Realising the benefits of information technology in community pharmacy requires specific support for everyday practice, high quality service from suppliers, and training to cope with rapid change, according to the results of an evaluation project announced by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society on February 2.
The project had built on the winning idea in the Society's 1998 millennium competition, which focused on the use of IT to help community pharmacists pursue their own professional goals. During 1999, 11 pharmacists in London and Essex had been given a computer, internet access, a range of databases and on-line access to an information management service produced for general medical practitioners.
The evaluation, carried out for the Society by Professor Nick Barber and Dr Carl Martin (centre for pharmacy practice, School of Pharmacy, University of London), indicated that IT could overcome problems of isolation, improve any perceived lack of clinical knowledge and boost self confidence. It also appeared to allow pharmacists to offer a better service to patients.
An unexpected and positive finding had been the extent of IT use for self development. All participants felt that their clinical knowledge had increased. They had also used IT to support local projects, such as joining a local community health promotion initiative or developing a new service. One of the most frequent comments was "I wouldn't have been able to do this unless I'd had the new computer".
The report identified that, for IT benefits to be realised, several issues needed to be addressed: