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CompleteGP, McLernons Computers and eHealth Ireland lead battle to eliminate dot matrix printers from GP Surgeries and Pharmacies Currently 1970’s technology is used by GPs to print prescriptions for public patients. Why? The answer lies in the fact that multi- part prescription paper is required to support legacy processes for tracing scripts. Not only are these printers yesterdays’ technology, they are also noisy, unreliable and costly to maintain. They also require special pre-printed paper multi-part forms that must be couriered to every GP surgery and stored securely.
All these problems can now be eliminated thanks to the co-operation of a number of key vendors from the eHealth Ireland ecosystem who have joined forces with eHealth Ireland over the last three months. The resulting solution will enable GPs to print prescriptions for public patients using plain paper whilst using ‘Healthlink’, the national messaging broker, to eliminate the need for duplicate paper copies.
CompleteGP, provider of one of only four accredited practices systems, developed the software, McLernons, provider of the most popularly used pharmacy system, assisted in the initial design and will ensure continued viability of the new process in community pharmacy, Healthlink, provided the secure technical infrastructure and e-Health Ireland provided overall project management. The resulting solution is largely based on an earlier pilot, carried out by CompleteGP and McLernons and the Health Innovation Hub, based in Cork.
Carl Beame co-founder of CompleteGP said: “The solution was designed to be run on Healthlink infrastructure which is already used extensively by GPs. The code was easily transferred to Healthlink and has been now been implemented on their test system in preparation for go live. We are really excited to see it go into production next week”. CompleteGP worked with eHealth Ireland and the Primary Care Reimbursement Service at the HSE to agree the layout for the new plain paper prescription. Processes at GP surgeries will be simplified because the new script can be printed on a laser printer in the same way most private scripts are produced today.
Richard Corbridge, HSE Chief Information Officer and Chief Officer of eHealth Ireland said “this project is an excellent example of how the eHealth ecosystem in Ireland can encourage vendors to work together to deliver innovative solutions for patients and clinicians. The go live next week shows what can be achieved when we all work together to build a better health system. We are excited to see this go live in Mallow and we will work to roll this solution out to all locations during the course of 2017. We are delighted to have worked with CompleteGP, McLernons, the Healthlink team and PCRS on this project.”
Go live will start with the first plain paper prescription being printed in the Mallow Primary Healthcare Centre (MPHC) and fulfilled at a pharmacy in Mallow, Co. Cork next week
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