A new fund has been set up to enable electronic prescription service (EPS) delivery by digital community pharmacy systems in Wales.

The Digital Medicines Transformation Portfolio and Life Sciences Hub Wales will manage the Community Pharmacy System Innovation fund on behalf of the Welsh Government, providing grants for suppliers to develop systems for EPS use and receive electronic transfer of prescriptions.

Applicants can also submit bids for financial support to deliver innovations resulting in paperless dispensing and integration with the new NHS Wales app.

Life Sciences Hub Wales said the introduction of an EPS in primary care will make the prescribing and dispensing process ‘safer, easier and more efficient for patients and healthcare professionals’.

Andrew Evans, chief pharmaceutical officer for Wales, welcomed the launch of the fund.

‘The Community Pharmacy System Innovation Fund will help pharmacies and their IT systems to operate in a truly paperless way, able to digitally receive, process and track prescriptions, and notify patients when their prescription is ready, building on capability within the NHS Wales App,’ he said.

‘The fund is major step forward for community pharmacies in Wales and will help them realise the significant opportunities presented by digital ways of working,’ Mr Evans added.

The fund is open for bids by community pharmacy system suppliers until October 2024.