What's New?

Pharmacy Manager Release 17.2

Summary of Changes

Pharmacy Manager release 17.2 introduces the following features and improvements:

All Countries

  • Pharmacy Manager Dashboard - The Intelligent Dashboard is updated with the following tiles:

    • Bottom Left - A new tile detailing how to contact our Service Desk via WhatsApp for quick support.

      See Contacting Us for Support for details.
    • Bottom Right - A What's New tile with a link to the Pharmacy Manager Help Centre to learn more about the new features and enhancements included in this version of Pharmacy Manager.

England Only

  • New Prescriptions Workflow - Ready To Claim List - As the final step in the new Dispensing workflow, we have introduced the new To Claim screen, simplifying the process of identifying and managing electronic prescriptions that have been downloaded from the NHS Spine, checked for accuracy, collected by the patient and are now ready for claiming. The To Claim screen provides a clear overview of all claimable prescriptions, along with any required actions, all in one centralised location.

    What this means for you:

    • Enhanced visibility - Clear visibility of exemption status, dispensing notifications, and endorsement details.

    • Effortless bulk claiming - Submit multiple claims directly from the screen with a single action.

    • End-of-day efficiency - No more scanning tokens or duplicating work - claim processing is now faster, simpler, and fully digital.

    This update reduces manual steps, minimizes errors, and ensures a smoother, more efficient claiming process for your team.

  • CRx Chat: Smarter, Real-Time Patient Communication - This release introduces CRx Chat, our new SMS integration for Pharmacy Manager. The new system, which can work alongside Handout Manager, enables pharmacies to send real-time SMS notifications to patients, freeing up pharmacy staff for other business critical tasks and improving the overall patient experience and communication.

    Key features in this release include:

    • A new Settings screen for managing SMS options, including patient exclusions, message content, and message send hours.

    • The ability to enable or disable SMS notifications triggered by the Scan to Shelf action.

    • Manual SMS sending from the Prescriptions - Patient Ready screen in the New Dispensing Workflow.

    • Manual SMS sending from the Uncollected Bags screen in Handout Manager.

      See Uncollected Bags for details.
    • Manual SMS sending from the Patient Details screen.

    • The ability to 'opt-out' patients, with all patients opted in by default.

    See CRx Chat and CRx Chat FAQs for details on activating SMS at your pharmacy.
  • Accuracy Check - Work smarter with a more flexible and efficient Accuracy Check experience. These enhancements provide more flexibility and control over your accuracy check process, enabling you to work more efficiently and effectively:

    • Complete Accuracy Check - To ensure every accuracy check is properly completed, the SAVE AND CLOSE option is now disabled once all items are checked. This prevents tasks from being saved without formally marking the check as complete. Instead, you must click COMPLETE ACCURACY CHECK to finalise the task. This ensures no steps are missed and maintains the integrity of your workflow.

    • Keyboard Shortcuts - The Accuracy Checking module now supports keyboard navigation, allowing you to complete tasks more efficiently without using your mouse. You can use keyboard shortcuts to navigate through the module and complete tasks.

    • Patient History Audit Update - The Patient History Audit screen now includes a new field to record the reason for approval as part of an accuracy check. This enhancement provides a clear audit trail and improves transparency in the approval process.

      See Patient History Audit for details.
  • Endorsement Confirmation Not Required For Tariffed Items - A new Skip Endorsement For Tariffed Items option is now available in the Pharmacy Details - EPS - Endorsing tab.

    When enabled, this setting automatically skips endorsement confirmation prompts for EPS prescriptions where an endorsement is not required by the NHSBSA, and the exemption does not require additional confirmation, for example if the patient is age or RTEC exempt.

    Note - All items on the prescription must be in tariff parts VIIIA, IXA, IXB, or IXC for the endorsement to be skipped.

    What this means for you:

    Fewer interruptions, faster dispensing, and greater accuracy - endorsement confirmations are now skipped automatically for eligible tariffed prescriptions, reducing unnecessary steps without compromising compliance.

    See Pharmacy Details - EPS for details.
  • Electronic Repeat Dispensing - Next Iteration Requests Now Automatic - With the new Request Next Repeat On Notify option in Pharmacy Details - EPS - General, your pharmacy can now automatically trigger the download of the next repeat prescription when an EPS repeat dispensing script is marked as collected.

  • In Progress Prescriptions - The In ProgressPrescriptions screen now includes a Dispense Date column, which can be sorted to prioritise items that have been awaiting accuracy checks for the longest time.

  • Patient Ready - We have made significant improvements to the Patient Ready screen to streamline prescription collection and token management:

    • Patient Ready Items - The Patient Ready Prescriptions screen now includes an Items Ready column. Select the hyperlink to view a summary of the items that are ready for collection, allowing you to see at a glance which items are ready.

    • Print Individual Prescription Tokens - You can now select and print individual prescription tokens from the Patient Ready screen.

    • Print All Prescription Tokens - You can now print all prescription tokens for a patient with multiple prescriptions ready to collect in a single step.

  • Pharmacy Manager Dashboard - The Intelligent Dashboard is updated with the following tiles:

    • Top Left - A tile with a link to the Cegedim Rx website to learn more about Pharmacy Services.

    • Top Right - A New World Of Dispensing tile now takes you directly to the New Dispensing screens (this replaces the The Dispensing Evolution has Begun tile).

Integrated Functionality

Online Doctor - We updated the handling of private prescription pricing for Online Doctor dispenses:

  • Private Prescription Price - The private prescription price is no longer printed on Online Doctor bag labels, and is now the default for all online doctor dispenses.

  • Private Prescription Cost - The private prescription cost is now set to £0 by default as the patient has already paid.

Note - You can still manually override the cost if needed, but the default ensures accuracy, reduces confusion, and aligns with the patient’s actual payment status.

Beta Features

Beta features are released early for testing by a small number of users to gather feedback and improve them before a full rollout. You’ll be notified when a beta feature becomes available to you.

  • Pharmacy Services Contraception Label Prompts - When dispensing medication to female patients, a check is now performed to assess potential eligibility for a Pharmacy Contraception Service consultation. If eligible, an additional label displaying 'Potential Pharmacy Contraception Service Candidate' is automatically printed alongside the item labels. This label serves as a prompt to initiate a consultation - enabling you to discuss service availability, eligibility, and next steps.

    Eligibility is determined automatically at the point of dispensing based on:

    • The patient’s gender (female),

    • A recorded history (including the current item) of any eligible contraception medication within the last 12 months,

    • And age criteria: under 55 for Progestogen-Only Pills (POP), under 50 for combined oral contraceptives (COC).

    The label only prints for patients who meet all criteria, ensuring no eligible patient is missed. This automated check supports timely, consistent identification of candidates - helping you deliver the Pharmacy Contraception Service with minimal effort.

    What This Means for You:

    • You’ll now automatically see a clear visual cue at the point of dispensing when a patient may be eligible for the Pharmacy Contraception Service.

    • This enhances service uptake, ensures consistency across your pharmacy, and supports your role in delivering NHS-funded community Pharmacy Services.

  • Golden Tote - You can now create a bag and print out Handout Manager bag labels from Pick2Prescription when you complete a clinical check in Pick2Prescription and there are no local items to process.

Previous Releases