Midlands Partnership and Cleo collaborate on Y-codes within EPS

A first-of-type pilot from Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust and Cleo Systems has seen additional cost centres (Y-codes) within the electronic prescription solution, Cleo SOLO EPS.

The new functionality addresses the standardisation of the cost code charging model across primary and secondary care. The format of EPS request messages has been standardised to a single FHIR message format, supporting NHS Business Services Authority’s ability to identify the appropriate cost codes. This allows it to charge back to the correct healthcare service.

Cleo SOLO EPS was initially piloted at Midlands Partnership in 2022. It digitises the process of sending prescriptions to community pharmacies and has helped make significant improvements to operational efficiencies and to clinical safety.

The new development means NHS Business Services Authority can identify the appropriate Y-code in additional to the original ODS code, as part of the product’s initial first-of-type accreditation.

Colin Jones, head of pharmacy digital improvement & innovation, said: “MPFT are delighted to be collaborating again with CLEO Systems and NHS England to bring in this new functionality initially to our heart failure and diabetes services with substantial positive impact.  The success of this means we can share the benefits with our other physical health service prescribers and service users.”

The EPS has allowed Midlands Partnership to provide some virtual appointments for service users – who are spread over a large geographical area. This means it can save time on travel and allows its staff to facilitate more timely appointments and medication changes for patients.

Karen Ventura, product director, Cleo Systems, said: “The team at Cleo Systems have been hard at work enabling our customers to meet and exceed requirements, in this case looking at the standardising of FHIR messaging to support multiple EPS cost centres. We are delighted to have worked collaboratively with NHS England and MPFT to ensure that even more healthcare teams can realise the benefits of Cleo SOLO EPS.”