From Tote to Spoke - a model for standalone pharmacies.

Standalone independent pharmacies are often led to believe that their only option in terms of a hub and spoke model is to outsource to a larger hub. But that’s not necessarily the case. Our Sales and Marketing Director, Louise Laban, takes a look at the tote to spoke option.

A number of the benefits of hub and spoke are still available to single independent stores without having to outsource elements of the business to an external hub. There is a way to put a spoke pharmacy model in place while keeping control of your own business.

Our FLOWRx Instore solution doesn’t just connect to a hub. We also have a version for independents that connects to your existing warehouse or wholesaler. The software allows loose medication items to be delivered to your pharmacy in patient specific flow totes. Pharmacy staff can then scan, label, and sort medications directly from the FLOWRx Tote into patient specific baskets with no need to unpack onto shelves. This not only saves staff time but also improves patient safety by providing an invaluable safety net to busy and often overburdened staff. The software guides dispensing staff through the entire process, provides a full audit trail and helps ensure right patient, right dose, right medication.

Exceptions not received from the wholesaler or warehouse such as fridge items or controlled drugs can be added to the tote prior to labelling or later added to a patient basket before bagging. Once the order is complete simply scan the basket to print the bag label and scan each item into the bag to complete the order ready for dispense.

So how do you know FLOWRx Instore is the right option for you and your business? Well a number of factors need to be considered but as a general rule of thumb you will be doing less than 8,000 items per month and be a standalone single pharmacy.

Obviously, there are many elements to take into account and we work closely with every prospective customer and their warehouse/wholesaler to understand their business before providing a proposal.

As a starting point to a conversation we invite you to use out solutions calculator which will allow you to start discovering which FLOWRx solution could best suit you. All you need to do is answer six short questions. Why not discover the future of your pharmacy today?