The Department of Health is committed to enabling electronic record keeping practices in community pharmacy practice, as set out in the Community Pharmacy Agreement 2025 and the Workforce Intelligence Report 2023.
To support the implementation of these changes, the Department established a multi-stakeholder Electronic Record Keeping Implementation Group (ERKIG). This group includes representatives from the Irish Pharmacy Union, the Pharmaceutical Society of Ireland (the pharmacy regulator), practising pharmacists, and patient representative.
The ERKIG has played a key role in supporting implementation by contributing to the development of legislation, and the development of documentation designed to ensure clear interpretation of this legislative and associated regulatory guidance. This work is intended to assist pharmacy software vendors in developing and updating their systems to meet the new requirements.
The specific timeline for implementation of the necessary system changes will be determined by individual software vendors, having regard to their own development schedules and system updates. While the Department does not directly control vendor timelines, it is actively engaged through the ERKIG process to support readiness and facilitate as smooth a transition as possible.
The ERKIG continues to meet regularly and remains focused on supporting stakeholders, including vendors and pharmacy teams, in progressing implementation of the new electronic record keeping provisions.
