Don't get left behind

There has been an explosion in online pharmacies since the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients are now turning to technology to access their medication in the simplest and easiest way possible. So you’d think these online pharmacies would be mirroring the behaviours of their customers and turning to technology too right? Well you’d be wrong. Louise Laban, Sales and Marketing Director at Centred Solutions explains more.

They were the disruptors that turned a century-old model of medication dispensing on its head. Yet despite this online pharmacies aren’t the ones leading the charge when it comes to technology for their own operations.

A brand new white paper produced by Centred Solutions, shines the spotlight on the fact that online pharmacies are not turning their attention to pharmacy hub automation at the same rate as traditional bricks and mortar pharmacies. We have seen significant growth in hub and spoke models from high-street pharmacies over the past 12 months, but surprisingly we are not seeing this trend mirrored by their online competitors.

With the exception of the larger online pharmacies there seems to be little interest in hub technology. What is really surprising about this is that online pharmacy is better placed than traditional pharmacies to implement hub technology. They already use a hub workflow, they often operate from a warehouse and have more space for automation and they certainly have the item volumes to warrant the investment. On top of that they already have logistic arrangements in place to deliver medication straight to a patient’s door. So what exactly is holding online pharmacy back?

With high street pharmacy now turning their attention to increased clinical services, the door has been left wide open for online pharmacy to focus their attention on growing their existing nominations for repeat prescriptions. But with online pharmacy an ever-increasingly competitive market, these businesses need to act now to position themselves ahead of their competitors and ensure they have the infrastructure in place to meet an increased demand. The key to this is working smarter, faster and safer while keeping overheads to a minimum and that is where automation comes in.

Here is why:

• FLOWRx Hub technology allows pharmacies to process more prescriptions efficiently. The technology can label up to 1,500 packs per hour using a single line or up to 3,000 packs for a double line.
  
  
• It will also reduce the amount of time a pharmacist spends checking prescriptions as these are only checked at the start of the process. They can then be processed without further intervention as the barcode and RFID technology will do the rest. On some occasions a clinical check is required (eg. Short expiration date, new drug) and this will be prompted by the software.
  
  
• Data insights from the solution give greater visibility on medication demand, helping online pharmacies to manage inventory more effectively. This means they are more likely to have the right stock they need to hit their delivery deadlines. It also means that they can optimise stock usage by basing purchasing on demand.
  
  
• Equally, data provided by the software will help online pharmacies predict and prioritise areas for improvement so their pharmacy operations and workflows can be fine-tuned for greater efficiency.
  
  
• FLOWRx software can help with improved governance. Patient orders are visible at every single stage of the dispensing process, from receipt to storage to dispensing, right down to a patient and pack level. There is a full end to end audit trail for this which can be shared with the GPhC.
  
  
• Automating the dispensing process will help online pharmacy reduce the risk of human error that exists with manual processes. These gaps are narrowed ensuring a more continuous, safer and traceable workflow.

The emergence of new hub and spoke models across community pharmacy is gathering pace and with secondary legislation due later this year, online pharmacy could see renewed competition from the bricks and mortar pharmacy sector as well as existing online competitors. This could especially be the case if the proposals to be introduced include a direct hub to patient delivery model in addition to a hub to spoke to patient model. In an ever-increasingly competitive market, it’s important for online pharmacies to get one step ahead if they are to future-proof their business.

If online pharmacy doesn’t start looking at this type of technology there is the very real risk that they could end up being left behind. I’d love to see online pharmacies coming forward and embracing this technology in the same way that “bricks and mortar pharmacies” are. After all, in the word of Charles Darwin: “It is not the most intellectual of the species that survives; it is not the strongest that survives but the species that is able best to adapt and adjust to the changing environment in which it finds itself.”

Download a full copy of the white paper.