Patient impact of pharmacy technology

The future pharmacy isn’t just a place for patients to collect prescriptions and medications.

It’s a clinical hub providing local health services for a wider range of conditions and illnesses, as well as a centre for preventative health advice that will enable and empower patients to take control of their own health.

While much of the change will be driven by pharmacists embracing initiatives like Pharmacy First and other Advanced Services, it will be technology that creates the platform by removing time consuming manual tasks and helping pharmacies connect better with the wider healthcare sector.

In this blog we look at the impact pharmacy technology will have on patient care.

Before you get into the blog, watch episode one of our new docuseries "The Game Changers of Community Pharmacy" by clicking the image below

Faster access to medications

If you look at how prescriptions used to be managed it’s not hard to see how it could be more efficient.

It required patients to book and get a prescription from their GP (which wasn’t always immediate).

They’d take the prescription to a pharmacy and, if the pharmacy had the medication in stock, they’d be able to get it filled (otherwise they’d have to wait for the medication to be ordered in or go to another pharmacy).

In England, Electronic Prescription Services have made the process much more efficient.

Prescriptions can now be ordered online (or through a surgery portal) and sent directly from a prescriber to a dispenser that has been nominated by the patient.

Around 95% of all prescriptions are now managed electronically with the process becoming much more convenient for patients, and efficient for pharmacies.

Better access to medication advice

As well as getting better access to medication, pharmacy technology is helping patients access medication services they may not even be aware of.
The New Medicine Service, for example, is available to patients who are prescribed long-term medication for the first time, allowing them to use pharmacy services for advice on how to take the medication properly.

Technology is helping pharmacists identify eligible patients, allowing them to directly promote services and help patients get the most out of their medication.

This is something highlighted in our new docuseries, The Game Changers of Community Pharmacy.

In episode one - The Visionary - Gurminder Singh explains how technology is enabling him to improve patient services in his family’s pharmacy:

“There’s a big help at the moment with New Medicine Service in that it identifies the patients who may be eligible. The label automatically comes out from the dispenser, you can stick it on the bags and identify that patient when they come in and ask them if they’d like us to do the New Medicine Service with them and start that process.

“It’s also easier to chase that person afterwards and complete the service.”

More accurate dispensing

The accuracy of dispensed medication isn’t just a key part of patient care, it’s also a serious safety issue as patients being prescribed the wrong medication can have serious implications.

Robotic dispensing is one technology that has transformed this key pharmacy operation, making the process of dispensing medication not only faster, but more accurate.

They work using advanced algorithms to manage and dispense medications with high accuracy and efficiency.

As well as improving accuracy, the faster dispensing time means pharmacists have more time with the patient, and are able to offer advice and guidance on the medication, as well as provide more general health advice (or promote additional services) as needed.

More time for consultative services

A big drawback of traditional dispensing - reliant on manual processes - is that it puts a lot of the burden on the pharmacist, and takes them away from spending time with patients.

By using automation, pharmacists are able to dedicate more time to serving patients and providing more consultation.
This is something Gurminder advises pharmacists should embrace:

“The human to human element is very important. [Technologies like] robotic dispensing is there, so that has changed within pharmacies, so those physical and clinical aspects of pharmacists, the thinking and gauging how a patient is feeling [is becoming more important].

“The counter is the hardest thing to learn in a pharmacy, because you’re thinking on your feet, almost semi diagnosing a patient as they’re talking and getting the questions that we need to ask - that’s the hardest bit of pharmacy.

“It’s about building that confidence back and almost putting yourself back into being a counter assistant in the pharmacy [spending more time face-to-face with patients].”

More awareness of pharmacy services

Clinical services aren’t entirely a new thing within community pharmacies.

Clinical pharmacists have been working with GP teams since around 2015, while the NHS Community Pharmacy Consultation Service was originally launched in 2019.

Newer initiatives like Pharmacy First have only launched this year.

So access to the services themselves aren’t necessarily the issue, but awareness among patients that the services are available could be.

In fact in one study carried out in July 2024, nearly half of adults said they didn’t know what Pharmacy First is.

As Gurminder highlights in his Game Changers episode, pharmacy promotion has historically relied on leaflets passed onto patients. But with digital tactics now available pharmacists have more opportunity to reach a much bigger pool of potential patients:

“Everything’s going a lot more digital now so you almost have to be a digital marketing expert, you have to know about websites and learn about search engine optimisation, pay per click on Google, you have to know how to start doing social media and try to be a bit different as a pharmacy.”

Creating a more patient centred approach to pharmacy services

Community pharmacies have the opportunity to become a central part of clinical services and primary care.

Patients will be able to use their community pharmacy to get advice on managing long-term health conditions and medications without the need for a GP referral or intervention.
Pharmacies will also become the first port of call for preventative health care and even for treatment for minor ailments.

While this change will be driven by people, technology can be used as the enabler to provide pharmacists with the time and resources to develop, promote and deliver new services.

This is what Gurminder says on the subject: 

“Don’t be afraid to fail and don’t overthink it

“It’s just predicting the movement of things, and everything can change so being flexible and then as a baseline keeping true to your clinical knowledge, true to your overall ethics of practice and trying to do everything to the best of your standard.”

Watch the full episode of Game Changers: The Visionary and watch how Gurminder sets out his vision for his successful family pharmacy to improve patient care.

Click here to watch the video.