The system provides access to a dataset of all UK chemists via the AES Portal API. You can search and select the patient's preferred dispensing pharmacy when issuing a prescription.
The pharmacy list is maintained by the AES Portal and includes:
- Over 100+ UK pharmacies with ODS codes
- Pharmacy name, address, and postcode
- Active status and service availability
- On the prescription form, click the Pharmacy search field
- Start typing the pharmacy name or postcode
- The system returns matching results from the AES Portal dataset
- Select the correct pharmacy from the results
If the patient's preferred pharmacy does not appear, contact your Registered Manager to verify the pharmacy's ODS code and check the AES Portal configuration.
After a prescription is AES-signed, the selected pharmacy is automatically notified via email:
- Email is sent to
pharmacy.{ODS_CODE}@nhs.net
- Contains the prescription details including patient name, medication, and dosage
- Includes the AES signature evidence
In development/testing environments, pharmacy emails are captured by MailHog at http://localhost:8025.
Before issuing the prescription, verify:
- The pharmacy name and address match the patient's preference
- The pharmacy is within a reasonable distance for the patient
- The pharmacy accepts private prescriptions (most do)
- Ask the patient which pharmacy they wish to use before creating the prescription
- For Controlled Drugs, confirm the pharmacy stocks the medication before issuing
- Document the pharmacy selection in the clinical notes
- If the patient collects their medication, confirm collection arrangements