"What Must EPS Pilot Prove?" Asks NPA

Main Category: IT / Internet / E-mail
Article Date: 01 Jun 2009 - 4:00 PDT

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The NPA is asking its members to utilise the new NPA IT forums website to comment on the criteria that should be used to demonstrate that EPS is operationally functional ahead of national roll-out. The NPA believes that EPS must work technically, be business and operationally functional, improve service delivery at pharmacies, and is safe for patients, before full roll-out can be contemplated. The website, http://itforums.npa.co.uk, provides an opportunity for members throughout the UK to voice their opinions on the IT programmes affecting their country or on general IT topics which affect all nations.

Gareth Jones, NPA NHS Liaison Manager said: "The NPA is playing an active role in shaping the development of how pharmacy IT programmes will roll out. The IT forums website, we hope, will stimulate debate and give us another way of collecting members' views and concerns about the new programmes being implemented."

"We would like active discussion from members on EPS in England, EPES in Northern Ireland, the epharmacy programme in Scotland and 2DRx in Wales. It is important to recognise that effective IT will be increasingly important if community pharmacy is going to meet its future challenges. The NPA has used the forum to re-state its position on EPS and in the next few weeks will be adding EPS dispensary workflows for debate, and asking participants about how they would like to see PMR systems develop. The NPA wants to encourage dialogue on what all these issues will mean for the pharmacist and the pharmacy team and this website provides a platform for that."

Source
National Pharmacy Association