system that integrates the processes of prescribing and dispensing by the pharmaceutical service, establishing mechanisms that favour the rational use of medication.

What improvements does it contribute?

• It allows coordination between healthcare professionals, since they can have access to information, in real time, regarding the medication plan and follow-up carried out by their patients.
• It favours the improvement of care quality, accessibility and safety in the use of medications.
• It is a very important step towards an integral and integrated healthcare management that will improve the service it offers and the health of citizens.

Implementation of the project

Implementation began in 2007 and, after just 3 years (click to see a time sequence of the implementation), it is already allowing primary healthcare centres to prescribe electronically and all pharmacy offices in Catalonia to dispense medications via the electronic system.

Specific characteristics

• Integrity and privacy.
• Transversal project.
• Secure access to patient information.
• Accessibility to pharmaceutical service.
• Development of a specific legal framework: Decree 159/2007, Decree 91/2009 and Order SLT/72/2008.
• System is centralised and in real time, and allows messages to be inserted between professionals, allowing joint management of the prescription.
• Scalable and interoperable model.
• Implemented with a contingency Plan that habilitates a secure portal for possible non availabilities of the system.

The Medication Plan

This is the printed sheet that is given to patients and contains all the information necessary to be able to follow the treatment correctly and at the same time:

• It favours the inter-relation between prescribers and dispensers, becoming a new communication channel between them.
• It allows certain prescriptions to be printed separately, if the patient thus requests.
• It groups treatments separately according to whether they are chronic or long-term, acute or short-term, and treatments to be followed as and when necessary.
• It contains a security code which is essential to be able to access the patient’s information.

Scalability and interoperability of the model

The system is prepared to be able to work with the rest of the autonomous communities in Spain, and also, on an European level, it is participating in the epSOS Project, where 27 organizations from 13 European countries have created a secure interconnected electronic health framework.

The electronic prescription will participate in the Interoperability between Electronic Prescription Systems pilot scheme that will take place in 2011.

Línes of evolvement

Some lines have already been started, such as the extension of the project to other healthcare spheres (testing is already being carried out in specialised care), there are some other work lines open on the system itself, which will allow new functionalities to be included that will extend possibilities for relations between prescribers and dispensers, or reduce errors in medication. At the same time, work is also being done with other institutions and professionals from the pharmaceutical service sphere.

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