WELCOME TO THE FIRST DIGITAL MEDICINES TRANSFORMATION

PORTFOLIO NEWSLETTER OF 2024

January 2024

Hello and welcome to our January newsletter! We have already made a busy start to 2024 and this edition highlights some of the developments and milestones which have taken place since the Christmas break. 

Earlier this month we launched our first DMTP Review, which details the pace, progress and fantastic achievements that have been made in the 20 months since the Portfolio was established. We have also announced leading UK health retailer Boots as the second pharmacy system supplier to develop technology to support the delivery of an Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) in Wales. Read on to find out more. 

If you haven't already signed up to receive our newsletter each month, you can sign up here. You can also email us at [email protected] to share your news and stay up to date with the Portfolio's progress.

Photo: DMTP Director Rhian Hamer with staff at Wellington Road Pharmacy, Rhyl

The first Annual Review has been launched by the Digital Medicines Transformation Portfolio (DMTP) to mark the achievements made to date in delivering one of the biggest changes to medicines prescribing, dispensing and administration in decades. 

In just 18 months, DMTP has established four connected programmes and projects to deliver digital transformation in all care settings in Wales. Digital ways of working will transform patient care and services by replacing the paper-based processes currently used in hospitals, GP practices and community pharmacies. 

The creation of DMTP by Welsh Government in April 2022 followed an independent review of prescribing. An ambitious digital medicines plan for Wales was set out and, since its formation, DMTP has moved forward at pace with work which will bring significant benefits to patients and healthcare professionals. 

In November 2023, a key milestone was reached when the first Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) in Wales was launched in Rhyl, Denbighshire. Testing is currently taking place at Lakeside Medical Centre and Wellington Road Pharmacy in Rhyl, and you can read more about the launch of EPS in our November newsletter. 

DMTP has also made great progress in its work to deliver electronic Prescribing and Medicines Administration (ePMA) in every ward in all 82 hospitals in Wales; the development of a Shared Medicines Record; and medicines functionality in the NHS Wales App.  

The aim is to ensure new digital ways of working deliver the best possible outcomes for patients and the public. DMTP Senior Responsible Owner Professor Hamish Laing said: “Medicines are a vitally important part of healthcare, at some point touching the lives of nearly every person living and working in Wales. Yet the way we manage medicines, largely using paper processes, has not changed significantly since the birth of the NHS in 1948. 

“I am confident that the work we are undertaking will have significant impact. I am immensely proud of our progress and, as you read this review, you can find out more about the transformation we are delivering.” 

You can read the Annual Review here and you can also find out more by watching our short video.  

Boots becomes second pharmacy to test electronic prescribing in Wales

Boots has become the second pharmacy system supplier to develop and test the technology needed to support the delivery of an Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) in Wales. 

The UK’s leading health and beauty retailer has made changes to its dispensing software to enable it to be ready to receive prescriptions digitally instead of on paper in Wales. The system, which has now been developed to get Boots pharmacies in Wales ready for EPS, has just started its testing phase, which is due to be completed early in 2024. 

If testing is successful, the system will be introduced in Boots stores across Wales as part of the phased roll out of EPS, which will take place as safely and quickly as possible.  



The introduction of EPS across Wales is a key component of the Digital Medicines Transformation Portfolio and enables GPs to send prescriptions electronically to the patient’s choice of community pharmacy, without the need for a paper form. It will also help the environment, saving up to 40 million paper prescription forms from being printed each year in Wales. 

Jenny Pugh-Jones, Senior Responsible Owner of the Primary Care Electronic Prescription Service programme, said: “It is really exciting to see that we are already moving into the testing phase with Boots as our second pharmacy system supplier to enable EPS across Wales. 

“We are delighted to work with Boots, which has a strong presence in communities throughout Wales, and look forward to the impact that this partnership will have for patients, pharmacy staff and GPs.” 

Read the full story about Boots becoming the second supplier here. 

Photo: Jenny Rose, Director of Stores for Wales, Merseyside and West Midlands at Boots

Significant milestone reached in electronic Prescribing and

Medicines Administration (ePMA) procurement

The Secondary Care electronic Prescribing and Medicines Administration (ePMA) programme reached a significant milestone at the end of 2023, with every health board and trust in Wales publishing its Invitation to Tender (ITT) to suppliers of ePMA systems. This fulfilled a commitment to publish all ITTs by the end of the calendar year. 

