IBM database helps UK doctors keep track

The Prescription Pricing Authority (PPA) has begun trials of a Web-based database application to be used by doctors to cut prescriptions costs in the UK.

The pilot will allow 200 UK GPs to access a prescription database for a year. It is hoped the database of 1.2 billion records will rationalise the current prescription issuing process. If successful the project will then be rolled out to all 27,000 GPs across the UK.

The Electronic Prescription Analysis and Costing Tool system will be based on IBM's DB2 Universal Database product. It will be browsable via NHSNet - a secure information sharing area on the Internet planned for the UK health sector.

The database will store detailed prescription information such as where a drug was dispensed, which doctor issued it and details of the medication. Sharing this information will allow GPs to analyse prescription information and introduce more efficiency into the process.

According to IBM, the DB2 system was considered by the PPA to be the best product for the project because of its low cost and high performance.

Project leaders say early indications from the trial show a positive response from the doctors using the database.

A spokesman for IBM was unable to discuss the value of the contract.