More than 1,500 smartcards issued to community pharmacists but concerns over delays remain
Pharmacists should keep a daily log of all staff who have operated
the EPS |
In excess of 1,500 smartcards have now been issued to community pharmacists, according to NHS Connecting for Health. All community pharmacists in England will eventually need a smartcard to access the electronic prescription service (EPS).
NHS CfH intends to publish information about the number of smartcards
issued to community pharmacists on its website (www.connectingforhealth.nhs.uk)
in the near future.
However, the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee continues
to be concerned about delays in issuing smartcards in some primary care
trust areas. This, it says, may result in contractors paying increased
ongoing costs for connectivity and maintenance of EPS release 1 compliant
systems without being able to claim the EPS allowance. “Some pharmacy
contractors are already in this situation. In planning system upgrades
to support electronic transmission of prescriptions, contractors should
give consideration to timescales given by PCTs in issuing cards in a
particular locality,” said Lindsay McClure, head of information
services at the PSNC.
During release 1 of the EPS, only community pharmacists will be issued
with smartcards. NHS CfH says that it is good practice for community
pharmacists to keep a daily log of who has operated the EPS using their
smartcard so that an audit trail of users exists. An audit via the EPS
can only show which pharmacist’s smartcard was present in the system,
not the member of staff using it.
“It is expected that pharmacists will only allow their card to
be used when they are the supervising pharmacist. It would be inappropriate
for
them to leave their card in the care of someone else if, for example,
they are away on holiday,” a spokesman for NHS CfH told The
Journal.
He added that if the EPS is used improperly, such as the wrong information
being deliberately entered, then the pharmacist whose smartcard was logged
on to the service at the time will be accountable. “However, there
is a distinction between activities undertaken in the EPS for which the
pharmacist whose smartcard is logged into the service would be held accountable
and the physical act of dispensing and handing the medication to the
patient, which is a separate one of professional responsibility (and
is the same as exists now),” he added.
General information for contractors on the process for issuing smartcards
can be found in the pharmacy
IT section of the PSNC website.
Information on local arrangements for the issue of cards is included. |
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