The HSE is set to spend up to €50m on a new national electronic prescription service as it seeks to modernise as part of Ireland’s “broader digital health transformation”.
It has gone out to tender for the provision of this technology which it said will be rolled out in both public and private settings across the country’s healthcare system.
“Ireland’s healthcare system currently lags behind other European countries in its adoption of digital technologies,” it said.
“Its prescribing and dispensing processes are fragmented, with either Healthmail (secure email) or paper-based prescriptions being used. Healthcare providers often lack timely access to a patient’s complete medication history, leading to errors, communication gaps, and inefficiencies. Patients also have limited access to their medication information.”
The current “healthmail” system has several limitations, according to the HSE, such as community pharmacy staff needing to locate and open patient files on the dispensing system and then transcribing details from prescriptions when they’re dispensing it.
The HSE said the new prescription service will be secure, efficient and a fully integrated digital service to transmit and store electronic prescriptions and dispensations for patients.
It will also integrate with existing and future health platforms and allow prescribers to generate prescriptions for patients electronically.
“It will enable accurate, timely access to medication information, which will enhance clinical decision-making, reduce medication errors, streamline clinical workflows, empower patients and improve overall patient care,” it said.
A platform like the one envisaged for the health service here would be “transformative”, the HSE said, with research in the UK showing that online prescribing would achieve a 40% reduction in medication errors when a patient is transitioning from one form of care to another.
Prescribers in all healthcare settings will be able to interact with the service, and will be able to use their own prescribing system to send or cancel prescriptions.
Meanwhile, patients will have access to view electronic prescriptions and be able to request prescription renewals using the HSE’s health app. Patients will also be allowed to report the medications they’re taking, including non-prescription medicines, which can then be viewed and interacted with by their doctor.
In terms of functionality, prescribers will be given information to support what they’re prescribing such as a patient’s allergies and whether medication has been duplicated.
The HSE has said it will sign a contract with the successful bidder before the middle of next year. It is expected that there will be an “overall implementation” time of three to four years before it is fully operational.