Electronic version of minor ailments service goes live
How e-MAS works
A patient registers to use the e-MAS service with one pharmacy
and an electronic record of that registration is held on a central
server. The pharmacist prescribes for the patient using an electronic
CP1 prescription form. The prescribing information is then transferred
to the central server and sent electronically to National Services
Scotland for reimbursement purposes. |
Scotland’s minor ailments service took a step towards IT-enablement last week when the first electronic version went live.
The electronic minor ailments service (e-MAS) offers two advantages:
it means pharmacists can generate prescriptions using a computer (instead
of having to hand-write them) and it allows electronic registration of
patients to the service.
Toll Pharmacy in Prestwick, Ayrshire, was the first pharmacy to use an
e-MAS system, the module for which is manufactured by Cegedim
Rx. Nine
other pharmacy system suppliers are currently developing e-MAS modules.
Catherine Burns, pharmacist at Toll Pharmacy, said: “I was impressed
with the way the system worked. It means I can tell right away if a patient
is registered with us, and not having to hand-write prescriptions saves
time.”
A minor ailments service will be a core part of the new community
pharmacy contract in Scotland.
A paper-based version already operates in two health board areas, with
57,500 people in Ayrshire and Arran and 32,000 people in Tayside registered
to use it.
This week, a spokeswoman for the Scottish Executive Health Department
said: “This particular development will initially support those
community pharmacists providing MAS to patients in Ayrshire and Arran
and Tayside, but the benefits will eventually be Scotland-wide.” The
timescale for the roll-out of e-MAS is not yet decided.
Frank Owens, chairman of the Scottish Pharmaceutical General Council,
said that he was content that the e-pharmacy initiative continued to
make steady progress. “The SPGC is working closely with the SEHD
to identify ways in which IT might best support delivery of all the new
contract services in future,” he commented. |
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