Hospitals scrap their paper prescriptions
DOCTORS at Southport and Ormskirk hospitals will no longer use paper prescriptions in a move which health bosses say will reduce medication errors by 30%.
Using new technology backed by £700,000 of government funding, Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust will start using digital prescriptions instead of hand-written ones.
According to the Department of Health and Social Care, the changes will reduce medication errors, allow “fast access to potentially lifesaving information on prescribed medicines”, and build a single record of prescriptions to reduce duplications.
Southport and Ormskirk is among 25 trusts to benefit from the funding, which is the second wave from a £78m pot to improve patient care by speeding up the implementation of electronic prescribing systems across the NHS over three years.
Last year, 13 other trusts received a share of £16m.
Health bosses say that patients will see little change to the way they are prescribed or collect medicines but increased efficiency will help save the NHS £300m a year by 2021.
Minister for health Edward Argar said: “Electronic prescriptions in our hospitals will not only do away with old-fashioned paper prescriptions but can help prevent avoidable and potentially catastrophic medication errors.
“As part of our longterm plan for the NHS we’re committed to giving our hardworking staff access to modern systems which save them valuable time and makes every penny of taxpayers’ money count.
“Following the previous funding announcement, I’m delighted to confirm the funding allocations for these 25 trusts as part of our mission to upgrade NHS hospitals with modern technology so patients get the best and safest care possible”
Matthew Gould, chief executive of NHSX – the unit organising the “digital
transformation” of the NHS – said: “Switching from paper prescriptions to digital in our hospitals will make mistakes less likely, free up staff time and ultimately improve patients’ care and health.
“This is part of the NHS
Long Term Plan to support health service organisations to use digital technology to improve the care they can give patients, and allow staff to focus on delivering care, rather than on time-consuming processes.”