“The Scan4Safety team has undertaken a review of the potential application of PEPPOL to transactions related to the purchasing of medicines by the NHS. To date, the prioritisation of the use of PEPPOL by the NHS has largely been limited to the six Scan4Safety demonstrator sites and is not widely used by other acute NHS trusts. This, and learnings from the implementation of PEPPOL for transactions related to the purchasing of medical and in-vitro diagnostic devices, has shown that the process changes required are complex and upgrading existing systems that are well-embedded takes significant time.
The pharmacy trading network is unique and well established in the NHS, with a small number of wholesalers providing the majority of medicines through ordering channels that have been in place for a significant period of time, meaning the potential transactional volume outside of this model is relatively limited and, given this context, we understand that suppliers will find it difficult to prioritise this work.
Given the above, and following discussions with the NHS and industry, the Department of Health and Social Care is extending the purchase-to-pay milestones in the compliance timelines for medicines manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors.
Milestones 4.1, 4.2 and 4.3, will now each be extended by 12 months. The new milestone dates are as follows:
1. Receive orders from NHS PEPPOL Access Points including where available GS1 GTIN and GLN data 30th September 2019
2. Send invoices to NHS PEPPOL access points 31st March 2020
3. Send invoices carrying GS1 GTIN and GLN data to NHS PEPPOL access points 30th September 2020
The Supplier Compliance Timeline for Medicines will be updated accordingly and made available via the DHSC Supplier Workspace.
