Our infrastructure needs to be future-proof

Over the past few years, Scotland has demonstrated the critical role which IT will play in the delivery of patient services. The minor ailments, acute medication and chronic medication services were all designed and implemented on the foundations of new IT solutions.

As a result, the choice of PMR system which a pharmacy uses is more critical now than ever before: long gone are the days when your PMR was used primarily as a means to order product.

As a PMR provider AAH has made and will continue to make significant investments in this area to ensure our customers are equipped with the functionality they need to provide patient services, order product easily and operate efficiently.

With that in mind we recently joined in partnership with Rx Systems to take our existing LINK system to a new level. The new system will be called ProScriptLINK and is currently being rolled out across our customer base in Scotland.

Pilot testing in Scotland has now been completed allowing us to roll out eCMS functionality nationwide from spring.  Customer feedback has been extremely positive. Letham Pharmacy’s Norris Alawi is not alone when he says that ProScriptLINK should be the ‘IT system of choice for NHS Scotland.’

There are, of course, several different PMR systems on the market and therefore, of course, our customers continue to have a choice. It is important when exercising that choice to consider who is committed to developing IT solutions which Scottish community pharmacies need both now and, just as important, in the years ahead.

At AAH we have the infrastructure, history and pharmacy supply chain knowledge to back up our stated commitment and ability to serve the needs of our customers over the medium to long term; ultimately supporting the need for greater integration and broader PMR functionality in the future.

Therefore, it is very important that any IT system is future proof and the pharmacy environment is no exception. In fact, with patient wellbeing at the fore it should be even more crucial that the right decisions are made when mapping out your IT pathways.

We are well aware that the ‘now’ is all about getting to grips with eCMS. ProScript LINK offers that solution for LINK users. However, it also offers a platform which can be developed as the needs of customers change. So, it is an investment in the here and now as well as the future.

AAH is unique among the major wholesalers in its commitment to pharmacy PMR, which is why we are gearing up for the future needs of our customers through our partnership arrangement with Rx Systems and why our new PMR solution is being installed in pharmacies across Scotland in the first instance.