Pharmacy Voice has welcomed the launch of interim report on the evaluation of Release Two of the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS), commissioned by the Connecting for Health evaluation programme.
The report, by the UCL School of Pharmacy, the University of Nottingham and the London School of Economics and Political Science covers the early stages of the roll-out of the EPS programme. Researchers studied the experiences of seven pairs of community pharmacies and GP practices that were participating in the early testing of the system.
Rob Darracott Chief Executive of Pharmacy Voice said:
“The report is a thoughtful reflection on the state of play five years after EPS was due to be delivered. Progress in some areas is noted but it’s clear that patients, pharmacies and general practices have yet to see significant benefits. Processes for smartcards and nominations still require further work.
“The failure to consult pharmacy properly at an early stage is plain for all to see – if there is one lesson that we can take from this project it is that as a profession we must take the initiative and set out, and then drive forward, our medium to long-term IT requirements, in order to meet our overall vision for community pharmacy
“The EPS project can not be allowed to stagnate at this point. We need to move further forwards, delivering, amongst others things: integration of the prescription charging process with social security databases; pharmacy access to electronic records; and real-time, transparent and accurate prescription reimbursement.”
“We are interested to hear the Department of Health’s views on the report and would be happy to meet to discuss this issue. Pharmacy Voice is also collecting evidence of how implementation progresses and we would be happy to share this information ahead of the final report.”
Pharmacy Voice will shortly be launching its IT strategy, as highlighted in Pharmacy Voice’s Prospectus for Better Health.