EXCLUSIVE

Pharmacists could soon be expected to scan barcodes on patients' smartphones as part of an overhaul of the electronic prescription service (EPS), C+D has learned.

The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) announced last month (June 26) that it expected the “vast majority” of paper prescriptions to be replaced by these barcode "tokens" by March 2017. As part of the changes, scheduled to begin in April 2016, patients will be able to choose whether to receive their token on paper from their GP surgery or electronically, HSCIC said.

HSCIC told C+D on Monday (July 6) that it was considering a number of ways for GP surgeries to transmit the tokens to patients electronically, including via a smartphone app, on a secure website and in emails.

Pharmacy Voice national IT Lead John Palmer told C+D that attendees at an EPS forum last week had raised concerns that sending tokens via email would not be as secure as sending them to smartphones or through a “secure web portal”.

To reflect this, tokens sent by email were likely to contain “the minimum necessary data” and would not include any drug names, Mr Palmer said.

“We had a discussion [about] how you had to be careful that the email went to the right recipient,” he said.
 

"Logistical issues"

HSCIC still needed to resolve “logistical issues” around whether pharmacy staff would scan tokens on patients’ smartphones themselves, or whether each business should install a “kiosk” for patients to do this, Mr Palmer said.

Responding to C+D readers’ concerns that EPS was unreliable, Mr Palmer said he had been “reassured” that HSCIC would improve the system before it implemented the changes.

“It’s a clear step forward to be going electronic, but still retaining the possibility of paper tokens for those who don’t wish to use technology,” he added.

Numark IT services manager Andy Charlesworth told C+D that introducing the tokens - which will remove the need for patients to nominate a specific pharmacy - would make it easier for patients to understand EPS.

“It simplifies it for patients. They're walking in with their token and they've still got freedom of choice,” Mr Charlesworth said.

However, Mr Charlesworth said he was "confused" about how HSCIC would ensure patients could still nominate a specific pharmacy if they chose. It also needed to clarify how the tokens would work for repeat dispensing, he added.

How would you like patients to submit their electronic tokens to you?

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