In common with other fields, the development of IT is likely to have an increasingly significant impact on the delivery of pharmacy services. The NPA works with Governments, national IT programmes and pharmacy IT suppliers to represent the views of its members.
EPS in England
The NPA has made its position on EPS very clear, publicly and repeatedly. Consistently we have insisted on guarantees that EPS will work technically, be business functional, improve service delivery at pharmacies, and is safe for patients, before full roll-out can be contemplated. The other pharmacy bodies have made similar calls.
At the same time we have encouraged NPA members to arrange necessary upgrades, to test functionality and to report any problems to system suppliers.
When a pharmacist encounters a problem with EPS, it is often difficult to pin down precisely where the failure lies in each instance – whether with the PMR system, or the spine, or indeed elsewhere in the chain. One thing we do know is the fault does not lie with community pharmacists – but you can be sure that they will get the blame from patients if an inadequate and even dangerous system is put into operation on the front line.
Specifically at this time, we need NHS Connecting for Health to ensure that the assessment of EPS Release 2 pilots includes operational functionality – i.e. the user and patient experience. A test merely of technical functionality will inevitably be incomplete, and totally unacceptable to the NPA as a basis for roll-out.”
Scotland
IT functionality for electronic transfer of messages is fundamental to Scottish pharmacy, as it is already used in the Minor Ailments Service, in the provision and payment for Acute Medication Service and now being piloted with the Chronic Medication Service (CMS). The use of NHSmail is well established, particularly in the independent sector of community pharmacy and at present a patient's emergency care summary can be accessed by community pharmacists but not electronically.
The NPA is calling for the assessment of CMS to include operational functionality - i.e. the user and patient experience.
Northern Ireland
Functionality is still being tested in NI. Recent problems in communicating information quickly and effectively about the swine flu pandemic to community pharmacists in NI has highlighted the need for investment in the overall IT infrastructure. A recent announcement by Health and Social Services (HSC) Business Services Organisation (BSO) on behalf of Department of Health (DHSSPS) to provide funding for community pharmacists to install or maintain their broadband systems to support an antiviral stock distribution process during the pandemic has been welcomed. A regional stock management ICT system has been developed (hosted within the HSC IT network) to allow pharmacists to report antiviral usage and thus have stocks replenished from regional supplies. This will allow for rapid communication between stakeholders on issues relevant to the pandemic.
Wales
98% of GP practices are now able to produce 2D bar coded prescriptions which have now become the norm. Developments continue on pharmacy systems. Electronic Transfer of Claims and NHS email addresses are being progressed. The NPA supports the Pharmacy Task & Finish Group recommendation that the focus should now be on pharmacy access to the Integrated Health Record and electronic communication with GP practices.
