Use of the EPS by community pharmacies is consistent and growing
The number of prescriptions being dispensed via release 1 of the electronic prescription service is consistent and growing ahead of release 2 of the service going live at early implementer sites this spring or summer, according to NHS Connecting for Health.
The latest data show that between 7 and 10 per cent of all EPS messages
each day are now being dispensed via the service — this is equivalent
to about 2 per cent of all prescriptions. “While this is less than
the number prescribed, it is consistent and growing,” said a spokesman
for NHS CfH.
Use of the service by pharmacists has been slow to start because of the
low volume of EPS prescriptions received as well as various problems
using the system. Participants in the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating
Committee’s local pharmaceutical committee conference last week
complained about slow download speeds and difficulties scanning barcoded
prescriptions.
An NHS CfH spokesman said that the delays some users may
have experienced in terms of download speeds are local issues rather
than ones that affect the whole service. “Users experiencing such
delays should report them to their system supplier in the first instance,” he
added.
On barcode problems, he added: “While there can be a variety of
reasons for not being able to scan a barcode, the most common one is
that the GP practice has not set their printer to the recommended minimum
resolution for printing. In this case, we recommend that the pharmacy
talks to their local GP practices to resolve the issues.”
About 80 per cent of pharmacies now have EPS software upgrades in place.
Other problems related
to the EPS were raised at the LPC conference (p345).
NPfIT savings Despite delays in its implementation, the National Programme
for IT is expected to deliver£1.14bn in savings by 2014, according to the Government’s
first annual
benefit statement, published last week.
Based on data from 20 per cent of trusts in England, a total of £208m has
been saved to 31 March 2007. Most of this is through delivery of the N3 network
and the use of digital imaging and scans.
The statement was published in response to a request from the National Audit
Office in its first progress report on the programme last year. The NAO is
preparing its second report on the NPfIT, which is due to be published in late
spring.
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