Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW) has said it has completed the implementation of a national system for pharmacy stock management in hospitals.
The move was completed over 12 months at 28 sites across seven health boards and one trust.
The Welsh Hospital Pharmacy Stock Management System, developed by CareFlow Medicines Management (formerly WellSky) under a seven-year contract, has replaced software that had been in place for 30 years and now has nearly 2,500 users.
DHCW said it has been designed to improve the accuracy of computerised dispensing and stock management, that it should also be more reliable, improve the clarity of data recorded and ensure compliance with national governance requirements.
It links medication dispensing and usage data through nationally recognised data.
Great opportunity
Berwyn Owen, chief pharmacist at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, said: “The modernisation and standardisation of the Welsh Hospital Pharmacy Stock Management System across Wales has not just modernised an outdated system but it has given hospital pharmacy a brilliant opportunity”
He added: “This is an opportunity to do things better, together collaboratively, consistently and in a standardised manner. Whilst there are many benefits, one of the outcomes - an agreed All Wales medicines file - alone, allows us to accurately check stock across Wales and talk about the same medicines products in the same way.
“We can build on this, and more, to continually optimise and improve, knowing that we are all on the same hymn sheet and therefore no one is excluded from the journey.”
Funding for the project was provided by the Welsh Government’s Digital Priorities Investment Fund. DHCW said it marks a step towards the implementation of national electronic prescribing and medicines administration.
