IMS HEALTH Inc. Wednesday launched
NPAnet, an intranet that provides Net access for pharmacies that are members
of the National Pharmaceutical Association of the U.K.
The NPA represents approximately 95 percent of all pharmacy owners across
the U.K. NPAnet, which went live on Feb. 14, is the latest in a series of
Web-based services and products launched by IMS HEALTH (RX),
designed specifically for pharmaceutical and healthcare professionals.
NPAnet is a secured, firewall-protected intranet which can be accessed at
the cost of a local telephone call by all NPA member pharmacies throughout
the country. NPAnet is hosted by IntraPharm as part of the IMS HEALTH
network. IntraPharm offers automatic downloads of the latest pharmaceutical
product and pricing updates and a list of the top 50 over-the-counter
products, refreshed on a monthly basis. Along with special promotions from
manufacturers, pharmacists will also be able to access contact details of
doctors and other pharmacists for improved communications by telephone or
e-mail.
“Following our launch of IntraPharm to community pharmacies, NPAnet is a
logical step in networking U.K. pharmacies,” said Peter Strom, general
manager, IMS HEALTH United Kingdom. “NPA members will benefit from a host of
services and functions, including Web-based NPA Member Services and
up-to-the-minute pharmaceutical and medical updates.”
Last month, IMS HEALTH announced its IntraPharm Internet network for
community pharmacies in the U.K. IMS HEALTH is the world’s leading provider
of information solutions to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries.