Some 10 per cent of Scottish residents have registered to use an electronic Minor Ailment Service (MAS), introduced to pharmacies across the country.

MAS is part of the ePharmacy Programme for NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) and replaces a paper-based system, to allow pharmacists to process prescriptions more efficiently.

Since MAS came into operation on 1 July more than 500,000 people – 10 per cent of Scotland’s population – have registered to use the service, and pharmacies have processed more than 85,000 electronic reimbursement claims to NSS.

The Scottish Executive Health Department contracted IT services company Atos Origin to implement MAS, which is underpinned by an IT support programme called eMAS.

Core components include an N3 network connection to every pharmacy in Scotland, a central ePharmacy Message Store, a central Patient Registrations System, system applications for the new contract and an ePay functionality within NSS.

‘EMAS is much more streamlined. It gives easier access for patients, who can now come to us direct concerning minor ailments,’ said George Romanes, a community pharmacist.

‘The system is used to prescribe medication purely through the pharmacy, or to make a referral to a GP. It keeps track of what we’re prescribing and provides an audit trail of the advice we give, to ensure compliancy with best practice.’

Technical support for the Acute Medication Service and Chronic Medication Service will follow during 2007, connecting the entire GP practice and pharmacy communities.

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