News | Digital pharmacy

Electronic medication systems risk patient safety if not implemented properly, safety body warns

Incomplete use of electronic medication systems, such as electronic prescribing and medicines administration can risk patient safety, a report from the independent Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch has found.…

Electronic prescriptions to be introduced nationally from November 2019

Digital-only prescriptions will be introduced across England from November 2019, the pharmacy minister Jo Churchill has announced.…

Building vital connections between hospital and home

Communication between hospital and community pharmacists when patients are discharged is often absent, which can have a detrimental impact on patients’ health. The transfers of care around medicines — or ‘TCAM’ — scheme is beginning to change this, but there are several…

Moratorium on online dispensing of opioids is required

An undercover investigation carried out by The Times is further proof that online pharmacies should be prohibited from prescribing and dispensing opioid medicines until they can prove they are safe.…

GPhC restricts dispensing in three online pharmacies over patient safety concerns

The General Pharmaceutical Council has placed conditions on the supply of medicines by three online pharmacies following patient safety concerns raised during its inspection process.…

First CCG enables all GPs to send prescriptions to pharmacies electronically

Portsmouth clinical commissioning group has become the first in the country in which all GP practices are able to send electronic prescriptions that can be processed by any pharmacy.…

E-prescribing in hospital: ten ways to make it a success

Some hospital trusts are making progress towards replacing paper prescriptions with their electronic counterparts, but others are yet to make the switch. Here are ten tips for successful implementation of electronic prescribing and medicines administration systems.…

Paper prescriptions will be a rare sight by next year, says NHS Digital programme lead

Paper prescriptions will become “a rare thing to see” over the next 12 months, according to NHS Digital’s programme director for digital medicines.…

Pharmacy2U accessed summary care records 31 times in a year, NHS Digital data show

Industry-leading online pharmacy, Pharmacy2U, has accessed patients’ summary care records just 31 times over the past year, according to NHS Digital data on SCR use in pharmacies across England.…

Data-driven care: why pharmacy needs to get involved

Access to data will transform the NHS — it’s time pharmacists got to grips with clinical informatics, says Andrew Davies.…