Warning about data loss in pharmacies

摘要

I write to warn fellow contractors in community pharmacy about a major IT issue that affects storage of patient data. One busy afternoon last summer, our local area suffered a power cut. Normal service was restored three hours later but our pharmacy computer system could not reboot. I received a telephone call from my locum pharmacist telling me that she could not access the patient medication record (PMR). I advised her that prescriptions should be handwritten until IT support rectified the issue.