“FS” Prescriber Endorsement for Sexual Health Treatment
We have been asked to remind pharmacies about the prescriber endorsement ‘FS’ for the free supply of sexual health treatment.
Existing legislation under the NHS Act 2006 provides for free-of-charge (FOC) treatment for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). In the past there was no mechanism or operational arrangement for exempting patients from the prescription charge, where these treatments for an STD were supplied on an NHS FP10 prescription form. When new versions of NHS prescription forms and EPS Tokens were introduced in England in January 2020, one of the changes made was to introduce the ‘FS’ prescriber endorsement to enable prescribers to indicate that a product is being prescribed for the treatment of a sexually transmitted infection (STI) and therefore can be provided to the patient FOC on a FP10 form.
The initials ‘FS’ and the prescriber’s signature should be annotated by hand alongside the item being prescribed for STI treatment. Where a prescriber has endorsed ‘FS’ against an item on a prescription, the patient does not need to make a declaration and sign the reverse of the FP10 form or provide any evidence of entitlement for FOC STI treatment. This is because legislation does not require a patient, or their representative, to make a declaration or sign a form to receive FOC sexual health medication (or contraceptives). All paper FP10 prescription with the prescriber ‘FS’ endorsement should be placed in the red separator for end of the month submission.
Please ensure your teams are aware.
