A patient medication record software for pharmacies, eclipsePMR, has successfully completed testing for electronic transmission of prescriptions (ETP) and will begin its first installation next week.
Michele Hulme, commercial director of Hadley Healthcare, said: "We have just passed the sandpit test. The next stage from that is putting the system live." The practice and the pharmacy, where the first installation will take place, are both located in northeast Lincolnshire.
Hadley Healthcare had been heavily involved with the initial ETP pilots, which ended in June 2003. "We have had the expertise in house built up with this experience," said Hulme, adding that this had been vital in developing the software to meet the needs of Connecting for Health.
"This is the exciting culmination of a great deal of hard work and many long hours put in by all involved. With this success, we have achieved our aim of ensuring that Eclipse pharmacies will be ready to process electronic prescriptions ahead of most others."
The eclipsePMR system is used in 700 sites across the UK and is the second to be accredited for ETP by Connecting for Health. The software is exclusively designed for use in community pharmacies.
Hulme added that she disagreed with director of NHS IT Richard Granger’s statements that electronic transfer of prescriptions may end up causing the closure of community pharmacies. "That would be the case if you took ETP in isolation," she said.
IT systems would be needed by pharmacies to cope with extra demands under the new pharmacy contracts, such as medication user review forms and reporting of patient safety incidents, she argued.
Hulme urged all pharmacies to start obtaining software compatible with ETP sooner rather than later, as otherwise there will be a rush of installations and suppliers may be unable to cope. "We know what’s going to happen. Pharmacists have got to have an ETP compliant system… People now need to start being a bit more proactive."
Although funding for new IT systems remains an outstanding issue, resolution should come with the announcement of the new pharmacy contracts.
"The clock is ticking for pharmacies without a compliant system, as within the not too distant future they will become unable to dispense NHS prescriptions," said Hulme.
Hulme added that she hoped the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee (PSNC) would look at changing their current advice to pharmacies to wait until the rollout of ETP becomes clearer.
Lindsay McClure, head of information services at PSNC, told E-Health Insider that the committee was waiting on information on the new pharmacy contracts due shortly, and they couldn’t comment any further.