Sussex Community NHS Trust pilots new EPMA interoperability standard

Sussex Community NHS Trust is trialling a new interoperability standard will which will see messaging between TPP’s SystmOne electronic prescribing and medicines administration (EPMA) solution and the CareFlow Medicines Management system.

The development will allow clinicians to electronically order medication on SystmOne and have it instantly available in CareFlow Pharmacy. Not only will the electronic transfer of orders significantly speed up the transmission of medication information across hospitals, but it will also improve safety and minimise the risk of errors.

Andrew Mikhail, principal pharmacist at Sussex Community NHS Trust, said: “This integration will bring great benefits to our patients in terms of safety and efficiency of the medicine supply process.”

He continued: “The integration will be a great support tool for our staff on the intermediate care units as it will enable them to order medication through a safe, efficient and fully auditable system. With a few clicks on S1 EPMA, our staff will be able to send orders directly to the CMM system, meaning they get processed in our dispensary in a timely fashion to ensure that the right patient receives the right medicine at the right time.”

The new integration will ensure that a closed-loop-medicines supply can be realised as EPMA FHIR API standards, published by NHS Digital, are used.

Clinical director at TPP, Dr John Parry, said: “The development of this standard encapsulates TPP’s commitment to providing safe and efficient hospital solutions whilst developing to national standards for interoperability.”

The trust will be initially rolling out the messaging at Uckfield Community Hospital with a view to rolling it out across all of the trust’s integrated care units in the future.

Steve Reggione, head of operations at CareFlow Medicines Management, added: “CareFlow Medicines Management congratulate TPP on implementing the interoperability interface and linking to our nationally acclaimed Pharmacy solution at Sussex Community NHS Trust. This is another great example of CMM working with leading NHS vendors in support of the national interoperable standards.”

Sussex Community is not the only trust using TPP’s EPMA. Last year Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust went live with the company’s EPMA in two of its mental health wards.