,500 pharmacists - creating a modern pharmacy experience. Recent innovations include:

• working together with NHS Digital and NHS England to develop a Free Online NHS Repeat Prescription Service, available through the Boots app and boots.com
• brand new prescription Express Pick Up lanes in around 600 stores

• a trial of secure prescription collection lockers in four Boots stores, which will give an alternative way for patients to pick up their medicines