10th January 2024
As the healthcare system evolves, today’s pharmacy professionals are playing an increasingly important role in the continuum of care through expanded services and counselling. With this, pharmacies continue to seek ways to improve operational efficiency through pharmacy automation solutions, allowing them to spend more time on patient care and less time managing administrative tasks.
Everest Pharmacy has embraced this trend by adapting to the wellness needs of its local community and the evolving healthcare system at large. Through this mission, the pharmacy grew to include four branches in the Manchester/Lancashire area since its beginnings in 2009.
Two years ago, Everest decided to introduce pharmacy automation solutions to help dispense to a growing patient base larger volumes of blister cards, also known as monitored dosage solutions (MDS). Shortly thereafter, Venalink began working closely with Everest to supply our automation-compatible Qube MDS, so together we could move forward patient-centred care.
We caught up with Anisa Nagdee, Repeat Prescription Lead at Everest’s Whalley Range branch to talk about the pharmacy’s journey adopting pharmacy automation technology for MDS, including the incredible benefits the chain has seen so far.
With the pharmacy automation market accelerating in the United Kingdom, Everest became one of the first pharmacies in Northern England to adopt the SynMed® XF, an automated system for preparing solid oral medications in MDS packaging, an easy-to-understand calendarized system that organizes multiple medications and complex dosing schedules for patients.
Waqqas Sheikh, pharmacy proprietor, and his team believed technology was the way forward, but continued to ask themselves, “Do we make the change now? Or do we wait?”
With a high number of patients using MDS to safely take medication and patient numbers continuing to grow, the team had a keen interest in expanding their business, including support for a new Manchester branch. Keeping their mission and strategic vision in mind, the pharmacy decided to take the leap and invest in the SynMed® dispensing system, while also renovating their space.
Implementing such a comprehensive system comes with other important decisions to make, including trialling blister cards within the technology. Anisa confirmed they tested blister cards from another supplier first and experienced major challenges before moving to Venalink.
“The biggest issue with the previous blister card involved tablets ‘jumping.’ This occurs when a tablet hits the bottom of a blister after it’s dropped, and the tablet then bounces out of the blister into another cavity or elsewhere.” Jumping is sometimes inevitable, but should only take place for up to two in 1,000 tablets.
When Anisa flagged these issues with the team, Waqqas suggested trialling Venalink MDS instead. Anisa noted a number of factors that led to choosing the Venalink Qube. The team’s biggest motivator was accuracy. Since our Qube blister is designed specifically for automated dispensing systems, such as the SynMed® XF, the blister reduces the number of tablets that ‘jump’ when dropped by the machine. “If you’re investing in an automation machine, you’re not going to put the wrong thing in it – the blister card has to work seamlessly with the technology.”
What’s more, the Everest team chose a customised Qube card that includes their corporate logo and colours to showcase their brand beyond the pharmacy. “It looks professional, high quality, and includes a strong seal.”
Anisa says the move to Venalink was a smooth one and she continues to enjoy working with the team. “I love ringing the cheery team at Venalink. We’ve never had an issue with service – orders come the next day.”
The SynMed® XF has the capacity to prepare up to 45 blister cards per hour. In contrast, pharmacy staff could only fill an average of 6 cards per hour manually. After an in-depth training session with Mandy Tindale, Project Manager of the SynMed® team, Everest was ready. Within a week of setting up their new system, they began dispensing.
“We have significantly boosted the volume of prescriptions we can now dispense in MDS. As a result, they can offer this valuable service to a larger number of patients. Previously, these volumes would have been too time-consuming to maintain in such a busy dispensary.”
Additionally, the team finds MDS simple to use and highly effective. It greatly improves medication adherence and helps prevent errors. This is particularly important for vulnerable patients who might take the wrong tablets or too many tablets when medications are provided in original packaging. With this in mind, Anisa believes there is no limit for Everest. “Even after we expanded our volumes, there’s still no problem moving more patients to our MDS service. This is reassuring news for the people of Manchester who keep complex medication schedules with multiple prescriptions.”
The team agrees that moving to automation was one of their best decisions. This was especially true during COVID-19. Without it, they would have struggled to service patients seeking the familiar MDS service.
Furthermore, automation has significantly increased capacity at one Everest pharmacy location. It now dispenses three times the volume of MDS packaging compared to before. As a result, the pharmacy can support patients who previously could not access this important service elsewhere.
Anisa believes Everest has significantly improved the patient experience by implementing pharmacy automation solutions and Venalink MDS. “Customer interaction is something we’re always working on. We are out there helping as much as we can, and it is what brings the patient back to us. Moreover, if you are not providing the MDS service, patients will not return with their prescriptions.”
This could involve performing medicine usage reviews (MURs), Consult & Treat services for prescription items, or offering domiciliary care. Importantly, the SynMed® XF dispensing system has been invaluable in these tasks. It has freed time for the team to counsel patients and focus on building relationships.
Over the past two years, the team has developed extensive knowledge of their new system. Consequently, community and long-term care facilities regularly approach Everest to add new patients to the Everest MDS service.
Anisa points out that there is now no limit to what Everest can achieve. Their use of the Venalink MDS and the new dispensing system has expanded their capabilities.