By Kyle Cromey, Chief Pharmacy Information Officer, Bolton NHS Foundation Trust
Pharmacy is evolving, and so are the professionals behind it. My journey from community counter to Chief Pharmacy Information Officer (CPIO) reflects a growing need for clinical insight to meet digital innovation head-on.
In 2020, having spent 15 years working in a wide variety of roles, I left community pharmacy to step into the world of hospital-based digital transformation - and I haven’t looked back. Now serving as the CPIO at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, I lead our Electronic Prescribing and Medicines Administration (EPMA) team. Together we’re helping to shape safer, smarter systems that benefit patients and professionals alike.
Connecting community and digital hospital pharmacy
My career began in the fast-paced world of community pharmacy, from starting out as a weekend counter assistant, to managing pharmacy branches across Manchester and Salford. I witnessed first-hand the immense pressures pharmacists face and the transformative potential of digital solutions.
That potential became reality when I joined one of the UK’s first nation-wide distance selling pharmacy (DSP) operations. At the time, hub-and-spoke models and centralised Electronic Prescription Service (EPS) screening were still relatively new concepts to community pharmacy. At the end of 2017, I was asked to join the brand new Well Digital Pharmacy team. I helped design and test systems from the ground up, turning whiteboard ideas into operational workflows. It was here that I first saw how pharmacists could help build the tools they use.
The excitement of working in such a dynamic, agile, extraordinarily talented digital team had such a positive impression on me and really opened my eyes to what was possible. To me, the potential for digital solutions in healthcare was mind blowing. My learning journey exponentially increased, and I immersed myself in everything digital technology, eager to understand every facet.
Stepping into hospital digital transformation
In 2020, I made the leap to hospital pharmacy, joining Bolton’s digital team at a pivotal moment, just after deploying their Electronic Patient Record (EPR) system. Over the past few years, I have led the Trust’s EPMA team, optimising medication workflows, embedding safety in the design and supporting full-scale system rollouts.
Alongside this, I have recently completed a Digital Health Leadership postgraduate diploma with the NHS Digital Academy and Imperial College London, and last year I had the opportunity to speak at the Rewired conference.
My key areas of focus
My work centres around several key areas that drive digital transformation in pharmacy. These include:
- EPMA implementation and optimisation – Clinical safety, configuration, and stakeholder engagement
- Governance and strategy – Aligning digital with wider trust goals
- Education and upskilling – Supporting clinicians, pharmacists, and students in understanding digital systems
- Innovation – Using AI, business intelligence, and automation to streamline medicines use
Building the future of pharmacy
As the profession evolves, pharmacy professionals must be more than system users - we must be system shapers. My journey has bridged hands-on clinical practice and strategic digital leadership, grounded in a passion for innovation and system-wide improvement. I believe the future of pharmacy lies in combining clinical insight with digital capability. I now mentor colleagues who want to move into digital roles and I’m proud to support others as they shape the future of pharmacy.
Read the RPS Digital innovation and education roundtable report.
Find out more about our policy on digital capabilities for the pharmacy workforce.
Take a look at our policy on artificial intelligence in pharmacy.