A new IT system is set to counter prescription fraud and help the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety save £4million 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).
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."
Hewlett-Packard's solution will enable the department to counter fraud by cross-referencing patient and prescription information against Social Security and other records. The Central Fraud Unit of the Central Services Agency will be alerted when a false claim has been made.
