Skip to main content

Digital Medicines in focus at MediWales Connects Conference 

20 June 2023

Digital medicines transformation is in the spotlight at the MediWales Connects, NHS Collaboration Conference, taking place at the All Nations Centre in Cardiff on 29 June. 

Laurence James, Programme Lead for the Digital Medicines Transformation Portfolio, will supply insight into progress as the NHS in Wales enters the biggest change to prescribing and medicines administration in decades. 

With 81 million items prescribed each year by GPs, mainly using paper, digital change is needed to make the entire process safer and easier for patients and for clinicians. 

Laurence said: “Collaboration and engagement are hugely important to the successful delivery of digital medicines transformation, so this is a great opportunity to share what we are doing.” 

 

The Digital Medicines Transformation Portfolio, hosted by Digital Health and Care Wales, brings together four national programmes: 

  • Primary Care Electronic Prescription Service: GPs and other prescribers will send prescriptions electronically to the pharmacy of an individual’s choice – without the need for a paper form. 
  • Secondary Care Electronic Prescribing and Medicines Administration: paper medicines charts and prescriptions will be a thing of the past as prescribing and medicines administration across all Welsh hospitals move to a digital system. 
  • Shared Medicines Record: building a single shared record of medicines for every patient in Wales 
  • Medicines functionality in the NHS Wales App: to give people an easy way to connect with healthcare services and to manage their medicines using their smartphone,  tablet or computer. 

Laurence will join colleagues from Digital Health and Care Wales in the Digital Transformation Session on the Plenary Stage. 

The session is chaired by Rebecca Cook, National Data Resource Programme Director and will explore the next steps for digital health and care in Wales.

It includes presentations from Matt Cornish, Digital Services for Patients and Public Programme Director and Mark Frayne, Assistant Chief Architect, National Data Resource Programme.