As the journey along the information superhighway continues, it becomes apparent that it’s a never-ending road - it continues to grow as technology gets stronger, sayd Leon Rudd, AAH marketing director.
Through forums and blogs, we want to create a community for community pharmacists that engages with your needs in a quantifiable and meaningful way. So if you want to be part of this change, email us, tweet at us, join our LinkedIn group or just give us a call…
From dot matrix printers and noisy typewriters to electronic payments and collated outcome data, Simon Driver, Cegedim Rx MD, reflects on the past 30 years of pharmacy IT and looks ahead to the next
Revolution is an awfully strong word, especially when applied to shifts in health policy. We’ve all seen overhauls, we’ve become used to sweeping change and we’ve been told time and time again to expect radical shake-ups. But revolution? That’s a word that’ll raise hackles.
Fortunately, I’m not always tired and thirsty, and if I were I’m in a pretty good position to self diagnose. But this is probably a question, or similar to a question, that all pharmacists have been asked recently.
"If I were asked to sum up pharmacy IT," says Ajit Malhi AAH head of marketing services, "I would say that it is well and truly part of the wider pharmacy picture, and also that it is here to stay."
When Andrew Lansley's health white paper said that primary care services could be commissioned from any willing provider, was he really talking about mobile phone companies?
The Webhunter takes a look at the launch of O2 Health
It is good to see that the Coalition has appointed internet entrepreneur (and Telegraph columnist) Martha Lane Fox as UK digital champion... and she claimed in her Telegraph column last week that the DH’s consultation into how information technology can help patients take more control of their health shows real appetite for a shift towards Andrew Lansley’s “No decision about me without me” ideal.
Normally, I like to use my column to have a rant about something, poke a stick at the angry bears out there or just give my take on subjects that are touchy to pharmacists. This week though, I am going to try to be upbeat and positive.
Love it or hate it, it’s here to stay. There’s no side-stepping it or brushing it under the carpet and it certainly can’t just be placed on the back burner. But perhaps we should replace ‘it’ for ‘IT’ as that is the subject matter to which I refer.
Love it or hate it, IT is vital to any dispensary. Zoe Smeaton finds it’s only going to get more important and asks what you can do to keep up to speed
Plans to price medicines according to their value will have an impact throughout the supply chain and the government must consider “the implications for wholesalers and those who dispense”, AAH has said.
Following a successful rollout in Scotland and encouraging pilots in England, AAH Pharmaceuticals has turned its attention to Wales for the migration of its customers from LINK to the new ProScript LINK PMR system..
According to Dave Roberts, superintendent pharmacist at Corden Pharmacy in West Sussex, he and his staff never had enough time in the day to juggle all of the various jobs that they had.
AAH Pharmaceuticals’ ProScript LINK PMR system continues to roll out across the UK as EPS R2 pilot sites in Sunderland are formally paired with EMISweb GP system.
As Rx Systems and EMIS outline plans to more closely integrate their two systems, Zoe Smeaton and Emma Weinbren ask Rx Systems managing director Ian Taylor what’s in it for pharmacy. MORE
Setting up a website could improve your pharmacy’s image and open up further revenue streams. Hannah Flynn offers five hot tips for getting your business online.
Getting to grips with
Twitter can seem like a daunting task, but to help you make a start the C+D team has come up with their favourite people tweeting about pharmacy or related topics.
Professional practice for pharmacists will be profoundly affected in future by the use of IT and now is the time for practicing pharmacists to evaluate the technologies that are being introduced to support the profession
With spam from rogue pharmacies hitting our inboxes every day,
Chris Chapman asks how the sector can protect patients while harnessing the potential for legitimate online growth
As the future of NHS IT projects hits the headlines once again,
Zoe Smeaton takes a look at what IT really means to community pharmacists, with the results of the IT Zone Survey
Pharmacy law “doesn’t match” the technological developments in pharmacy, leaving “grey areas” for pharmacists, healthcare law firm Charles Russell has warned... More
Health minister Simon Burns has backed the Electronic Prescription Service Mr Burns said the government had no plans to further review the service, which aims to phase out paper prescriptions... More
Pfizer has launched a website designed to give patients practical advice on erectile dysfunction (ED) and give them the confidence to discuss the issue with a healthcare professional... More
“Frequent changes” to the pharmacy information governance (IG) requirements have increased the administrative burden on pharmacies, and any future changes should be fixed, pharmacy bodies have warned... More
Pfizer has launched a viral campaign to raise awareness of Man MOT, the first men-only, online surgery for men who do not want to go to their GP... More
PSNC has announced a new web-based service to help pharmacists streamline enhanced services recording, slash bureaucracy, ensure payment and build an evidence base for the sector... More
Multiples have backed PSNC’s pharmabase software, saying it will improve the consistency of processing enhanced services and could help the sector prove its worth... More
More patients are using the internet to diagnose themselves and find health information than ever before, with a third of those then avoiding booking GP appointments... More
UK healthcare marketing company Orangetonic is set to launch a clinical services website service to help independent pharmacies boost sales and promote their servic... more
Pharmacy contractors in Newham PCT have raised concerns over the £30,000 cost of encryption software that they are have been told they must install... more
C+D Senators have backed the electronic prescription service, concluding that the system will work, and that it will bring pharmacy into the 21st century... more
Almost a quarter of internet pharmacies using the regulator’s approved logo do not meet the standards required to display it, a survey has suggested... more
EXCLUSIVE: System suppliers say sector has not been clear about what it wants from electronic prescriptions, and representative bodies should have engaged more effective... more
There is an “urgent need” to improve consumer education on counterfeit medicines, a report by technology product design and development firm Cambridge Consultants... more
Plans to roll out summary care records (SCR) are to go ahead, but a leading pharmacy system supplier has warned it will not work on systems to support pharmacy access without a contract from the Department of Health (DH)... more
OneClickPharmacy, one of the UK's biggest online pharmacies, has launched an eBay-style marketplace in a move the company claims is a worldwide first... more
Pharmacy support group Avicenna has launched a support package to help members complete the next level of Information Governance (IG) standards... more
The MHRA seized £570,000 worth of illicit and counterfeit pills between October 5 and 12, as part of an international operation targeting the online sale of counterfeit and illegal medicines... more
The MHRA has launched a pilot system which would allow pharmacists to report adverse drug reactions electronically to the agency's Yellow Card Scheme.... more
Community pharmacists are still unconvinced by the benefits of electronic prescriptions despite government claims this week the system has been a success and can be managed locally... more
Pharmacy software supplier Rx Systems has received approval to pilot its latest electronic prescriptions system in Wales and hopes to begin rolling it out by the end of the summer... more
As the journey along the information superhighway continues, it becomes apparent that it’s a never-ending road - it continues to grow as technology gets stronger, sayd Leon Rudd, AAH marketing director.
Love it or hate it, IT is vital to any dispensary. Zoe Smeaton finds it’s only going to get more important and asks what you can do to keep up to speed
Setting up a website could improve your pharmacy’s image and open up further revenue streams. Hannah Flynn offers five hot tips for getting your business online.
With spam from rogue pharmacies hitting our inboxes every day,
Chris Chapman asks how the sector can protect patients while harnessing the potential for legitimate online growth
As the future of NHS IT projects hits the headlines once again,
Zoe Smeaton takes a look at what IT really means to community pharmacists, with the results of the IT Zone Survey