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Prescription and dispensing records in community pharmacy

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Topics: Record keeping

Recommendations for the retention of records relating to prescriptions and the dispensing processes in community pharmacy.

This article forms part of a series
  1. Retaining and storing pharmacy records in England
    1. Additional services records in community pharmacy
    2. Clinical governance and patient safety records in pharmacy
    3. Clinical trial records in hospital pharmacy
    4. Controlled Drugs (CD) records in pharmacy
    5. Prescription and dispensing records in community pharmacy
    6. Prescription and dispensing records in hospital pharmacy
    7. Stock management, waste and recall records in pharmacy
    8. Supply and distribution records in pharmacy
    9. Technical service records in hospital pharmacy

Contents

  1. Using our advice
  2. Specific records
    1. Electronic Repeat Dispensing (eRD)
    2. Extemporaneously prepared externally supplied
    3. Patient Medication Record (PMR)
    4. POM Register
    5. POM-V and POM-VPS supply
    6. Private prescription
    7. Specials and unlicensed medicine supply
    8. Unlicensed import
  4. Update history

Using our advice

Community pharmacies create prescription and dispensing records to support the safe supply of medicines, continuity of care, reimbursement, audit and regulatory compliance.

Retention requirements may arise from legislation, the Records Management Code of Practice (RMCoP), or professional guidance.

Some records form part of the patient healthcare record and require longer retention than prescription records retained solely for pharmacy or reimbursement purposes.

Where multiple retention periods apply, organisations should normally retain records for the longest applicable period. See Retaining and storing pharmacy records in England (SPS page) for factors that may justify longer retention.

Specific records

Record description

Records such as repeat prescriptions, collection, tracking and interventions associated with supply.

Minimum retention time

  • retain records for at least 6 months after the final prescription in the batch has been collected

Supporting source

NHS England’s Electronic repeat dispensing (eRD) guidance does not state any retention period. This recommendation reflects established practice and supports audit, reconciliation and resolution of queries relating to repeat dispensing activity.

Record description

Records such as formulae, preparation, batch information, quality assurance, certificate of analysis, supply and labelling.

Minimum retention time

  • retain records for at least 5 years after supply

Supporting source

The Human Medicines Regulations 2012 provides advice to people supplying medicines under this exemption.

The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) guidance for registered pharmacies preparing unlicensed medicines also requires pharmacies to retain sufficient records to allow the preparation process to be reconstructed in the event of a recall or patient safety incident.

Record description

Records such as patient demographics, medication history, clinical interventions, allergy history, medicine supply and counselling.

Minimum retention time

  • retain clinical records relating to adults aged 18 years and over for at least 8 years
  • retain clinical records relating to children until their 25th birthday or until their 26th birthday if they were 17 years when the treatment ended
  • retain records relating to deceased patients for at least 10 years after death

Supporting source

The RMCoP advise treating these pharmacy records in the same way as patient records.

Record description

Records such as paper registers and digital registers.

Minimum retention time

  • retain records for at least 2 years

Supporting source

The Human Medicines Regulations 2012 require pharmacies to preserve prescriptions used for the sale or supply of a prescription-only medicine (POM).

Record description

Records such as veterinary prescriptions and animal medicine sales.

Minimum retention time

  • retain records for at least 5 years

Supporting source

The Veterinary Medicines Regulations 2013 require documentation and records relating to the supply of prescription only medicine – veterinarian (POM-V) and prescription only medicine – veterinarian, pharmacist, suitably qualified persons (POM-VPS) to be retained.

Record description

Records such as prescription and dispensing.

Minimum retention time

  • retain records for at least 2 years

Supporting source

The RMCoP advises private care records held by NHS organisations should be retained in accordance with the same principles as NHS records.

Record description

Records such as orders, certificates of analysis, certificates of conformity, purchase invoices, supply and product traceability.

Minimum retention time

  • retain records for at least 5 years

Supporting source

The Human Medicines Regulations 2012 require records relating to supplies made under this exemption.

The GPhC guidance for registered pharmacies preparing unlicensed medicines highlights the importance of retaining records to support reconstruction of supply in the event of recalls or patient safety incidents.

Record description

Records such as prescriber details, purchase invoices, supply and product traceability.

Minimum retention time

  • retain records for at least 5 years

Supporting source

The Human Medicines Regulations 2012 require records relating to supplies made under this exemption.

Community Pharmacy England guidance advises on retaining certificates of conformity and certificates of analysis for applicable unlicensed imports and specials.

Update history

  1. Republished
  2. Full review and update
  1. Link updated for the Records Management Code of Practice (RMCoP).
  1. Published