Get involved with IT

Published on: 26th January 2017 | Updated on: 25th March 2026

Community Pharmacy England works with national pharmacy organisations and NHS partners to help pharmacy owners make the most of digital tools and future technologies. If you and your team want to shape the next generation of community pharmacy IT, there are several easy ways to get involved.

Events list (virtual and face-to-face)

Events with a digital or technology focus are listed below. The Community Pharmacy IT Group (CP ITG) meets each quarter, and its papers and updates are available on the CP ITG webpage.

Upcoming and recent events

(One-off and annual events appear in gold. You can also see Digitalhealth.net webinars/events, FutureNHS events, Kings Fund events, and NHS events.)

Cybersecurity webinars

NHS Cyber Team has teamed up with the City of London Police’s Cyber Griffin team to deliver a series of cybersecurity webinars for primary care organisations:

  • General Practice
  • Pharmacy
  • Dentistry
  • Optometry

Aims:

  • Share real-world intelligence on current cyber threats
  • Offer simple, effective steps to protect organisations
  • Help colleagues spot and respond to suspicious activity before it becomes a breach
  • Discuss how to address cyber actions on the Data Security and Protection Toolkit (DSPT)

Date and registration:

An equivalent event had also been held on 19th March 2026.

Previous events

(List retained but simplified for clarity while keeping dates unchanged)

To request an event be added or to obtain a full list of past events, please contact da@cpe.org.uk.

Consultation & pilot opportunities

Feedback and pilot participation

Surveys

Keep an eye out for digital surveys shared with CPDG members and through the Community Pharmacy England newsletter.

Consultations

Social media

You may find social media helpful for discussing community pharmacy IT topics. Community Pharmacy England has a guide to pharmacy social media use that can help you boost your use of it.

Training & devlopment

You and your team can learn more about digital topics by reading our information on Digital training and capabilities, exploring digital training options, and visiting our IT hub page.

New: ID checks for Smartcards digitised - feed back

NHS IT teams continue to explore the service that removes the need for face‑to‑face identity checks when applying for a Smartcard.

The aim is to keep the same high level of authentication while making the process faster and more convenient for staff.

The service may involve:

  1. Receiving a secure link to enter basic details online; and
  2. Using an app to show documents and take a secure photo.

It would run alongside the existing registration route, as not everyone has or prefers using a smartphone. The new approach would apply across the NHS, not just in community pharmacy.

NHS IT teams are carrying out early discovery work and would like pharmacy team input. If you can help, please email da@cpe.org.uk to take part in a short phone interview. They are keen to hear from a range of staff, including locums, permanent team members and head office staff.

Virtual Visits (for nhs.net users) - piloting

NHS England and Community Pharmacy England are inviting pharmacy owners to take part in research testing the new NHS.net Connect Virtual Visits platform, which supports appointment booking and remote or face‑to‑face consultations.

The platform works with Microsoft Teams and Microsoft Bookings.

To take part, team members will need:

  • an active personal NHS.net Connect account
  • access to the pharmacy’s shared NHS.net Connect inbox
  • Microsoft Teams installed on a computer or tablet
  • a device with a webcam

This research will help improve the platform and make it as easy to use as possible for busy pharmacy teams.

To register interest, complete the short web form. Your information will be shared with the project team for selection purposes.

If you would like more information first, email da@cpe.org.uk with ‘Virtual Visits pilot’ in the subject line.

Read more: NHS.net Connect and pharmacy remote consultations.

Return to the Pharmacy IT hub

For more information on this topic please email it@cpe.org.uk

Latest Digital & Technology news

View more Digital & Technology newsSee all