AQW 20728/22-27

Ms Connie Egan
Alliance Party
North Down

Tabled Date: 16/01/2025
Answered On Date: 31/01/2025
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Health to detail any steps his Department has taken to modernise the technology used to process prescriptions.

Answer:

My Departments Strategic Planning and Performance Group leads on the ePharmacy programme which includes a project to replace the current written prescription system with an electronic prescribing system. Whilst there is policy support for this programme my Department continues to operate under significant budgetary and financial constraints including in our Capital budget and timelines have not yet been confirmed. I remain hopeful that the implementation of this project will be able to proceed once capital funding has been prioritised for this programme.

There are four projects within the ePharmacy programme.

Go Pharmacy NI (to support clinical services delivery in Community Services);

Electronic Transmission of Prescriptions;

Electronic Prescribing Eligibility System (EPES) replacement; and

NI Drug Tariff Masterfile.

A business case is currently in development for capital funding, however due to

pressures on the departmental capital budget, this is not likely to be prioritised

until 2026/27 at the earliest.