Hospital Electronic Prescribing and Medicines Administration (HEPMA) Data - Scotland

National Services Scotland (NSS) has requested NHS Digital to collect and analyse Hospital Electronic Prescribing and Medicines Administration (HEPMA) data from NHS Health Boards in Scotland for COVID-19 purposes. The data will be disseminated back to NSS to support the NHS in Scotland and Scottish Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The data collected will include:

• what medicines have been prescribed to patients in hospital settings
• how and when the medicine was taken by the patient (administration)
• the reasons for prescribing if this is available (known as indications)
• the patient’s CHI number
• what stage of the patient’s journey through the hospital the data relates to (where available).

This Notice is served on:

• the six NHS Health Boards in Scotland using CareFlow medicines management systems which have agreed to participate in the collection.

Specific collection dates will be agreed with the individual Health Boards.

Initially the collection will take data from 1 January 2020, to be followed by a further historic collection of data from 1 January 2019. Once this is completed, submissions will start on a daily basis.

The collection will continue for as long as there is a need to support Scotland’s response to COVID-19.

National Services Scotland (NSS) issued an extension request on 1 March 2022 which also requires that NHS Digital, NSS and Public Health Scotland carry out an annual review of the continued need for the data, with a view to carrying out the first review in December 2022.

31 March 2022: revised Notice issued to align with NSS extension request, and to change name of Wellsky to CareFlow.

2 June 2021: updated transparency notice published, to provide clarity around the type of personal data being shared with NHS Digital; no change to Data Provision Notice.