UK- Pharmacy

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Leeds Hospitals Signs First NHS Online Pharmacy Deal

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LONDON (Reuters Health) Jun 06 - Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, the

UK's biggest hospital Trust, has signed a groundbreaking contract with the

Leeds-based online pharmacy service Pharmacy2U to provide a home medicine

delivery service to patients. The deal is the first of its kind in the UK.

The contract, which will run for 2 years, was awarded after a competitive

tender. Healthcare at Home, Unichem and AAH are all understood to have also

tendered for the contract. Tucker, head of communications for Pharmacy2U,

told Reuters Health the two-year deal is " worth about £1m, and as we roll it out

we are looking to see whether we can do a deal in other areas. "

Deliveries will be made to a number of different points within the Trust

and also to patients' homes. Initially the service will focus on patients

receiving renal and HIV therapies, and discussions are under way with the trust

to extend the service to additional therapy areas.

The initial contract covers approximately 200 patients. " This will take a

little time to build up to as we expect the consultants to be reasonably

cautious to begin with, " said Jon Cohen, director of professional services at

the online pharmacy. Pharmacy2U expects to begin dispensing next week.

Tucker confirmed that Pharmacy2U, the UK's first online pharmacy, is " in

discussions with other hospital trusts " to provide similar services.

Jon Cohen said the firm aims to demonstrate the benefits of a new joint

working approach. " The advantages are clear - retaining clinical pharmacists at

ward level as well as relieving pressure on hospital dispensaries and clinical

budgets. "

Pharmacy2U will work with the hospital's clinical directorates to ensure

that pharmacists' time is spent working with patients on the wards. It is hoped

that delivery of outpatients' medicines to them in their homes will make it

possible to develop more flexible home care arrangements, helping to reduce

waiting times and pressures within the hospital.

Under the contract, Pharmacy2U will also work with the pharmacy department

to develop electronic prescribing links. Professor Liz Kay, head of pharmacy at

Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: " I think together we can take pharmacy

supply forward to provide our patients with a better quality service. "

In March 2001 the UK Government selected a Pharmacy2U-led consortium as

one of three to pilot online prescribing in the UK. TranScript and Sema lead the

two other consortia. All three include a heavyweight line-up of leading pharmacy

chains, wholesalers and technology vendors.

The Pharmacy2U-led pilot will focus on enabling GPs to send encrypted

messages to pharmacists to order repeat prescriptions. The 12-month pilot will

launch later this month, and operate on two sites in Stockport and North London.

The NHS strategy document, Pharmacy in the Future, calls for remote

pharmacy and repeat medicines management to be offered across the NHS by 2004.