WELCOME TO THE FEBRUARY DIGITAL MEDICINES NEWSLETTER!

Welcome to the latest Digital Medicines newsletter. In this edition we find out more about MedicinesComplete’s information software and its role in supporting health and care professionals. This month we also celebrate significant milestones for the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) and the electronic Prescribing and Medicines Administration (ePMA) programme. Enjoy the read!  

Q&A with MedicinesComplete 

We caught up with the MedicinesComplete team at Pharmaceutical Press to discuss the benefits and successes of its information system in health and care settings. 

In September 2024, MedicinesComplete joined the collection of Medicines Information within the NHS Wales e-library, which lists both subscribed and free resources. 

The subscribed resources can be accessed by NHS Wales staff by logging in with their email address and password, or those with an NHS Wales OpenAthens account. If you don’t have either of these accounts but are eligible to access as an authorised user, you can self-register for an OpenAthens account or contact the e-library team for further support.

Digital Medicines: Hello! Can you explain what MedicinesComplete is and what it offers health professionals please?

MedicinesComplete: MedicinesComplete from Pharmaceutical Press, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s knowledge business, brings together trusted knowledge products providing medicines information and expert guidance on the safe use and administration of drugs and medicines, in one place.

MedicinesComplete makes it easy for NHS Wales e-Library users to access regularly updated, evidence-based knowledge. It includes:



Point of Need

• British National Formulary (BNF) 
• BNF for Children 
• Drug Compatibility Checker 
• Drug Monitoring Checker 
• Palliative Care Formulary 
• Martindale’s ADR Checker 
• Stockley’s Drug Interactions 
• Stockley’s Interactions Checker

Specialist

• Critical Illness 
• Drugs in Pregnancy and Lactation 
• Psychotropic Drug Directory

Drug Administration

• ASHP Injectable Drug Information 
• Drug Administration via Enteral Feeding Tubes 
• Extended Stability for Parenteral Drugs 
• Injectable Drugs Guide 
• Paediatric Injectable Drugs

Reference 

• American Hospital Formulary Service (AHFS) Drug Information
• Kucer’s the Use of Antibiotics
• Martindale: The Complete Drug Reference
• Pharmaceutical Excipients

Complementary and Alternative Medicine

• Herbal Medicines
• Dietary Supplements
• Stockley’s Herbal Medicines Interactions

Legal and Regulatory

• Dale and Appelbe’s Pharmacy and Medicines Law 
• The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) Orange Guide 
• The MHRA Green Guide 

DM: What are the main benefits of using MedicinesComplete?

MC: MedicinesComplete makes it easy for health professionals to access trusted, evidence-based guidance and medicines information to support confident decision making at the point of need. The online platform provides access to relevant medicines information, curated by our experienced editorial team of clinical and scientific writers. Benefits include:

• Evidence-based, independent information 
• Clear, concise and actionable guidance 
• Information from a wide range of trusted information sources 
• Decision-support tools and calculators 
• An intuitive search experience

DM: How has MedicinesComplete impacted the NHS so far?

MC: National Health Services across Great Britain, Northern Ireland and Ireland have direct access to essential knowledge through MedicinesComplete, via national agreements and organisational subscriptions.

It supports quick and confident decisions at the point of need by:

• UK Medicines Information (UKMI) and medicines information departments 
• Hospital Pharmacists 
• Clinical Pharmacists 
• Nurses 
• GPs 
• Consultants 
• Ambulatory

A significant investment from National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) ensures that, with our partners British Medical Journal (BMJ) Group and the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, we support NHS health professionals with unlimited access to BNF and BNF for Children content online through MedicinesComplete and via the BNF + BNFC app.

DM: What do you see for the future of MedicinesComplete?

MC: Looking ahead, our goal is to ensure our knowledge through MedicinesComplete meets the evolving needs of healthcare.

Our commitment is to empower health professionals with the tools and knowledge they need to make informed, effective decisions to improve patient safety.

Learn more about MedicinesComplete complete here.



One million items in Wales dispensed via the Electronic Prescription Service 

We’re celebrating a significant milestone in the delivery of digital transformation in Primary Care in Wales, with one million prescription items being dispensed via the Electronic Prescription Service (EPS). 

