Last updated: June 2026 — explicit consent, forensic evidence capture, Evidence Summary download
This guide covers issuing and viewing electronically signed prescriptions through the GP Booking App (or Dental Booking App).
Navigate to the patient record from the Clinician Dashboard or Patient List.
Click Issue New Prescription — this opens the prescription form with the patient pre-selected.
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Medication | Start typing for SNOMED CT / dm+d autocomplete suggestions |
| Strength | e.g. 500mg, 0.1%, 10mg/5mL |
| Form | Select from dropdown (Tablets, Capsules, Liquid, etc.) |
| Quantity | Number of units to dispense |
| Dosage Instructions | e.g. "Take one tablet three times daily" — Be specific; "Take as directed" is a CQC red flag |
| Dispensing Route | Pharmacy, Patient, Postal, or Other |
| Pharmacy | Search by name, city or postcode (optional, with relevance-ordered results) |
| Clinical Notes | Encrypted notes for the pharmacist |
Toggle Issue Immediately (AES sign on save) — this triggers the digital signing process. Without this toggle, the prescription is saved as a Draft and will not be signed.
When toggled ON, a consent checkbox appears (required):
☐ I confirm I wish to electronically sign this prescription as the prescriber. I understand this is a legally binding Advanced Electronic Signature under the Human Medicines Regulations 2012.
You must check this box to proceed. This provides explicit evidence of intent (eIDAS Article 26).
Click Save Prescription. The system will:
From the patient record, click View on any prescription to see the full details. The detail page shows:
| Block | Fields |
|---|---|
| Prescriber | Name, qualifications (e.g. Medical Practitioner (GMC)), GMC number, practice name, address, contact email/phone |
| Patient | Full name, address, NHS number, DOB, age (if under 12) |
| Medication | Name, form, strength, quantity, SNOMED CT code, dosage instructions |
| Pharmacy | Name, ODS code |
| AES Signature | Digitally Signed status (green), signed timestamp, MFA Level (acr), Actor ID (Keycloak sub), Signing IP, User-Agent, Consent text & timestamp, PDF SHA-256 hash |
| Delivery | Delivery status |
Two download buttons are available on any signed prescription:
X-Content-SHA256: <hash> for tamper verification.Clinics with direct PostgreSQL access can query evidence via the clinical_data_prescription table's medication_details JSONB field:
SELECT id, medication_name,
medication_details->>'aes_prescription_id' AS aes_id,
medication_details->>'aes_status' AS status,
medication_details->>'aes_signed_at' AS signed_at,
medication_details->>'aes_pdf_sha256' AS pdf_sha256,
medication_details->>'aes_consent_text' AS consent,
medication_details->>'aes_client_ip' AS signing_ip
FROM clinical_data_prescription
WHERE medication_details->>'aes_status' = 'signed'
ORDER BY id DESC;
| Symptom | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| "Awaiting digital signature" | Clinician has no PKI certificate | Register the clinician in AES PKI (POST /certificates/issue) |
| "Signing Failed" | AES service unreachable or certificate mismatch | Check AES Portal admin dashboard for service health |
| "401 Unauthorized" | User session JWT expired or from unrecognised realm | Log out and log in again; system falls back to service account |
| PDF SHA-256 mismatch | PDF tampered after signing | The hash will differ from the stored evidence; investigate immediately |
| Prescription not appearing | Form error or network issue | Check logs in AES Portal admin dashboard |
| PDF download fails | File not found on AES disk | Retry prescription via AES Portal admin dashboard |
| Consent checkbox not visible | "Issue Immediately" toggle is OFF | Toggle it ON to reveal the consent checkbox |