New system to combat prescription fraud

A new IT system has been set up in a bid to combat prescription fraud and to help the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety save approximately £4 million a year.

Hewlett-Packard Northern Ireland has signed an eight-year contract with the Department to implement and support the provision of a system known as Northern Ireland's Electronic Prescribing and Eligibility System (EPES).

The system, will enable the department to counter fraud by cross-referencing patient and prescription information against Social Security and other records, and will alert the Central Fraud Unit of the Central Services Agency when a false claim has been made.

Paul Simpson, Deputy Secretary, Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, said: "I very much welcome this. EPES is about modernising the prescribing and dispensing process to improve patient safety, reduce administration costs and reduce fraud in the provision of health care in Northern Ireland.

"I expect it to be available to community pharmacists within the next two years. It should significantly reduce the inaccuracies that can occur with the current manual process, by tracking patient's prescription records."

(EF)