It may seem some time off, but by October this year pharmacies will need to be delivering 30 Pharmacy First consultations per month to qualify for the fixed monthly payment of £1000, in addition to the fixed service fee of £15 per consultation. Those pharmacies who fail to reach the 30 consultation threshold will only be paid the service fee and will miss out on £1,000 per month.
That means pharmacies in England have just eight months to find an extra 2 hours 10 minutes per week to deliver the minimum number of consultations and the patients to fill those slots. This quick guide will talk you through some simple steps you can take today to reach the 30 consultation target by October.
A switch in focus
Many pharmacies remain heavily focused on securing their income from dispensing. But those pharmacies who want to be profitable and successful need to look outside the core dispensing function and move their attention towards services.
The Government has made it clear that the future of pharmacy is service-led with medicine optimisation (New Medicine Service/Discharge Medicines Service) common ailments (Pharmacy First) and prevention (blood pressure checks). Despite this too many pharmacies are still spending too much time chasing prescription numbers and procuring medicines.
There is a way to maintain, and even grow, dispensing volumes while freeing up more time to deliver services. Investing in dispensing automation is the first step. It frees up the time to deliver these services but also presents pharmacies with the opportunity to increase dispensing volumes at the same time. Having the right dispensing model and technology in place will ensure pharmacies are well placed to meet any new demand.
Free up time
With time currently at a premium in pharmacy and significant resource challenges, investing in technology and changing the dispensing workflow is the only way to deliver the time saving required to deliver 30 consultations by October.
An average pharmacy can save up to 4 hours 27 minutes per day by centralising and automating their original pack dispensing process. That time can be used to deliver as many as 13 Pharmacy First consultations per store, per day based on a 20 minute consultation. That’s the equivalent of 338 consultations per month – ten times more than the minimum threshold required by October. In fact, 338 consultations per month would equate to £4,290 per month on top of the standard £1000 monthly fee!
Why automation is the only solution
Automation is the only realistic option available that is going to provide pharmacies with the time they need to deliver the consultations. The existing funding deal offered for Pharmacy First will not be enough to cover additional staff costs to provide these new patient facing services. The only solution is for pharmacies is to look at where they can create efficiencies in their dispensing workflows.
Pharmacy time is currently monopolised by the dispensing process. It accounts for 88% of an pharmacist’s time in an average store. The bulk of the dispensing process is spent on repeat prescriptions for original pack medication (70%). Embracing technology which automates or semi automates the original pack dispensing process will be crucial to the success of Pharmacy First. This technology creates significant efficiencies and opportunities for growth, liberating pharmacists from routine aspects of the pharmacy dispensing process so they have time to focus on clinical patient facing services.
It automates various elements of the dispensing process from picking to checking, labelling to sorting and bagging. Automated solutions can process between 360 packs an hour for a manual system and up to 1500 packs per hour for an automated system. These solutions are also scalable and adding more systems increases throughput further. The checks and balances offered by the technology mean many of these solutions can often be operated by non-clinical staff, freeing up pharmacist capacity in store. Financing options are available meaning businesses can pay for the solution out of the efficiencies generated.
The Importance of promotion
Once time has been freed up for consultations, pharmacies must ensure they have the demand for Pharmacy First. There is no point having time to deliver a service if the local community aren’t aware of it. While policy makers are likely to have some slick advertising campaign all ready to go for the launch of Pharmacy First, it will be up to local pharmacies to maintain momentum for their own stores.
It’s crucial to promote services in store to your existing customer base either visually or by word of mouth. Digital channels such as a fully SEO optimised pharmacy website and social media channels will also be crucial for promoting the new services pharmacies can offer. It’s also worth speaking to local GP practices and integrated care boards to establish if there are opportunities for joint promotions of the services that a pharmacy can now provide.
Pharmacy Automation By Centred Solutions
The current funding arrangement proposed for Pharmacy First won't suffice to cover the extra staff expenses required for delivering these new patient-facing services. Pharmacies must explore ways to streamline their dispensing workflows as the only viable solution.
At Centred Solutions, we offer a range of pharmacy automation software to support your pharmacy. Whether you are a standalone pharmacy that could benefit from your own mini hub or you need support managing patient medication from a wholesaler or warehouse, we have the solution for you.
Contact us today to arrange a demonstration of any of our products.
