Launch of pharmacy and GP integration pilot

The Medicines Manager pilot will see a mixture of community pharmacies – including independents and small and large multiples – test software that can deliver a direct exchange of information with GP surgeries around repeat medication.

The Medicines Manager software was successfully trialled in 2012 and a wider pilot has now been launched to test it in an EPS R2-enabled environment.

The first pilot site – Rohpharm community pharmacy in Plaistow, East London – went live in early April. The pharmacy, which uses ProScript from Rx Systems, is linking with two GP surgeries using the EMIS Web clinical management system.

Jignesh Patel, pharmacist at Rohpharm, said the project had already delivered many benefits.

He said: “We can now see the full list of the patient’s repeat medication that is held on the GP system, which makes it easier for us to respond to patient requests.

“We can also communicate directly with the GP – for example, to query a prescription. The GP can also contact us – for example, asking us to only fill part of a script because the patient is overdue a review.

“Better communication between GP and pharmacist enables a holistic view of the patient’s treatment and can save time and money – essential in today’s pressured healthcare environment.”

Ian Taylor, Managing Director of Rx Systems, said: “This is the beginning of an exciting project that will deliver end-to-end integration between GP and pharmacy systems, in a wide range of settings.

“As part of EMIS Group, Rx Systems is uniquely positioned to help pharmacy achieve its full potential in delivering patient care.”

Jignesh Patel and Dr Petre Jones, from Project surgery, also in Plaistow, delivered a presentation on the project at the Numark 2013 conference on 21April 2013.