A ‘bleak picture’, for the DigitalHealth.net article of the 9th of June.

• 19% of NHS hospitals use e-prescribing for 60% or more of inpatient prescribing
• 38% of England’s 154 acute trusts had implemented e-prescribing, and 25% had implemented e-prescribing with clinical decision support (2015 data).

“Trusts that have been using e-prescribing the longest have the poorest use. Those coming up from behind are starting to leapfrog those ahead.” (Ann Slee, NHS England’s e-prescribing advisor, as reported in the article)

“Central support evaporated. The ambition is there; but not the means.” (Professor Michael Thick, chief medical officer of IMS Maxims, as reported)

A forthcoming digital medicines management strategy is in the making, with three main components: community pharmacy; supply chain; and secondary uses of prescribing data.

“We’ve not had a single approach on digital medicines management and we are now moving forward a programme of digital medicines” (Ann Slee)

See also DigitalHealth special report on ePrescribing in NHS Trusts:

“The roll-out of e-prescribing across the NHS in England is glacially slow; and the sudden removal of tech fund money has all but frozen the market”.

http://www.digitalhealth.net/includes/features/2016/sr/epres/index.html