In one of the biggest changes in decades to the way NHS Wales manages prescriptions, EPS is making things easier, safer and more efficient for patients and healthcare staff. The one millionth item was dispensed this month, just over a year since the service was launched at the end of 2023. 

Minister for Mental Health and Wellbeing Sarah Murphy, with responsibility for health innovation, technology and digital transformation, said: “Reaching one million electronic prescription items is a significant milestone for NHS Wales and demonstrates our commitment to modernising healthcare delivery.  

“This digital service is making life easier for patients across Wales while helping our dedicated healthcare professionals work more efficiently. The continuing rollout of the Electronic Prescription Service shows how we're harnessing digital technology to improve healthcare services for everyone in Wales." 

EPS enables prescriptions to be sent electronically from a GP practice to a pharmacy or dispenser without the traditional green paper form. There is no need for the prescription to be collected from the surgery and staff can track on the system where a prescription is at any time. 

Read more about our one million item milestone here.

First Positive Solutions pharmacy goes live with ‘prescription ready’ notifications

Patient Medication Record (PMR) supplier Positive Solutions has enabled the ‘prescription ready’ notification in the NHS Wales App at its first site, following successful testing. The feature, which allows patients using the App to receive notifications alerting them when their prescriptions are ready to collect, is now being used at Moelwyn Pharmacy in Blaenau Ffestiniog, Gwynedd. Further roll out is planned to all community pharmacies in Wales using Positive Solutions’ Analyst PMR in the next two months. 

Last year, Invatech became the first PMR supplier to roll out the prescription ready notification feature at pharmacies in Wales which use its software. In addition to Positive Solutions’ successful testing, Boots and Cegedim have started development work.  

Work also continues on the ‘Nominate a Pharmacy’ feature, which will allow patients to choose their preferred pharmacy via the NHS Wales App to receive their prescriptions from their GP practice digitally via EPS. 

Aneurin Bevan University Health Board selects ePMA supplier Better to transform the delivery of hospital patient care  

Aneurin Bevan University Health Board (ABUHB) has taken a big step forward in its ePMA journey by selecting Better as its technology supplier to roll out more efficient medicines management in its hospitals.  

Implementing ePMA in secondary care settings across NHS Wales continues to play a crucial role in Digital Medicines transformation and forms part of the national programmes led by Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW). ABUHB is the latest health board to choose its ePMA supplier, following announcements by Cardiff and Vale, Cwm Taf Morgannwg and Betsi Cawaladr University Health Boards last year. 

Dr Lesley Hewer, DHCW Chair of the National ePMA Programme, said: “It’s fantastic to see ABUHB collaborating with other colleagues from around Wales to roll out electronic prescribing and medicines administration in its hospitals. Working together will mean that the patient and staff experience of receiving medication in a hospital setting will be safer and easier.” 

Dr Melanie Poole, ABUHB ePMA Clincal Lead, said: “The implementation of ePMA is a significant step forward in the health board’s digital strategy, harnessing technology to enhance healthcare delivery. We are excited to be partnering with Better to transform prescribing and medicines administration across Aneurin Bevan UHB. 

“Safe and effective medication management is at the heart of every hospital patient’s care. By digitising prescribing and administration, we will streamline workflows, improve efficiency and deliver significant benefits for both patients and healthcare professionals.” 

You can read the full ABUHB announcement on our news page.

Welsh Health Circular (WHC) mandates use of dictionary of medicines and devices 

A Welsh Health Circular (WHC) mandating the use of the dictionary of medicines and devices (dm+d) was published in January and forms a key component of the data standards required for systems to integrate with the Shared Medicines Record (SMR).

NHS local health boards, trusts and special health authorities are required to adopt dm+d, as the single medicines language, across systems recording medicines information. This will support information sharing with other systems, through the SMR.

The new WHC strengthens the data standards that systems are required to comply with in order to not only read and write data with the SMR, but to record information once and use many times to help prevent the need to transcribe medicines information from one system to another. Previously published standards relate to the use of Fast Healthcare Interoperability Resources (FHIR) as the technical interoperability standard for Wales and Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine Clinical Terms (SNOMED CT) for medicines dose syntax and patient allergies and intolerances.



