Over 100 pharmacies will soon be able to send flu vaccination data to GP practices, as part of a two-week pilot soon commencing in Leeds.
The pilot, starting on 14 October, will allow pharmacies to electronically inform GP practice when a patient has received their flu vaccine, according to NHS Digital.
Earlier in July, NHS Digital confirmed only four in 10 GP practices would receive pharmacy flu vaccine data electronically by this autumn.
Using PharmOutcomes, 113 pharmacies will take part in the NHS Digital pilot and will send on vaccine data to 81 GP surgeries using TPP SystmOne.
NHS Digital has confirmed if the pilot is a success, it will roll out the service nationally later this year.
A spokesperson for NHS Digital said: ‘A pilot scheme begins next week in Leeds (14 October) of a new service to transfer information about flu vaccinations from pharmacies to GP practices. The pilot will involve pharmacies using PharmOutcomes and GP practices using TPP SystmOne.
‘A notification will be sent to the GP system when patients have their flu vaccination in a pharmacy. The notification will arrive in the GP system in the form of a workflow task which means practice teams will be able to add the vaccine details directly to a patient’s record, without having to transcribe this information manually.
‘If the pilot is a success, we will work towards rolling out the service nationally later this year – initially for PharmOutcomes users and then for other suppliers, following similar pilot schemes.’
The news comes as the Government has revealed it has stockpiled 400,000 extra adult flu vaccinations in case the UK leaves the EU without a deal.
