Bradford gets UK’s first iSOFT pharmacy solution

Bradford Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust has become the first implementation of iSOFT’s i.Pharmacy software in the UK, a move that the company says paves the way towards its common clinical solution, Lorenzo.

The system, a combined medicine supply management and patient record system, was installed in two acute hospital sites and in the care trust, covering 95 staff.

Ian Hammond, director of pharmacy at Bradford Teaching Hospitals, said: "Links to the Patient Administration System, the facility to order via electronic data interchange, and connection to the finance department’s computer system have facilitated the purchasing process as well as the distribution and dispensing of medicine.

"Soon, we will be sending invoices electronically, which means we will no longer have to undertake batch prints. The application is effectively enabling pharmacy at Bradford to move towards a ‘paper-light’ environment."

According to iSOFT, the software can accurately track drug inventories across a number of sites and is scalable from large implementations to a single PC. The system replaces the numerous different pharmacy management structures into one overall service.

The i.Pharmacy system, according to company figures, has been implemented in around 165 sites around the world, and Bradford represents the first UK installation. The company believes this is a strategic move towards the core Lorenzo product.

John Brazel, iSOFT’s UK & Ireland managing director, said that the Bradford project would give the company a platform to start marketing the product to other trusts. "Pharmacy information management in the UK is a mature market," he said.

"By successfully implementing i.Pharmacy across Bradford Teaching Hospitals… iSOFT has made a significant step towards realising further opportunities and demonstrating further referenceability in this market."