Partnership working is key to successful launch of an electronic prescription service in Wales
30 November 2023
Collaborative working has been key to the successful launch of the electronic prescription service (EPS) in Wales.
The Digital Medicines Transformation Portfolio (DMTP) has worked closely with key partners in the NHS and industry to deliver the new service at pace – just 20 months after starting.
This partnership approach has ensured that patients in Rhyl are the first to benefit from EPS, which allows GPs to send prescriptions electronically to the patient’s choice of community pharmacy, without the need for a paper form.
DMTP, which is hosted by Digital Health and Care Wales, worked closely with NHS England who provided the core EPS platform which has been developed for use in Wales. The NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership worked alongside this development, updating its systems to incorporate digital reimbursement to pharmacies and to put smartcard security in place.
Fintan Grant, NHS England’s Deputy Director of Digital Delivery for Digital Medicines, said:
“NHS England is proud to work with Digital Health and Care Wales to ensure the benefits of using the Electronic Prescription Service can be realised by patients and frontline NHS colleagues across Wales.
“The first go-live is always a major milestone and follows significant effort, ambition and will from a number of organisations, teams and third party suppliers. I congratulate all involved with this first step in the rollout.”
The work to deliver electronic prescriptions in Wales is complex and involves 16 suppliers of pharmacy and GP IT systems. Each supplier is required to modify their systems to be able to send and receive electronic prescriptions securely in Wales.
To support this and other innovations, DMTP partnered with Life Sciences Hub Wales and, on behalf of Welsh Government, established the Community Pharmacy System Innovation Fund to provide grants to suppliers of community pharmacy systems in Wales.
Cari-Anne Quinn, Chief Executive Officer, at Life Sciences Hub Wales, said:
“It’s fantastic that electronic prescription services are now directly benefitting people in Wales thanks to ongoing work including the Community Pharmacy System Innovation Fund.
“Life Sciences Hub Wales has worked in partnership with DMTP - with our organisation managing the Fund and award process – helping suppliers of community pharmacy systems to develop their systems to use electronic prescription services.”
Invatech Health’s Titan pharmacy system and EMIS GP system supplier are the first to get their systems ready to go live with EPS in Wales.
Tariq Muhammad, Chief Executive Officer of Invatech Health Ltd said: “This is a really important milestone in our journey to support the advance of health services in Wales. We are so pleased to play our part in helping bring this technology to Wales and are looking forward to making this available to the whole of Wales to benefit patients, pharmacists, and doctors alike.”
Dr Shaun O’Hanlon, EMIS Group Chief Medical Officer, said:
“We are absolutely delighted to have been able to support the Welsh Government’s commitment to digitalise prescriptions with our technology. We’ve worked closely with the teams at Digital Medicines Transformation Portfolio to implement the new electronic prescription service and we’re delighted to hear from practice staff and patients alike that the new service is already starting to save time and provide a better service for patients.
“The project also includes tech to support further development and the introduction of smartcards for Wales too, which represents a big step in the digitisation programme.”
The new EPS service is currently in a live testing phase, ahead of a phased roll out across Wales as quickly and safely as possible from January 2024.
The service brings benefits to patients, GP surgeries, pharmacies and the environment, saving up to 40 million paper forms from being printed each year.
Professor Hamish Laing, Senior Responsible Owner for the Digital Medicines Transformation Portfolio, said:
“Today is a big achievement and a key step on our journey to digitalise prescriptions and medicines management in Wales. We have seen a real desire and commitment from GPs and community pharmacies to adopt this and from the software companies involved to make the necessary changes to their systems as soon as possible.
“The support from colleagues in NHS England and NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership has also made a major contribution, incorporating digital reimbursement to pharmacies and putting security measures in place. Our collaborative approach, placing people at the centre and working closely with clinicians, patients and industry suppliers ensures we are delivering a service that meets the needs of all who use it.”
Electronic prescribing is one part of a wider commitment by Welsh Government to introduce digital medicines and e-prescribing in all hospitals and primary care in Wales, through the Digital Medicines Transformation Portfolio.
Further Information
Please contact Alison Watkins, Head of Communications and Engagement, Digital Medicines Transformation Portfolio at alison.watkins3@wales.nhs.uk telephone: 07854 386054
Digital Medicines Transformation Portfolio
The Digital Medicines Transformation Portfolio (DMTP) aims to make the prescribing, dispensing and administration of medicines, easier, safer, more efficient and effective for patients and professionals through digital.
It brings together the programmes and projects that will deliver the benefits of a fully digital prescribing approach in all care settings in Wales. The Portfolio coordinates four areas of work, all of which have connections with each other: Primary Care Electronic Prescription Service (EPS), Secondary Care electronic Prescribing and Medicines Administration (ePMA), Patient Access (through the NHS Wales app) and a Shared Medicines Record.
Find out more on the Digital Medicines Transformation Portfolio site.