Blog
Pharmacy Customer Service – NHS Choices
From this month, patients will be able to leave anonymous feedback on their experience of customer service at a particular pharmacy through the NHS Choices web site. Patients have been able to leave such feedback for doctors since 2009 and for dentists since 2010....
Relocating a pharmacy
** APRIL 2014 UPDATE ** In the old days not so long ago, as you can see below from the blog content, relocating used to be dependent on distance. Now, times have changed. The relocation rule is an exemption on the proviso of satisfying certain conditions. Will you be...
Pharmacy automation- a bit of history
The Financial times reported that George DEVOL, the American inventor of the first ever Robotic Arm machine died last week. He initially called his invention a "programmed article-handling device" Inspired by reading about Asimov's fictional robots, he invented the...
Wholesale Dealers – Restricted exports
Since 2009, by when the pound had significantly weakened against the Euro, there has been a monthly published list of UK branded medicines said to be in short supply in the UK market, that should therefore not be purchased in the UK for export. The list is published...
Pharmacy Automation – would help with increase in dispensing work
Recently published data suggest that on average 10 years ago, the average patient in England had just under 12 NHS items prescribed for them, about one a month. This average would of course arise statistically from many patients with no medication at all prescribed,...
Opening a new pharmacy
I well remember how excited I was the first time that I ran a pharmacy on my own as more than a locum, even though it was a long time ago! Today's young pharmacists are no less enthusiastic and ambitious than I was, and it is therefore a pity that NHS Pharmacy...
Responsible Person – New EU Commission Guidelines
The EU commission have just published for consultation new Guidelines on Good Distribution Practice (GDP) for human medicinal products. Ostensibly the reasons given for the consultation and proposed guidance updating are that the previous EU GDP guidance is 17 years...
Working with community pharmacists
Over time I have been asked more than once by branded Pharma suppliers to give an opinion and ideas on making supply chain changes. On one occasion I was also asked to gather together a representative sample of independent pharmacists to help the company understand...
Internet Pharmacy
**** 2014 UPDATE **** Updating this post now, it seems so much has changed since this was written in 2011. At PCL, we have noted the number of calls increase recently about applying for NHS Distance Selling/Internet Pharmacy contracts. We have also noticed the number...
Pharmacies in GP Surgeries
**** 2014 UPDATE **** Wouldn't it be convenient if every GP surgery had a pharmacist? Doesn't it make sense that this should be the case? Often, many GPs or pharmacists call me about opening, relocating or merging a pharmacy and GP. But it's not that easy. You can't...
Retail Pharmacy – EPOS
The man most associated with the development of the Bar-code, Alan Haberman, recently died. The first product scanned in a US Supermarket was in 1974, and by the 1980's bar-code scanning had been widely taken up around the world. Haberman's original committee evolved...
Opening a new pharmacy
Many doctors are looking to move into purpose designed new premises with adequate parking. It makes sense for a pharmacy to be located nearby or inside if possible. Apart from very small schemes, the development of a new health centre will normally be undertaken by a...