Cardiff and Vale and Cwm Taf Morgannwg UHBs have chosen their preferred supplier, while all other health boards and trusts are now developing their business cases and undertaking evaluation activities. All health boards and trusts are expected to choose their preferred supplier before the end of the financial year. 

The first ePMA Community of Knowledge and Action of 2024 took place on January 18, with colleagues from Powys Teaching Health Board sharing some of their experiences of preparing communications and engagement about ePMA . We are now working on a calendar of Community of Knowledge and Action events for the year ahead and will share this as soon as it’s finalised. If you would like to know more about the community, please contact [email protected].  

The Programme has been asked to scope out the requirements to introduce Closed-Loop Medicines Administration (CLMA) as part of the deployment of ePMA on wards. This uses barcode scanning to check that the correct medicine is being administered to the correct patient and integrates with the ePMA application. Experience from England is that thousands of potential errors are detected and prevented each year on busy wards by using CLMA. We are collaborating with the all-Wales Scan4Safety programme, which uses the same approach for medical devices.  

Shared Medicines Record engagement sessions

The Shared Medicines Record (SMR) team is holding engagement sessions with health boards and trusts to promote awareness and explain the benefits of the Shared Medicines Record (SMR). These sessions give health board colleagues an opportunity to meet the team and ask any questions they may have about the SMR. 

Following the update in our October newsletter, testing is now underway with ePMA suppliers to ensure information from ePMA systems can be shared correctly with the SMR. Follow-up sessions to review progress have been taking place throughout January.  

Work has also commenced to plan the migration of patient allergies from Welsh Clinical Portal (WCP) to the SMR. We will share further details as soon as possible. 

Good progress made on core medicines features in NHS Wales App

Digital Services for Patients and the Public (DSPP) continues to work with GP practices in Wales to ensure they can offer services within the NHS Wales App, which will help patients manage their healthcare.  

Good progress is also being made on two core medicines features in the NHS Wales App. Software development has been completed on the push notification feature, which allows a secure message to be sent by a pharmacy to tell patients that their prescription is ready. Two community pharmacy system suppliers will be testing the feature this month.  



The development of a feature to allow patients to nominate a pharmacy to dispense their prescription is also currently in development. We will continue to bring you news about the App as further developments take place. 

Every month, we welcome our new starters and find out more about their roles and interests. This month, we welcome Shared Medicines Record Project Manager Jon Hussell and Service Desk Team Leader Nathan Terry to the team. 

Jon Hussell,

SMR Project Manager

Joined DMTP: October 2023 

I joined DHCW from Swansea Bay University Health Board, where I spent four years as a project manager implementing systems such as the Welsh Clinical Portal, the Welsh Nursing Care Record and ePMA. Before that, I worked for the NHS Wales Informatics Service, implementing new clinical document feeds for the Welsh Care Record Service. 

My motivation for joining DMTP was the opportunity to work in a fantastic team on a product that is not only unique, but which will also provide significant benefits to both clinicians and patients across Wales.  

Outside work I love photography, listening to music, playing snooker and walking. My favourite places to walk are anywhere where there’s wildlife really – country parks and woodlands are top of the list! 

Nathan Terry,

Local Service Desk Team Leader

Joined DMTP: October 2023 

I have been Team Leader on Digital Health and Care Wales’ Local Service Desk since March 2021. I’m continuing in this role but now leading on the Electronic Prescription Service from a Service Desk perspective, as of October 2023. My role includes ensuring support calls are logged, triaged and responded to correctly, as well as ensuring that all service desk analysts have appropriate training on EPS. 

I am looking forward to being involved in a service that nationally impacts patients and assists in moving forward digital healthcare in Wales, providing an improved quality of life for patients and staff.  

Away from work I have played rugby since I was five and now play for Aberdare RFC. I also enjoy going to the gym, travelling and live music. 

DMTP was established by Welsh Government to co-ordinate, support and ensure strategic alignment of four different but inter-related areas of work which together will deliver the overall benefits: 

• The delivery of an Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) in primary care
• The implementation of an electronic Prescribing and Medicines Administration (ePMA) on hospital wards
• The development of a Shared Medicines Record
• Medicines functionality and patient access within the NHS Wales App

If you would like to know more about our work or have a suggestion about how we can engage with you, we’d love to hear from you!  



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