Click and collect/hub and spoke.
The DOH want to help pharmacies become more efficient and innovative through, for example, modern dispensing methods. They will separately consult on changes to medicines legislation to allow the ‘hub and spoke’ dispensing model across different legal entities. This could allow independent pharmacies to capture the efficiencies stemming from large-scale, automated dispensing, reduced stock holding and economies of scale in purchasing and delivery of stock to the hubs, freeing up time to concentrate in the spokes on delivering patient centred services designed to optimise the use of medicines by patients. These efficiencies could help pharmacies lower their operating costs and enable pharmacists and their teams to provide more clinical services and to improve and support people’s health.
Online ordering, click and collect and home delivery are all growing significantly in other sectors and online retail sales grew by 16% in the UK in 2014. However, the uptake of digital ordering, click and collect and home delivery in community pharmacy remains low. The Office of National Statistics estimate that less than 10% of adults ordered their medicines online in 2014.
Hmmmm.
On line pharmacy services and delivery
Many on line businesses do not operate with low NHS margins distributing medicinal items with very specific storage conditions. Not normal items of commerce!
With wholesale supply the MHRA insist on Good Distribution Practice (GDP), which strongly controls transportation of medicines. There is already a rift between Pharmacy and wholesale: GPhC standards and MHRA standards it will only get worse.
So will there be a proposal to support delivery costs to benefit patient in their choice of delivery/service. Currently a Distance Selling Pharmacy (DSP) cannot charge patients for a delivery, but a bricks and bricks and mortar pharmacy can. The presentation claims to consider the introduction of new terms of service for DSP in recognition of the difference in their service. I would like to think this will support delivery services, but I fear it means something else.
Hub and spokes operations.
More efficient centralised and mechanised dispensaries, more efficient stock holding. Many large groups are already operating large centralised dispensaries. Efficient use of stock and an established supply network to all their pharmacies helps. But do they actually create pharmacy efficiencies end to end, from prescriber to patient? How many times will pharmacy staff handle the package and at what hidden cost?
Take prescription volume out of community pharmacy and the community stock levels become less efficient, unless managed ‘effectively’. Stock efficiency gained in one hub can lead to inefficiency in hundreds of spoke pharmacies, if you are not careful. Those tricky patients still bring in those urgently required items.
Further the proposals are not aimed at promoting investment in pharmacy but looking at funding reductions.
How much investment will be needed to automate hubs? Can new pharmacy model afford it?
Will it actually work? Are you working together with your fellow independent pharmacies to consider these points?
We know some are.
Are the large chains and wholesalers working on schemes to support independent pharmacy? It has been considered in the past. Changes in regulation may allow this in the future.
There may be some hope!
Written by Michael Spruzs