Neasa Hourigan (Dublin Central, Green Party)
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1311. To ask the Minister for Health if he will provide an update on the business case for the National ePrescribing Project; if it has been submitted to the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12893/23]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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A business case for the national ePrescribing project was submitted by the HSE in September 2022 and approved in principle (in October 2022) by the Department of Health and digital governance oversight unit at the Department of Public Expenditure. This approval enables the HSE to proceed with the next phase of the programme - to tender for a solution suitable for use in Ireland. Market soundings have already taken place.

The ePrescribing programme is already established with a governance group in place and regular project board meetings. The project is being led by pharmacists who, working alongside other clinicians and technical teams in the HSE, have the knowledge and expertise to deliver the solution for Ireland. Stakeholder engagement sessions are currently taking place to ensure the needs of patients, prescribers and dispensing pharmacists are understood and captured in the technical requirements. Funding has already been been allocated within the 2023 national service plan/ ICT capital plan on the basis the project will proceed. The project does require dedicated resources to complement the core team already in place (existing HSE staff) and that is being addressed through 2023 national service plan allocations.

When the procurement is complete, and actual costs are known, the business case will be updated, and submitted for final approval. Establishing a full ePrescribing solution in place for Ireland is a core component for electronic health records (EHRs), is fundamental for the delivery of an eHealth programme - and recognised as such by the HSE and this department. There will be considerable support for the business case when complete .

The project will focus on deploying ePrescribing in the community first (GP prescriptions, community pharmacy dispensing) and will be complemented by hospital discharge and other prescriptions afterwards.