A new cloud-based veterinary prescription system that is due to be operational by the end of January 2022, to coincide with the implementation of EU veterinary medicines regulations, has not received the backing of Irish vets.
President of Veterinary Ireland, Conor Geraghty, told Agriland that the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has yet to engage in a “meaningful” way with vets, regarding the new system, which will require all prescriptions for veterinary medicines to be uploaded to an online platform.
Chief veterinary officer at the DAFM, Martin Blake, confirmed in a previous interview that this National Veterinary Prescription System (NVPS) is due to be ready for systems testing in December 2021.
But the Veterinary Ireland president said the proposed NVPS – which will collect more data than is required by the legislation – throws up more questions than are being answered, currently.
“Veterinary Ireland has had no meaningful engagement on the roll-out of the NVPS – which is a separate issue to the legislation [new veterinary medicines] because it doesn’t state in the legislation that vets must electronically prescribe, it just says we need to write a prescription.”
There is a requirement on the State, under new veterinary medicines legislation, to collect usage data of antibiotics at farmer level, he explained.
While cattle and sheep will be the initial focus, other animal groups will follow in the coming years.
“But there is a difference between collecting data and having a live prescribing system,” he said.
And, the most accurate way to collect such data is directly from the farmer, he believes.
“Because prescribing doesn’t always equal usage,” he said, before continuing:
“You might prescribe something for an animal and that animal might die, or the animal might get better and the usage would never be fulfilled, or the the farmer could break a bottle.
“The DAFM decided – unilaterally, I might add – that they were going to collect that data at prescription level rather than farmer level.
“But it will be the vets who will be collecting the information – not all of it required by legislation either.”
The exception to the rule
When asked how he envisaged this new system working, on a practical level, the Veterinary Ireland president said he hasn’t received much clarity and, so far, has only seen screenshots of early-stage NVPS development.
“We aren’t anywhere near a stage where we could agree on a system at the moment. It’s not far enough in development for a start and we don’t know how much extra time it will add to each job.”
He confirmed that the DAFM held a focus group recently that involved three veterinary practices (including his own), all of which, it is understood, already have some form of electronic prescribing system in place.
But such practices are the exception and not the rule.
“I have a system that prescribes electronically on my phone, but I am in the minority,” he said.
“Veterinary Ireland surveyed its members and I know that I am in the 17% of members – across the board – who have a similar electronic prescribing system.”
He said there is a cohort of vets in the country that will not use an electronic prescribing system because “they are of a generation that would rather retire [than do that]”.
“We can’t afford to lose those people and they are being completely ignored.”
And while 17% of vets have their own prescribing systems in place, Conor pointed out that such systems are not consistent from practice to practice; have come at a cost to the practices in question; and, often, carry out a range of other functions such as call management, billing, etc.
“We are not sure if those systems are compatible with the system that the DAFM is implementing, but there will probably have to be alterations and that will cost money.
“The DAFM is saying that this is free but there is no consideration given to the inconvenience, the time or the cost that will be heaped on veterinary practitioners.”
On-farm practicalities
Basic practical implications of how this will work while a vet is on call to a farm have not been thought through, Conor said.
“To say that every time you treat an animal, you have to write a prescription on your phone poses a whole range of problems and we haven’t even gotten into this with the DAFM.
“For example, if you have a pair of white laytex gloves on, you can’t use the touch-screen on the phone; if you are outside in the rain, you’re not going to take out your expensive iPhone. Or what if you have zero coverage? I spend most of my life with zero coverage.”
The Galway-based vet is of the opinion that the NVPS is being pushed through – partly – as a way to ‘level the playing field’ for licensed merchants, co-ops and pharmacists because it will facilitate the farmer in filling the prescription wherever they choose – thus, eliminating any unfair advantage the the vets might have had.
“So, it is being made more onerous on vets but if everyone isn’t happy with what is going on, then what’s the point? Farmers will buy from their vet, or the pharmacist or their co-op, depending on tradition, convenience and price, as they always did.
“My concern is that we are going to lose some of our older practitioners who will not accept this new way, if it takes longer than a paper prescription and on technology that they are not comfortable with.”