Have you seen a new vending machine installed in Allesley Pharmacy and wondered what it is?
The vending machine (or prescription collection point) serves as an extra pair of hands to the pharmacy team.
Prescriptions are prepared and bagged as normal but instead of waiting on a shelf to be handed out, they are loaded in bulk into this unit.
At the point an individual bag is loaded and the patient in question is sent an SMS alert to tell them their medicines are ready to be collected.
The text message contains a unique six-digit code and information on how long they have to pick up their medicines.
Then using the touchscreen built into the Pharmaself24, the patient then enters their PIN code, makes payment where required and then receives their bagged medicines.
It’s an entirely familiar experience, very similar to using a drinks vending machine or cashpoint.
The main benefit to patients is convenience. Our lives have become increasingly busy in recent years, squeezing the amount of time we have available for everyday tasks. Technology can often provide the answer – or at least support more efficient ways of doing things.
For patients juggling work, family and other commitments, there is a real benefit in knowing you can collect your medicines any time of the day or night, any day of the week, regardless of Bank Holidays etc.
More than that, you know there will be no waiting in a queue, and no chance of your prescription not being ready after having made the journey to the pharmacy. Those on repeat prescriptions can order via the NHS app or via the pharmacy’s own Healthera app (details in store) from the comfort of their sofa, knowing that their prescriptions will be sent in and you’ll be alerted them when your medicines are ready to be collected.
In the meantime, patients can go about their normal lives, just waiting for a text to arrive – that’s an unrivalled level of convenience with huge benefits for patients and for pharmacies alike.
What about the patient relationship?
The truth is that different patients want different things – the rising popularity of Internet pharmacy is certainly evidence that patients are seeking out alternative options in the interests of greater convenience.
In the traditional pharmacy model, the method for accessing medicine is limited to either visiting the pharmacy or requesting home delivery.
With technology such as the Pharmaself24, patients can be offered far more flexibility and control, while still being able to access the vital services that can only be provided by qualified pharmacy professionals from bricks and mortar premises rather than virtual pharmacies that do not have a front facing image.
Gam Amar, the owner of Allesley Pharmacy told the Observer: “With this collection point installed, we have a means to effectively extend our pharmacy’s hours of access and hence provide a really convenient and much sought after service addition.
“We truly believe that this will be very popular for those people who cannot always collect their meds during normal shop hours but also want a quick and efficient solution to meet their needs, especially during this pandemic when social distancing is so important.”
“At Allesley Pharmacy, we have made it our mission to be at the forefront of our vision of Pharmacy of the future.
“We are currently rolling out numerous new services and expanding our Blood test clinics and we have recently setup an Ear Irrigation Clinic. We are anticipating being involved in administering Covid Vaccinations shortly as well.
“All these and more are the first steps in creating a new vision of how our Pharmacy image will be developed in the coming months…
“Although we are based in Allesley, our services extend to the wider community of Coventry, so, please, if you haven’t visited us yet, why not drop in, or call us for further details.”
For more details on Allesley Pharmacy go to: www.allesleypharmacy.co.uk or call them on 02476-404177.
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