Graduate

6. With certain “models”
of ETP, it is possible to
have the prescription in
the pharmacy before the
patient arrives; therefore,
drugs can be prepared
in advance.
What do you mean by
“models” of ETP?
Basically, with ETP you
are moving prescription
information from one place to
another (doctor to pharmacy).
This could be achieved in a
number of ways:
n By putting the
information on a
smartcard which the
patient carries;
n Placing it on the
prescription itself;
n Sending it to a central
server, which both the
doctor and pharmacy
have access to;
n “Pulled” down by the
pharmacist; or
n “Pushed” to the
pharmacy by the doctor.
What is a “push” model?
The doctor “writes” a
prescription and asks the
patient where they would like
it dispensed. The doctor then
sends it to that pharmacy and
when the patient gets there,
the prescription is waiting for
them. While this would be
efficient, concerns have been
raised over the fact that the
doctor could direct patients
to certain pharmacies. This is
not the model being pursued
in Ireland.
What is a “pull” model?
The patient chooses their
pharmacy of choice and the
pharmacist can pull down the
electronic prescription from
the central server into the
pharmacy dispensary system.
This model is favoured by
community pharmacists and
planned for implementation
in Ireland.
Who will host the central
server?
The central server or “hub” will
be facilitated by Healthlink, a
public infrastructure, rather
than being privately hosted.
What is Healthlink?
Originally set up by the
Department of Health,
Healthlink started as an
electronics communication
project to facilitate the
transfer of information
between primary and
secondary care in Ireland.
Since the formation of eHealth
Ireland, Healthlink has been
brought under the governance
of eHealth Ireland and its role
has expanded to enable the
secure transmission of clinical
patient information between
hospitals, healthcare agencies
and GPs. The development
where community
pharmacists are utilising the
Healthlink infrastructure will
be a significant milestone
that will open up other
possibilities for greater
electronic interaction between
community pharmacies, GPs
and hospitals.
What is eHealth Ireland?
eHealth Ireland currently
exists as a unit of the
HSE but will develop into
a standalone entity over
time. Richard Corbridge
is the Chief Information
Officer (CIO) for the HSE
and Chief Executive Officer
(CEO) for eHealth Ireland.
As CEO, he is responsible for
governance, funding and legal
enabling, public awareness,
stakeholder engagement,
project management, and
encouraging local and
regional innovation and
collaborations. Priority areas
for initial development include
ePrescribing in Primary Care,
online referrals between
GPs and hospitals and the
development of Summary
Care and Electronic Patient
Records. As an outcome from
the first EcoSystem meeting,
eHealth Ireland quickly set up
a specific strategic programme
for ePharmacy, where
ePrescribing in Primary
Care is a priority objective.
What is the ePharmacy
Programme?
The eHealth Ireland
ePharmacy Programme
provides the ability to deploy
digital solutions across
different care settings to make
the delivery of pharmacy safer
and more efficient. Approval
has been given to proceed
with an initial phase that
will facilitate the electronic
transfer of prescriptions. The
ePharmacy programme will
take consideration of national
models for programme
elements such as the creation
of a National Medicinal
Product Catalogue (NMPC).
What is a National
Medicinal Product
Catalogue (NMPC)?
The NMPC will be an
electronic dictionary of
medications available for
prescribing and dispensing.
The key aim of the catalogue
is to provide a consistent
approach to the identification
and naming of medicines
prescribed and dispensed.
“ With the establishment of a common
drug file for GP systems and pharmacy
systems (the NMPC), in the future, it will
be possible to pull the electronic script
directly into the patient record resulting
in safer, more efficient processes.”
IPUREVIEW APRIL 2017 23