Future of e-pharmacy is outlined for Scotland
Some pharmacies in Scotland are already connected to the NHSnet |
How e-pharmacy in Scotland will be developed was described this week by the Scottish Executive Health Department.
The emphasis has been on developing a generic infrastructure that will
underpin
e-applications that allow pharmacists to provide the elements that will
be in the new community pharmacy contract. At the heart of this infrastructure
is a Scottish Clinical Information Prescription Store, or the e-pharmacy
store, which will control the encrypted messages sent between the computer
systems of GP surgeries, community pharmacies and the Common Services
Agency. The e-pharmacy store will be fully implemented during 2004–05.
Connection of all community pharmacies to the NHSnet is an essential
part of the electronic infrastructure and will be completed by March
2005.
Another part of the infrastructure required is a common drug dictionary
to allow communication between GP and pharmacy computer systems and the
CSA. A UK-wide drug dictionary is being developed by the Prescription
Pricing Authority.
Three elements within the new community pharmacy contract that the e-pharmacy
programme supports are an acute medication service, a minor ailments
service and a chronic medication service. For the acute medication service,
electronic transfer of prescriptions (ETP) will be used. A GP will transmit
an acute prescription electronically to the e-pharmacy store that can
be pulled down by a pharmacist at the request of the patient. The next
version of the GP software GPASS, to be launched next month, will include
the ETP module as standard.
The minor ailments scheme currently in operation in Scotland uses a paper-based
system. The next stage will be the introduction of a central patient
registration system. The plan is for patient registration data and the
prescriptions written by pharmacists to be transmitted to the e-pharmacy
store so that it can link to a future automated payment process. The
speed at which this happens depends on the pharmacy system suppliers
and the Scottish Executive says that discussions with the main suppliers
have been constructive. It is possible that a full electronic minor ailments
service could be operated across Scotland in early 2005 with complete
coverage in 2006.
The chronic medication service, which incorporates serial dispensing
and pharmaceutical care model schemes, is currently being piloted using
a paper system. The electronic version will involve a GP producing a
special prescription transmitted via ETP to the e-pharmacy store for
the pharmacist to pull down.
In hospitals, national standards for electronic prescribing and medicines
administration systems have been drafted. A pilot to evaluate these standards
is being developed. |
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Pharmaceutical Journal
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