Revolutionary new prescription service piloted in Blackburn
Two Doctors surgeries in Blackburn with Darwen have been the first in the country to utilise a new clinical system to pilot a revolutionary electronic prescription service.
Launched in Summer 2010, the service has allowed GPs at St. George’s Surgery, Haslingden Road Blackburn and Brown Hill Surgery, Whalley New Road Blackburn to send patients’ prescriptions electronically to pharmacies paired with the practices.
A large percentage of current GP visits are made by patients wanting a repeat prescription. The new system removes the need for patients to do this – GPs at the surgeries are instead able to prescribe drugs for up to 12 months electronically. This has cut down on the need for paper prescriptions and waiting times at the two surgeries have been significantly reduced as a result.
For the two nominated pharmacies - a local Lloyds pharmacy and the independent Geloo Brothers pharmacy – the new system has also proved beneficial.
It has allowed them to keep better stock control as they know when each patient will need their next batch of medication and exactly what they will need, so, where practical, it can be ready and waiting for them when they arrive.
The system can also stop patients fraudulently collecting two lots of the same medication.
At present prescriptions for approximately 1500 patients are being processed using the system with 4,000 items being prescribed and dispensed.
The success of the system, known as ‘EPS release 2’, has gained national interest from the London School of Pharmacy, University of Nottingham, other PCTs and the SHA (Strategic Health Authority) who have all been interested in how it has been implemented in Blackburn with Darwen.
Dr Malcolm Ridgway, Medical Director at NHS Blackburn with Darwen, said: “The new system has revolutionised the way that medication is dispensed making the lives of patients, GPs and pharmacies in Blackburn easier.
“As the pilot extends more surgeries and pharmacies across the borough will be included. The fact that academics and health planners across the country have taken an interest in our implementation of the system is a credit to all involved.”
