QUEUES at the Hospital pharmacy and administrative errors have both been reduced by a new electronic prescribing system, according to the Health Department.
The Electronic Prescribing and Medicines Administration (EPMA) system replaced paper prescriptions with electronic submissions this month.
The new system follows a successful pilot scheme last year and means that patients no longer need to drop-off paper prescriptions at the Hospital.
It came after the pharmacy was put in the spotlight with many Islanders taking to social media to highlight queues of up to two hours.
Health Minister Tom Binet last month said that a high volume of prescriptions, coupled with staffing problems, had led to a situation that was “thoroughly unacceptable”.
However, in a statement the Health Department said that the new system had eased the workload for staff at the pharmacy – which dispenses around 800 items a day to roughly 250 people – and made it easier to identify urgent prescriptions and start processing before patients arrive to collect them.
Deputy medical director Simon West said that the pilot scheme reduced errors arising from misinterpretation of handwritten prescriptions last year and alerted clinicians to risks arising from different types of medication interacting with each other.
He said: “Between March 2023 and April 2024, the total number of outpatient items prescribed on EPMA was 44,000.
“During this time, the system has prevented 3,300 duplicate prescriptions, alerted clinicians to 1,500 significant drug interactions, and on 100 occasions stopped a drug being prescribed that the patient was significantly allergic to.”
Mr West added that Health has also been encouraging patients to call the pharmacy to confirm their prescription has been received and to let the service know when they will collect their medication.
“This is particularly important for non-urgent and repeat prescriptions as it enables us to prioritise the workload for filling prescriptions, as well as meaning patients are assured their medication will be ready when they come to Pharmacy,” Mr West said.
In November, a new prescription drop-off box, additional seating and a screen showing ticket numbers were also introduced, which Mr West said had also been successful in helping to reduce queues and waiting times.
He added that the department was “in the process” of recruiting additional staff members, with three roles currently being advised for the service.
“We will continue to review our processes at the pharmacy and seek to continually improve the service we provide to our patients,” the deputy medical director said.