Congratulations Ben!

We are delighted to congratulate our colleague Ben Sendell-Thomas on his promotion from Project Support Manager in the Patient Access Project to ePMA Technical Interoperability Project Manager. Ben, who started his new role in November, said:

I recently joined the Digital Medicines ePMA team following my role in the Patient Access Project, where, since April 2023, I led the discovery and development of medicines-related features in the NHS Wales App. Before that, I worked as a Clinical Project Manager in a pharmaceutical company, leading international clinical trial projects.

I am now working on the ePMA Programme’s Technical Interoperability Project. My role involves assisting health boards and trusts in integrating with national systems and interfaces, such as the Welsh Patient Administration System and the Shared Medicines Record. Throughout my time in Digital Medicines and at DHCW, I have witnessed the transformative impact of digital initiatives and I am excited to be part of these changes to improve the experience of both clinicians and patients.

Outside of work, I enjoy exploring the beautiful beaches of Gower with my husband and our energetic Cockapoo. I also love experimenting with new cooking and baking recipes and trying to get through a large pile of books I've been meaning to read.



Collaborative workshops set the scene for ePMA in north Wales

In January, the first in a series of technical workshops was hosted by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) in Mold. BCUHB colleagues were joined by our national ePMA team and technology supplier Better for the event, which provided a fantastic opportunity for stakeholders to meet in person, discuss the scope of go-live with their ePMA systems this year and complete detailed planning.



Louise Gregory, DHCW’s Secondary Care ePMA Programme Manager, said: "It was great to be in the room together in-person and have the opportunity to discuss the needs for the go-live, including the integrations to enable their ePMA system to integrate and share data with the national architecture and to help move things forward.”

Scheduled to continue throughout the year, the technical workshops will encourage the key theme of collaboration for BCUHB’s ePMA journey. 

All change at communications team day!

Digital Medicines Senior Communications Officers Rebecca Lees and Jason Vowles joined DHCW’s Corporate Communications team for an inspiring professional development day last month. Led by transformation experts Perago and held at the Tramshed Tech collaborative workspace in Grangetown, Cardiff, the session focused on understanding why we respond to change the way we do and how communications teams can plan more efficiently to deliver change.  

Perago’s Victoria and Chris explained the neuroscience behind change and some of the core models that help communications professionals create effective campaigns. Traitors fans were delighted to see the show used as a perfect case study of how people respond to uncertainty – although thankfully no one was suspended in a mid-air cage as part of the demonstration!

Our thanks go to Perago for an enlightening, fun and thought-provoking day, as well as our DHCW communications colleagues for their continued support and collaboration. 

Join our ePMA Community of Knowledge and Action

Engagement and collaboration is key in the rollout and preparation of ePMA in our hospitals in Wales. If you and your healthcare colleagues would like to share lessons, our Community of Knowledge and Action (CoKA) meetings are at the heart of this approach.



If you work for a health board or trust, please come along as the CoKA meetings offer a supportive forum for engagement and feedback. The next meetings will take place on March 20 and April 17. You can register or find out more by emailing DHCW.ePMA@wales.nhs.uk.

Sign up to our ePMA e-bulletin

Each month we create an e-bulletin to NHS colleagues involved in implementing ePMA. If you work for a health board or trust in Wales and would like to receive these updates, you can sign up today! 

Find out more about EPS

Primary Care EPS Programme Oversight Chair Jenny Pugh-Jones also writes a monthly bulletin for GPs, community pharmacies and dispensers with all the latest news and updates about electronic prescriptions. You can join the mailing list here. 

Digital Medicines is making the prescribing, dispensing and administration of medicines, easier, safer, more efficient and effective for patients and professionals through digital. It brings together the programmes and projects that will deliver the benefits of a fully digital prescribing approach in all care settings in Wales.  

If you would like to know more about our work or have a suggestion about how we can engage with you, please let us know! 

Email: DigitalMedicines.Comms@wales.nhs.uk, visit our web pages or follow Digital Health and Care Wales on our social media channels: