Moss offers face-to-face dispensing at three stores
Individual dispensing stations allow a degree of privacy |
Patients at three Moss Pharmacy stores are being offered a new, more personal prescription dispensing service.
As part of the “face-to-face” service being piloted at
stores in Nuneaton, Blandford Forum and Warrington, prescriptions are
prepared
directly in front of patients at individual, free-standing dispensing
stations. The intention is to make the dispensing process more interactive
and to encourage customers to ask questions about their medicines.
“The patient consultation is an integral part of the dispensing
process rather than something added afterwards at the request of the
patient
or pharmacist,” David Wilson, pharmacist at the Nuneaton branch,
said at the official launch of the service last week.
Mr Wilson explained that, on entering the pharmacy, customers are invited
to take a numbered ticket and, when their number is called, to present
their prescription at the appropriate dispensing station. A technician
prepares the prescription at the station and then calls for the pharmacist
to check it, providing an opportunity for the technician or pharmacist
to raise queries directly with the patient and provide advice throughout
the process. “There is a high degree of interaction. It could be
a basic chat or detailed discussion,” Mr Wilson said.
The service, which has been operating for two months, appears to have
a number of benefits — prescription numbers are up, waiting times
are down, and the process seems to be safer than the pharmacy’s
previous dispensing system. Mr Wilson explained that his pharmacy operates
a system for logging dispensing errors and near misses. The log suggests
that the error rate has fallen since the face-to-face system was introduced.
Bulky prescriptions and those that involve Controlled Drugs or split
packs are prepared in a separate dispensary area. Patients are also able
to make use of a collection service for pre-ordered prescriptions. However,
Mr Wilson said that if pre-ordered or repeat prescriptions are suitable
for face-to-face dispensing then this is encouraged.
At the Nuneaton branch there are three dispensing stations, each equipped
with a till, a terminal with access to the pharmacy’s patient medication
record and a security bench for dispensing prescriptions out of sight
of other customers. The stations are positioned in front of a carousel
holding 450 of the most commonly prescribed lines.
The three pilots will run for six months. Moss will then examine the
effects direct dispensing has on waiting times, sales, prescription volume
and safety before deciding on whether it will be rolled out to other
stores. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
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