Northern Ireland to make paper prescriptions ‘a thing of the past’

The Northern Ireland Executive is investing £42 million to replace paper prescriptions with a fully digital system from GP to pharmacy.

The Department of Health (DoH) Northern Ireland said the ePharmacy primary care digital reform programme will make paper prescriptions ‘a thing of the past’.

It will deliver an electronic prescription transfer programme allowing prescriptions to be digitally transferred from the prescriber, GPs or out-of-hours service to community pharmacies, streamlining the process for patients, the department added.

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The department also said that the new scheme will ‘improve safety, efficiency and the overall patient experience’, while streamlining processes across the health and social care sector.

The ePharmacy programme will also benefit GPs by freeing up more time to devote to patient care, it added.

Alongside this, a new digital platform will manage the delivery of clinical services to the public through community pharmacies, which the DoH said will improve patient safety, expand access to care for patients and bring treatment closer to people’s homes.

Health minister Mike Nesbitt said the scheme will support the move towards a neighbourhood model of health and wellbeing for primary, community and social care.

‘The ePharmacy programme will deliver a safe, seamless and digitally enabled community pharmacy and electronic prescription service, that will genuinely transform patient experience,’ he added.

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‘It will replace paper-based systems, reduce the associated workload and help to ensure the health and social care system is as safe and efficient as can be.

‘The programme, which includes a new digital platform to manage the delivery of clinical services in community pharmacies, will rapidly accelerate reform within primary care in Northern Ireland.

‘It will support the move towards a neighbourhood model of health and wellbeing for primary, community and social care, which will deliver greater levels of care for citizens, including children and families, in their communities.

‘The scale of opportunity is significant, with over 200,000 patients visiting a GP practice in Northern Ireland each week and over 45 million prescription items prescribed and supplied annually within primary care.’

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The DoH said that the funding was part of a wider £102.6 million transformation fund investment into six projects, including the ePharmacy programme.