Pharmacies piloting electronic prescriptions

THE Ministry of Health and the region’s College of Pharmacists are trialling electronic prescriptions. The main benefit of this is to allow drugs to be collected from pharmacies anywhere in Spain and in turn for Valencian pharmacies to serve users from outside the Community.

A group of pharmacies are taking part in the pilot scheme across Valencia which is already in operation in the Canary Islands and Extremadura and being trialled across six other communities countrywide. 

The benefits at this time of year are particularly apparent, both for the influx of visitors from other parts of Spain, and for Valencian residents travelling elsewhere. Many elderly visitors from the north and centre of the country reside in Valencia for several weeks.

The Canaries and Extremadura were ‘guinea pigs’ for the scheme in 2013 and after a successful pilot the scheme was fully adopted in 2015. However the scheme obviously has limited benefits until most or all communities have adopted the electronic system.

Other communities involved in the trial are Asturias, Galicia, Murcia, Navarra and Castilla La Mancha. La Mancha has nearly completed successful trials and expects to adopt the scheme in full shortly.