2006

iSOFT to develop new health IT system for Spanish region

This software allows doctors administering primary care to send patients’ prescriptions to pharmacies electronically, establishing an automatic link between the doctor and the pharmacist that facilitates and optimises the service provided to the general public. The information system developed by iSOFT will integrate the prescription and pharmaceutical dispensing processes with a view to phasing out paper prescriptions. The software will comply strictly with the requirements of the LOPD (Organic Data Protection Law), using electronic signatures during the prescription and dispensing processes.

Among the many benefits that this software will bring to SESCAM are the following:

• It will streamline the system of medical prescriptions, helping to ensure the correct completion of treatments and avoiding dispensing errors.
• It will reduce the number of visits made to health centres, thereby reducing problems of overcrowding in the centres and easing the strain on appointment schedules.
• Patients requiring medication to treat chronic illnesses can be prescribed over longer time periods without the need to attend the surgery each time their medication runs out, allowing medicines to be collected from pharmacies in a planned and controlled manner.
• It will help clinical staff to manage their time more effectively.

Katrina Díaz, General Manager of iSOFT in Spain, said: “This project, designed in close collaboration with SESCAM, is an important milestone in our company’s history. It is a highly advanced project in technological terms and is expected to improve substantially the medical care system for the public in this community. This project to overhaul the traditional system of dispensing prescriptions marks an important stage in the process of computerising the public health service.”

The project will start with a pilot study in two health areas – one located in the Santa Mª de Benquerencia primary care centre in Toledo and in three primary care centres in Puertollano – and will subsequently progress to the introduction of electronic prescriptions in each of the health centres belonging to SESCAM and in all pharmacies of the region.

In addition to the development of the computer software, iSOFT will also be responsible for training users and providing technical support in the health centres and promoting the use of this tool, which will allow significant advances in the efficient distribution and use of medicines.