GOODBYE PAPER PRESCRIPTIONS?
Weighing up the digital shift.
imperative that older people or people who choose not to use smart phones will still be able to order prescriptions in another way,” said Eoghan.
“I think a more important question is whether e-prescribing will result in better patient care. I can’t see that happening. Easier access to medicines without addressing the root cause of disease is a bit like using a bigger bucket to empty the water out of a slowly sinking boat without plugging the growing hole below the waterline,” he said.
A spokesperson for Community Pharmacy Northern Ireland said following the Department of Health’s year-long pause in community pharmacy and general practice involvement in the e-Pharmacy programme, the awarding of £42m Public Sector Transformation Funding in May has resulted in both professions being asked to resume their input into the programme.
“The e-solutions proposed will result in significant operational change across both sectors and naturally, community pharmacy teams will be keen to learn more about the programme directly from DoH(NI) and SPPG officials.
Northern Ireland is taking a major step towards bringing prescribing into the digital age, with the Department of Health investing £42m in an e-Pharmacy programme to move away from the current paper-based prescription system.
The ambition is for prescriptions to be sent electronically from GP practices and other prescribers to community pharmacies, reducing paperwork and streamlining the process for both patients and pharmacy teams.
But what will electronic prescribing actually mean on the ground for those working in community pharmacy? We asked those working in the sector what they make of the plans and what they think the move to electronic prescribing could mean for their day-to-day practice.
More efficient transfer
John McGuigan, a pharmacist at Bradley’s Pharmacy, said patients would hopefully see a more efficient transfer of prescriptions from their GP to the pharmacy.
“This will hopefully make their medicines available quicker. The risks will be ensuring sufficient online protection for data transfer and ensuring robust management systems to help protect Community Pharmacy.”
Eoghan O’Brien, pharmacist and owner of Bannside Pharmacy already uses the Titan PMR system, which is widely used in England and the first platform to be entirely paperless. He said the introduction of e-prescribing should “radically improve” the efficiency of daily dispensing and service delivery - but only if it is set up on
the right platform and connects all aspects of dispensing and prescribing. He is hopeful its introduction will put an end to twice weekly prescription collections from health centres over a 10-mile radius.
“Hand writing record sheets and paper prescriptions for Pharmacy First services, smoking cessation and minor conditions is laborious so this process must be part of e-prescribing,” he said.
He said a rapid connection with electronic care records was also required so pharmacists had access to patient conditions and medication and could upload pharmacy interventions. Eoghan’s main concern is the increased efficiency brought about by e-prescribing may lead to a cut in funding for community pharmacy dispensing, coupled with an expectation to deliver more services without any additional resources being provided. He is also worried that electronic remuneration may not catch up with concessionary drug prices.
Ordering repeat prescriptions
He believes e-prescribing should make life easier for pharmacies and patients in the short term.
“Patients will need an app or website that they can use to order repeat prescriptions that will seamlessly send the request to the health centre and on to the nominated pharmacy. It is also
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“Pharmacy teams, as well as CPNI, will be seeking assurances that any roll-out of the e-services digital platform and the electronic transfer of prescription system meet all information governance and legal requirements associated with the sharing of patient data across different sectors. In the case of ETP (Electronic Transfer of Prescriptions), commitments are needed that the potential sharing of patient data across jurisdictions also complies with all relevant cross jurisdictional information governance and legal requirements, and does not create unintended consequences for patients or the community pharmacy sector in Northern Ireland.”
“The risks will be ensuring sufficient online protection for data transfer and ensuring robust management systems to help protect Community Pharmacy.”
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