QicSCRIPT gets drug barcode scanning

System Solutions have announced that they have released a new version of their QicSCRIPT patient medication record software that allows users to scan the product barcodes of drugs they are dispensing to be automatically checked against the prescription.

The system, which will be compatible with NPfIT’s Electronic Prescription Service (EPS), bypasses the need for details about the drug dispensed to be inputted into the patient record. The pharmacist can then verify the correct drug and dosage is being dispensed to the patient.

David Raethorne, founding technical director of Systems Solutions, said: "Scanning at the point of dispensing will help pharmacists save valuable time through faster dispensing, safe in the knowledge that it will also reduce the potential for dispensing errors to occur.

"This will serve to increase the pharmacy’s overall clinical governance and, at the same time, create happier customers through the provision of a speedier service."

The implementation of EPS will result in an even faster workflow, said Raethron, as the prescription will be downloaded, the product will be scanned and the pharmacist will simply check the two match.

Systems Solutions claimed that they believed this was the first time pharmacy PMR software had been released with this capability in the UK, and added that they were planning future additions to QicSCRIPT.

QicSCRIPT is installed in a number of independent pharmacies, and a bespoke version of the software, called SmartScript, is installed in 1,400 branches of Boots.