The latest version of the ProScript Connect dispensary management system from EMIS Health is now live in 300 Rowlands Pharmacy branches, marking a significant milestone in the planned upgrade of all 529 branches across the United Kingdom.
Rowlands began staged deployment of ProScript Connect in May 2017 following a thorough due diligence process led by its in-house technical and operational teams.
Craig Spurdle, Head of Information Service for Rowlands Pharmacy, said: “Given the scale of the change we have undertaken it was vital that we invested time into creating a rollout process that was efficient, scalable and above all protected patient safety. A significant part of our process involves validating the imported data between the old and upgraded software before it is released to the pharmacy teams for familiarisation and training. Even during the testing phases, it was essential to us that we could ensure patient and dispensing information was accurate and complete so that the pharmacy teams could have confidence in the application.
Throughout the process, one of our key principles has been to minimise disruption to the pharmacy, as every minute spent without the Patient Management software has an impact on customer service. Thanks to the hard work of the technical teams we are able to perform our data migration process automatically overnight ensuring that pharmacy teams are always there for our patients.
The upgraded application takes us from a legacy platform, where development was becoming increasingly difficult, to a position where we can not only meet the challenges facing us such as implementation of the Falsified Medicines Directive, but prepare for the opportunities of interoperability with the rest of the NHS.”
To tie in with the rollout of the ProScript Connect upgrade, Rowlands Pharmacy has invested heavily in new technology for its pharmacies, with a complete redesign and refresh of the branch IT hardware. The result has been improvements in speed and reliability, with significant reductions in support and running costs, including an annual reduction of over £60,000 a year in electricity costs alone.
Mass deployment of ProScript Connect began early in 2017 following a successful pilot project.
The community pharmacy team at EMIS Health has already received more than 1,000 orders for ProScript Connect, with more than 600 pharmacies already using ProScript Connect in the UK.
