ProScript LINK Pilot calls for NHS Scotland system of choice

“It should be the system of choice for NHS Scotland,” says Norris Alawi, pharmacist and owner of Letham Pharmacy in Angus Scotland and one of AAH Pharmaceuticals’ pilots for the rollout of ProScript LINK.

When Letham Pharmacy opened in December of 2009; it was the first pharmacy to be set up in the village of Angus and in fact, the only healthcare focal point within five miles. Serving a population of some 4,000 inhabitants the nearest GP surgery was in the next village.

“It was crucial that we got our infrastructure correct, from IT through to service provision as we had no foundation stones to build upon,” Norris explained. “So I and my fellow directors took the AAH LINK system on board in the knowledge that within a few months we’d migrate to ProScript LINK.

“This has now happened and through all my years working in different pharmacies, often as a locum, I can honestly say that it is by far the most user friendly system that I have seen.”

Norris understands the value of getting the right IT systems in place in Scotland as it’s crucial to remuneration. Without it a pharmacist is handicapped he says, and for the provision of minor ailments and chronic medication services he says that it will shape pharmacy for the future across the whole of the UK.

Training for ProScript LINK started recently and Mr Alawi was one of the first in the country to be trained, complete a pilot install and be fully operational on the system. He says that he can see it becoming ‘his right hand’ as it’s a complete patient reporting system.

His staff have also received full training and they too have been very impressed, Norris says, with the colour-coded function keys, the online guidance and ease of use.

Norris added: “It’s quick, efficient, and colourful and has all the day-to-day applications that I need at my fingertips to become even more advanced.

“It’s a massive improvement and the step by step guides easily guide the operator through any procedures.”

Having an efficient IT system not only improves reporting and management of patient medical records it also frees up a great deal of time that would otherwise be spent trying to work around a solution to a problem.

Norris believes that he and his staff can benefit from the extra time that they have been afforded to engage better with their patients – crucial when you’re a ‘one-pharmacy town.’

“We have to be seen as the first port of call for any healthcare issues in the neighbourhood.

“If a customer walks though the door needing some advice it’s vital that we are free to help them as best we can. We can call upon our online resources for help but the fact that an efficient IT system frees up time alone demonstrates to me that it is the right tool for the job.”

AAH says it plans to deploy the electronic chronic medication service (eCMS) across Scotland via ProScript LINK by spring 2010. In conjunction with Scottish Executive Health Department AAH has agreement that funding will be paid to all contractors whose deployment takes place after the current March 2010 deployment date.

Norris said that getting to grips with eCMS was a key concern so supplier support was vital and AAH had clearly invested significant resource here.

At the outset he did have some concerns about the disruption that could be caused to his business while the changeover took place, but after initial consultations with AAH those concerns were unfounded. He said: “The forward planning was excellent, they listened to my concerns, the system arrived on time and other than a couple of hour’s migration we had no disruptions at all.

“The training sessions were very informative and I was able to discuss issues with AAH staff and bounce ideas off other attending pharmacists.

“It was easy to transfer any legacy data that was held on LINK over to the new system so we have all our previous records on file. I have seen poor transitions in the past so I was pleasantly surprised, it has been seamless.”

Looking to the future and Norris sees real time applications being the catalyst for eCMS.  He says that live, tangible information is required and it should help with accurate payments – something that the profession has been calling out for.

“To go completely paperless would be magical. We need security and minimum risk. Going completely electronic helps us and our patients, it makes them feel as though they are part of the NHS and not just part of the problem and anything that keeps our customers loyal, like a true EPS, is good news. I think ProScript LINK is geared up for these important changes.”