The programme will see the team at CLEO Systems working with NHS England to roll out CLEO SOLO EPS - a stand-alone electronic prescribing solution – across pharmacies in England, enabling pharmacists in the community to prescribe for minor illnesses.

The aim of the Pathfinder programme is to support independent prescribing for patients in primary care. The programme anticipates the situation in September 2026, when all newly-qualified pharmacists will be registered as independent prescribers.

Up to 210 community pharmacy sites will be included in the pilot, across the 42 ICBs who all volunteered to participate. This programme will be the first to nationally fund pharmacists to use their independent prescribing qualification.

ICBs across England have approved 13 pathfinder clinical models to cover a range of treatments including minor ailments, hypertension, respiratory, contraception, cardiovascular disease/lipids, dermatology, prescription management, antidepressant review, deprescribing, women's health, long-term care management, anticoagulation and sexual health.

The team at CLEO Systems has worked with NHS England to specify and test the solution, including the testing of clinical models.

 NHS England says CLEO SOLO EPS, which digitises the process of creating FP10 prescriptions, is achieving 'remarkable benefits' for users where it has been deployed.

Richard Burton, commercial director at CLEO Systems, said: 'We are looking forward now to providing the technology that will enable pharmacists to prescribe in the community, and to monitoring the positive impact on the health system and on patient experience.'