We need pharmacy to think about how it can use technology to offer innovative healthcare

Pharmacy could make much better use of IT to deliver innovative healthcare, and individual pharmacists should have their say. Claire Ward, chair of Pharmacy Voice, explains

I’m not what would be described as an ‘early adopter’ when it comes to technology. I watch others who are with fascination, and when they have put the latest app or gizmo through its paces, I then decide if it will actually enhance my life or just add to my confusion. Some do both.

I appreciate that the next generation will take much of this new technology for granted and my immediate worry on a personal basis is understanding at what point my children will outsmart me. I rather suspect that moment is imminent.

However, where I really do see the value of IT is in healthcare. If we use technology to capture more information on our health and track the results of our care, the data will be like gold dust. With more data, we better understand the problem, who to engage to solve it, and how to pay them to do it.

Better data will tell us if the solution worked or not. The NHS does not have the best track record when it comes to IT. Lots of money spent, for only patchy success. Yet the ambition is there and that’s half the battle.

Making EPS friendlier

In pharmacy terms, much of its IT has been driven by private sector investment, and in trying to meet the requirements of the NHS. Despite ongoing problems, many have seen the value of EPS when it works well (and as intended) and the task now is to make this an even friendlier patient service that creates greater efficiencies, reduces some costs and has the still too frequent glitches ironed out.

Today’s teenagers and twenty-somethings spend far less time with bits of paper in their hands; they’ve gone digital, on mobile or tablet or both. Surely they expect their prescriptions delivered to the pharmacy electronically, rather having to collect a green piece of paper and, without losing it on the way, get it to the pharmacy. The demand is there, we just need faster and more efficient rollout.

From what I see, we have two tasks. Firstly, to get right the basic bits of IT that help to enhance data collection and sharing so that we are able to provide better patient care and support. In the relatively short time I have been at Pharmacy Voice I have been impressed by the grip that the organisation has on this issue. Through its IT group it has engaged with representatives of its member organisations and, crucially, it has the attendance of the system suppliers. Together, they can identify both the needs of pharmacy and the potential of IT systems to meet those needs.

By using common datasets across primary care, we can start to track the improvements in patient health from interventions. In that data, we will have information that can more easily be used to show the value of pharmacy and provide a significant contribution to making commissioning of services a smoother process.

Accessing extra information

Evidence from the Shared Care Records pilots has already shown just how valuable access to that extra information can be to patients, but also to the enhanced role of pharmacy. I know that there may be concerns about liability and whether pharmacists will bear extra responsibility given the information they can now access. But think how that extra information might help with the difficult decisions you make every day, and the perception that patients will have of this level of service. Patients will expect you to act appropriately in accessing their information, because they should see it as vital for their care that you have the information you need to support them effectively.

Secondly, we need pharmacy to think about how it can use technology to offer innovative healthcare, support better use of medicines by patients and in the delivery of services. I believe pharmacy has greater potential than other healthcare providers to understand the consumer-led healthcare agenda. Through the informality of the retail environment and the accessibility of community pharmacy, patients are more likely to walk in and seek information and advice.

Many of us are now wearing technology that tells us how active we are each day, but perhaps we need pharmacy to help us understand how that relates to overall health. A wristband that tells you what your pulse is or measures your blood pressure is a great gadget, but if you don’t understand the results or what healthy looks like, it is only half the picture. Pharmacy could provide so much more support for patients who want to use an app to track their medication; they are out there.

Your feedback counts

Pharmacy Voice is driving the policy change, through the views that come from our member organisations and, in turn, from their members. But we also need pharmacists to get involved in the IT debate and to make their views known. As daily users of pharmacy systems, why don’t you let your supplier know what improvements you want to see in your system?

Help us to shape the IT landscape further by contributing to the debate and letting us have your ideas on what would help you to deliver better services to patients. Our IT group can only be enhanced by pharmacists contributing to our database of issues, so that we can share those with system suppliers and our other external partners.

And let us know how you use technology now to enhance your role so that we can share the best examples across community pharmacy.