PROVIDING more services in pharmacies means rethinking the way we operate.
To allow time for patient consultations and care, we need to optimise workflow, adopt automation and technology where possible, and take a whole-of-pharmacy approach - upskilling all staff to understand how additional services might benefit patients.
This work enabled me to maximise the vital role pharmacy assistants play in identifying patients who may benefit from additional services, providing initial information, and keeping the team on track.
Mapping our workflow was a crucial step.
It helped identify efficiencies in how dose administration aids were managed, and I invested in a robot to handle packing and checking across my pharmacies using a hub-and-spoke model.
This optimised our dispensary and freed up a significant amount of pharmacist time to focus on essential patient consultations and interactions.
This was a massive investment, but incredibly valuable.
Innovations in software and technological solutions continue to evolve alongside our clinical practice, enabling pharmacists to improve their efficiency and improve patients' health outcomes.
Software like MedAdvisor Solutions can provide personalised patient communications, support medication management, improve adherence, and streamline vaccination payments.
Using these systems effectively means patients can receive more comprehensive - and proactive - consultations.
A simple example is that if a patient visits the pharmacy for their flu vaccination, you can check whether they are up to date on their other vaccines, like shingles or measles.
Co-administering these vaccines where it is clinically appropriate makes the process much more convenient for patients.
Automated reminders, online consultation bookings, and app-based payments all help reduce administration while enhancing the patient experience.
As community pharmacists deliver more health services, the complexity of this task has increased, but getting it right will unlock your team and your pharmacy's potential to deliver more for your community.
Professor Trent Twomey is the National President of the Pharmacy Guild of Australia.
This column is part of a series addressing issues around expanded scope of practice - send questions to scope@guild.org.au.
The above article was sent to subscribers in Pharmacy Daily's issue from 13 Nov 25
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