Pharmacists urged to contact PCTs on smart cards

Pharmacy representatives are telling pharmacists to contact their primary care trusts over smartcard availability as Connecting for Health publishes its first set of guidance for pharmacists on the electronic prescription service (EPS).

The Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee says it is “strongly advising” pharmacists to contact their PCT to find out what the local arrangements will be for issuing smartcards because of concerns that there may be delays in some PCT areas.

Lindsay McClure, head of information services at the PSNC, said the concern was that pharmacists could be left out of pocket.

She told EHI Primary Care: “What we are concerned about is the funding arrangements for the ETP allowance. There is a potential issue if for example a pharmacist has signed up for connectivity and is paying say £150 a month but won’t be able to claim the allowance because they have not got a smartcard.”

The guidance note from Connecting for Health outlines the steps pharmacists will need to follow in order to implement release one of the EPS. It covers ordering a compliant system, arranging network connectivity, obtaining smartcards, installing hardware and software, training and communication and going live.

The note says pharmacists have two choices on network connectivity which can either be ‘indirect’ or ‘direct’. Indirect connections will be offered by commercial network providers who have a Connecting for Health approved N3 connection. This can be bought either as part of a system supplier package, suggested as the most likely option for small chain or independent contractors, or via a commercial network provider. A direct connection to N3 is also possible and the guidance suggests this may be more appropriate for large pharmacy chains with corporate networks.

The guidance adds: “Contractors who wish to pursue this option will need to be sponsored, in most cases by their PCT, in order to purchase a connection.”

On smartcards the guidance says that PCTs will be responsible for providing smartcards to all community pharmacists including locums. It says pharmacists will need to contact their PCT Registration Authority to arrange registration and the issue of smartcards.

The PSNC says further information is expected shortly from Connecting for Health including a list of approved commercial network providers.

A spokesperson for NHS Connecting for Health said pharmacists need to read the guidance and then make arrangements with their system supplier to schedule an approximate date for upgrading their system software.

The spokesperson added: “Once this date is confirmed, the contractor will be in a position to arrange a date for issue of the smart card with their Registration Authority.  NHS CFH will be actively monitoring the deployment of the Electronic Prescription Service.”

Final policy and guidance for PCTs on the registration of pharmacists is due to be issued on January 6.

Links

Connecting for Health guidance for pharmacists