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A new electronic prescription service will be rolled out across Wales in the new year.

The new service will allow GPs to send prescriptions online to the patient’s choice of pharmacy, without the need for a paper form.

It will mean GPs no longer have to physically print, sign, and hand a green paper prescription form to the patient or wait for it to be taken to a pharmacy.

The Welsh Government has said the move will save up to 40 million paper forms from being printed each year.

The service was launched in Rhyl, Denbighshire, on Thursday November 16, with the rest of Wales set to follow.

Wales’ health minister, Eluned Morgan, described it as the “start of an exciting digital transformation” that will “completely change the way prescriptions are managed in primary care” – and said it “streamlines a process that has not altered significantly in decades”.

The minister continued: “Electronic prescriptions will make a huge difference to the NHS and patients and is a major milestone in our journey towards digitising every prescription in every healthcare setting across Wales.”

Speaking about the why the scheme is being introduced in Rhyl before a gradual national rollout, Wales’ chief pharmaceutical officer, Andrew Evans, said: “It is critical these changes are introduced safely, which is why this live phase of testing is so important.”

Caerphilly’s Labour MS, Hefin David, welcomed the move to electronic prescriptions and said it will “take substantial pressure off GPs, pharmacies and patients”.

Dr David continued: “I’ve spoken with local pharmacies on this and the feeling is generally very positive. I will continue to work with them and other partners to support them through the changes, which will inevitably come to us here in Caerphilly in the future.”