The integration of community pharmacy services into the broader healthcare ecosystem has been identified as a critical strategy for enhancing patient care and improving service efficiency. Community pharmacies in England typically operate using standalone digital platforms, which can limit their capacity to contribute to integrated care delivery.
In response, NHS England’s East of England Regional teamed up with Health Innovation East to conduct a pilot study to evaluate the impact of community pharmacies adopting an integrated clinical digital electronic health record, in place of standalone alternatives. The focus of the pilot was the implementation of a system widely used across primary care, called SystmOne. The pilot ran from November 2022 to December 2023 with the aim of facilitating secure access for community pharmacies to patients’ primary care records, improving communication between healthcare providers, and enhancing service delivery.
The evaluation team at Health Innovation East used a mixed methods approach to measure the impact of the pilot. The approach involved collecting system usage metrics, conducting pre- and post-implementation surveys and interviews with community pharmacy and general practice staff. A total of 35 community pharmacies and 31 general practices engaged in the pilot, with 13 pharmacies and 19 general practices actively using SystmOne throughout the study period.
The pilot demonstrated that it is feasible and acceptable to use the SystmOne clinical system in community pharmacy.
Our findings highlighted the potential benefits of integrating community pharmacies into a shared electronic health records system, aligning their digital infrastructure with that of general practices.
Key outcomes included enhanced interprofessional communication, improved clinical decision-making, and better service coordination, all contributing to improved patient care. However, technical barriers, streamlining data entry processes, and fostering greater engagement from both pharmacies and general practices must be addressed before the healthcare system is ready to adopt SystmOne for community pharmacy at scale.
Existing plans to commission more advanced services from pharmacies and to move workload from general practice and urgent care services to community pharmacy highlight the potential to expand the clinical role of community pharmacists and the accessibility for patients. Integrated, real-time digital communication between care settings and healthcare professionals will be crucial to ensure community-based care is coordinated, safe and effective. The findings from this pilot provide a foundation for policy and practice discussions aimed at leveraging digital integration to enhance community-based healthcare delivery.
You can read the full report here: https://healthinnovationeast.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Evaluation-Report-EoE-Community-Pharmacy-.pdf
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