Events which will include a focus on healthcare IT are listed further below. Community Pharmacy IT Group meets for its main meetings each quarter and papers and information is at the Community Pharmacy IT Group webpage.

Recent events

• March 9th, 2022: Community Pharmacy IT Group, (virtual quarterly meeting)
• March 17th, 2022 10am-11.30am: Learning networks: workshop, (virtual) [registration link]
• March 21st, 2022 noon-2pm: PRSB webinar: accelerating shared care records, (virtual) [registration link]. See also Shared Care Records.
• May 24th, 2022 12.30 pm-2pm: PRSB core info standard call – Pharmacy dental and other sectors, (virtual)
• May 27th, 2022 12.30 pm-2pm: PRSB core info standard call – Pharmacy optom, and other sectors, (virtual)
• June 8th, 2022: Community Pharmacy IT Group, (virtual quarterly meeting)

(One-off and annual events are highlighted gold. Also see: Digitalhealth.net webinars/events), FutureNHS events (promoted to FutureNHS members), Kings Fund events and NHS Digital events, NHS Transformation Directorate  events.

To have an event added here or for a list of past events, please contact it@psnc.org.uk.

Feedback / take part

• If you are a pharmacy contractor who would like to test new pharmacy IT developments then please enter your details onto our IT feedback form.
• Join Community Pharmacy Digital email Group (CPDG). The email discussion forum is a place for pharmacy staff, and Local Pharmaceutical Committee (LPC) members to share ideas about digital pharmacy matters using an email address. CPDG also helps to inform Community Pharmacy IT Group’s (CP ITG’s) work.
• Use the IT feedback form. to volunteer for future pilot opportunities.

Surveys 

• IT arrangements survey (completion time of 5-10 mins)
• PRSB core info standard survey (completion time of 5 mins)

Look-out for other  IT survey opportunities including those highlighted for those pharmacy team members that join Community Pharmacy Digital email Group (CPDG) or for those that are signed up to the PSNC newsletter.

Consultations

• NHS Digital consulations hub (various deadlines)

Consider use of social media to discuss community pharmacy IT matters. PSNC has a Guide to pharmacy social media use.

Learn more about pharmacy IT by viewing our information on pharmacy IT policies and structures, considering further digital training and exploring our IT hub page.

NHSE&I commissioned work to develop technical toolkits. Community Pharmacy IT Group is collating feedback from its participants and from others.

If you wish to comment please send initial comments to it@psnc.org.uk by end of 16th June 2022.

Digital Health Summer Schools 14th–15th July 2022. An application process to apply for a bursary to attend for free and receive access to a mentoring programme will be open until Friday 27 May, 11:59pm. This is open to both those nominating themselves and those nominating others. The bursary is intended to enable more pharmacists, technicians and others within the sector being able to attend. More info here.

NHS Digital are exploring launching a new service that could do away with the need for face-to-face identity checks for anyone needing a new smartcard. The new service could go one step beyond the existing Covid workaround [linked to COVID specific legislation] that involves a video call  (e.g. MS Teams). Whilst that may be more convenient and greener than the original process

The new system is hoped to maintain a high authentication level and have the added benefit of enabling staff to register themselves wherever and whenever is most convenient for them.

The new service may essentially involve two steps:

1. Being sent a secure link to a webpage where basic details can be input; and
2. Being sent a link to an app that could allow you to show documents and be photographed.

These represent the same document checks as the current standard service.

Applying using this new method could run in parallel with the existing registration service, since not everyone has a smartphone or is comfortable using one.

The new service would not be restricted to pharmacy, it would run out across the entire NHS. Given that anyone requiring access to patient records will have to go through this process there are huge savings to be made from streamlining it.

NHS Digital are performing discovery work and want to know of pharmacy team feedback.

Please contact it@psnc.org.uk if you can take part. You’ll be able to take part with a shot phone interview which will help to ensure NHS Digital are taking into account extra community pharmacy user input.

The discovery team would be interested to speak with a mixture of pharmacy team members including locums, regular staff and head office staff.

NHS Transformation Directorate are exploring what an effective learning network to support digital services should look like for the Community Pharmacy sector.

Considerations

1. What would a successful learning network look like for you?
2. What gaps currently exist in sharing learning and best practice between different Pharmacy stakeholders?
3. What are the disadvantages with learning networks?
4. What sort of topics would you like to discuss in a network like this?
5. What would make the learning network as engaging as possible for you?
6. How can we ensure a learning network is sustainable?

If you would like to feed in about these please email it@psnc.org.uk. PSNC may link yoy to the project team.

PSNC and CP ITG are also directly feeding into NHS Transformation Directorate.

PRSB workshops about information standards for ‘PODAC’ (Pharmacy, Optometry, Dentistry, Ambulance and Community services). We’d encourage you to attend. You’re encouraged to register for this free event.

• 12.30 pm-2pm on 24th May (see this registration link)
• 9.30am-11am on 31st May (see this registration link)

You’re also encouraged to submit a response on the associated Survey about use of records within healthcare orgs. There are only 9 questions and ithe survey can be done in around 5 minutes.

NHS Digital and PSNC is inviting community pharmacy contractors to take part in research trialling the new NHSmail Virtual Visits appointment booking and remote consultation platform.

Pharmacy teams taking part in the pilot, will be able to use the Virtual Visits tool to experiment with booking and carrying out face to face and/or virtual patient consultations. The tool works in conjunction with NHSmail Microsoft Teams and the Microsoft Booking platform.

Prerequisites for community pharmacy team members taking part in the pilot are:

• an active personal NHSmail account;
• access to the pharmacy’s shared NHSmail inbox;
• Microsoft Teams installed on a computer or tablet;
• a computer or device with a webcam.

This research will help support the development of this tool, ensuring that it is as easy to use as possible for pharmacy teams. If you would like to get involved with this research, we recommend that you register your interest as soon as possible.

Please complete this short web form to register interest to pilot and use Virtual Visits. Your information will be shared with the project team so that you can be contacted if you are selected. This round of piloting will start from mid-June 2022.

If you want to learn more before registering your interest, please email it@psnc.org.uk with ‘Virtual Visits pilot’ in the email subject title.

Read more: NHSmail and Pharmacy video conferencing.

Read more about: NHSmail and Pharmacy video conferencing.