NHS Online Pharmacy

Requesting your medication from your GP using NowPatient is quick and easy. Simply log into the NowPatient app using your browser or App. Next, go to the NHS online pharmacy feature, select the medication that you need, and continue to checkout. This will send a request to be approved by your GP, a process that may take up to 72 hours, depending on your GP.

Once the prescription is received, we will dispense the medication and prepare it for delivery. At all times we will send you notifications of the status of your order. When the medication leaves our pharmacy, we will send you a final notification along with the tracking details.

For your protection and safety, we can only deliver your first order to an address that is registered with the NHS. After the first time, you will be able to select another address, for example, your workplace.

Yes. You will need to create individual accounts for each family member, with different e-mail addresses associated with each account.

NowPatient accounts are unique to each individual, therefore only one e-mail address can be associated with an account.

To be able to use NowPatient, you must be registered with a GP Practice in England.   

We will require the following information to complete your registration

• First and last name
• Date of birth
• Home address
• Address of your GP surgery
• 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.

No, you do not need to inform your GP that you are nominating NowPatient.

The NowPatient NHS Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) is currently only available in England. You will not be able to use the feature if you live in Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland.

At present you can only nominate one pharmacy to receive all your electronic prescriptions, however, your nominated pharmacy can be switched at any time. 

By nominating a pharmacy, you are effectively choosing a preferred pharmacy to dispense your medications.  

If you have already nominated a pharmacy, it’s quick and easy to change. When you register with NowPatient we will handle the nomination process for you. You do not need to inform your existing pharmacy. 

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

By registering with NowPatient you are bound to nominate us for your pharmacy services, however, not doing so will render your account restricted to non-NHS pharmacy services only.

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 works with your NHS login account to make access to NowPatient NHS services even more simple and easier.

If you already have a verified NHS login account, you can use your credentials to register with NowPatient and access your NHS prescriptions through NowPatient.

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

Once your NHS login account has been verified once, you will not need to provide this information again.

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

If you have verified NHS login credentials, you can use those credentials to access NowPatient services.

Simply open our NowPatient App, or visit NowPatient, enter your email address, and then select log in using the blue NHS login button. Remember, you will need to use the same email address and password as your NHS login account.

We recommend that you manage and request your prescriptions directly from the NowPatient app.  NowPatient’s other services, which are not available on the NHS app, rely on up-to-date information, which we would not have if you ordered using the NHS app.

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

No, you can register for NowPatient services with a username and password instead of using NHS login.

If you wish to revert to using NowPatient credentials instead of NHS login, then you will need to complete a request.  You can do this using directly from the NowPatient app. 

Once we receive the request, it can take up to 72 hours to effect the change.  We will unlink your NHS login account and move you to a NowPatient email-only account.

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).

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

Yes. We use a specialist courier service for all thermo-senstive deliveries.

Yes. We use a specialist courier service for all controlled drug deliveries.

We use tracked services for all our deliveries. We will send you notifications with your tracking details when your NHS or private treatment is dispatched. This information is also available in the NowPatient app.

Delivery is normally made very promptly after your dispatch notification is received. You can check the tracking details of your parcel in your account at any point after dispatch for an update on your delivery status.

Unfortunately, sometimes packages can 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.

All orders are packed in discreet and unmarked packaging, so are suitable to be delivered to wherever you require (home, work, or a neighbor). For thermo-sensitive orders (e.g. Insulins) we use cold chain-validated packaging. Your parcel will normally receive an estimated delivery window from the courier on the day of delivery.  For NHS prescriptions, the first order can only be delivered to the address registered with your GP/NHS. Subsequent orders can be delivered to a nominated address of your choice.  This is to ensure that we have verified who you are.

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.

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.

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 from the NowPatient app, such as ‘Please supply me an additional month’s supply to cover my holiday’.

If not all your items have been delivered, it is likely that the GP has not signed certain items off. This may be for several reasons, usually that it is too soon since your last installment of medicines, they would like to review the prescription with you directly or the prescribed course has expired. If this happens, we will continue to chase outstanding items on your behalf, but we may be in touch to direct you on any actions that you need to take.

If you have a paper prescription you should ask your surgery to recreate it as an EPS one and send it to us. Alternatively, the surgery can fax a copy of it to us and also place it in the post to NowPatient c/o Infohealth Pharmacy, 28 Chipstead Valley Road, Surrey CR5 2RA.

NowPatient c/o Infohealth Pharmacy will remain your nominated pharmacy until you actively transfer your nomination to somewhere else.

The Yellow Card Scheme allows you to report suspected side effects from a medicine, vaccine, or medical device in the UK. You can report side effects on the Yellow Card website. The Yellow Card Scheme is run by the medicines safety watchdog, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

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 £9.35 per item.

A PPC costs:

• £30.25 for 3 months
• £108.10 for 12 months

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

An internet pharmacy, such as NowPatient, is one that allows you to order your medications online and have them delivered to your door, saving you the time and inconvenience of going to your GP or local pharmacy to pick them up.

The Summary Care Record (or SCR) is an electronic record of important patient information, created from GP medical records. It can be seen and used by authorized staff in other areas of the health and care system involved in the patient’s direct care. Our pharmacists regularly access SCRs to improve the timeliness and safety of care given to patients.

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 your GP does not use EPS it may be more difficult to fulfill your order. Please contact us at support@nowpatient.com to discuss your situation.

Either you are too early ordering your prescriptions from your doctor or you are due a check-up by your doctor. Do not worry, NowPatient will notify you when we do not receive your prescription and also when you are due a check-up from your GP.

Please note that requests made on the weekend or on bank holidays can take longer as GP surgeries tend to be closed during these times.

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 support@nowpatient.com or inform your Doctor that you prefer a specific brand of medication.

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.