Electronic prescriptions rolled out at Grimsby Hospital

Prescription sheets could become a thing of the past with the launch of a new electronic system on two wards at Grimsby Hospital.

The hospital is the first at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to use a new electronic prescribing and medicines administration (ePMA) system.

The technology, supplied by Ascribe, has gone live on wards B7 and B6 and will replace handwritten prescription forms. It will enable medication to be managed electronically, from prescribing through to supply and administration.

David Owen, assistant chief pharmacist (business and operations) and ePMA trust project manager, said: “The aim of the system is to improve the safety and efficiency of healthcare by providing clear and legible prescriptions and assistance in the prescribing process.”

The system, which is scheduled to be rolled out across the trust over the next 12 months, will provide a direct computerised link between the wards and departments to the pharmacies, benefitting staff and patients.

The benefits include:

• Computer-generated prescriptions
• Alerts for allergies and drug interactions
• Computerised communication between wards and departments to the pharmacy departments providing information and guidance
• Simple re-ordering of medication
• No more need for paper medication charts
• Medicine records will be in one place, visible and accessible at any time wherever staff or patients are in the hospital

Debbie Carpenter, ward manager of B7, said: “This is a very exciting development which sees the prescribing and administration of medicines moving forward into the technological world of the future when all patient records could be paperless.”

Owen added: “A dedicated team of experts will be rolling out this exciting project, which will see prescriptions being ordered electronically for the first time at our three hospitals.”