A community pharmacy and GP practice in west Wales are testing the use of 2D barcoded prescriptions for use in the electronic transmission of prescriptions (ETP).
The Welsh Community Pharmacy IM&T Programme, which has been running the trial since April, says early results have been very encouraging.
The ETP programme in Wales, known as 2DRx, will allow for the transfer of prescription data from GP practices to pharmacies using barcodes. A fully integrated electronic prescription service may follow subject to an option appraisal once the national IM&T architecture is put in place by Informing Healthcare.
In the 2DRx trial the GP system produces the printed prescription form in the usual manner which is handed to the patient. The printed information is also incorporated within a 2D barcode situated next to the white GP information box including patient details, GP details, medication information and the dm+d drug codes where present.
When the barcoded prescription is presented at the pharmacy it is scanned by a 2D scanner and the data is automatically imported into the pharmacy’s computer system, ready to be dispensed by the pharmacist.
The trial, which began is April, is also now evaluating different scanner devices with the help of three more community pharmacies.
A statement issued to EHI Primary Care by the Welsh Community Pharmacy IM&T Programme states: “Results from these additional pharmacy locations will provide crucial information regarding the most effective scanning solutions which is viewed as one of the critical points of success of the 2DRx solution.”
The control trial is set to be complete by the end of July and will be followed by an evaluation of its acceptance in the user community including speed, efficiency and effect on transcription errors.
The programme says that, if the trial results are considered acceptable, it will issue a technical specification for a national barcode scheme and a timetable for development.
At this stage the national barcode scheme is to become a joint development with Northern Ireland which is also adopting 2D barcodes as part of their own Electronic Prescribing and Eligibility System (EPES) project for delivering electronic prescriptions.