PillTime forecasts 900% growth after recovering from ‘teething problems’
Online pharmacy PillTime is predicting a 900% growth and a ten-fold increase in customers “in the next two or three years” following the deployment of a new patient medication record (PMR) system.
“Teething problems” in April saw the online pharmacy “struggling to integrate all the new systems and processes while physically moving premises, affecting service delivery and customer support”, it acknowledged.
Speaking to C+D in May following a social media backlash, PillTime apologised and said that it was “applying extra resources to ensure customer deliveries are received ahead of their medication start dates”.
Read more: PillTime points to ‘technical challenges’ after patients slam delivery delays
The online pharmacy says it is “now recovered”, having been “supported” to integrate its new PMR system Titan into staff workflows by Invatech CEO Tariq Muhammed.
PillTime forecasts a 900% growth “in the next two or three years”, with ambitions to serve up to 100,000 patients by the end of next year, it announced in a statement yesterday (July 28).
Founded in 2016, the Bristol-based pharmacy currently provides prescription medicines in daily dosage pouches to around 11,000 NHS patients across the UK.
PillTime’s CEO, Leighton Humphreys, said the company’s surge in potential prescription volume is partly down to the size of its new premises – which he said is treble the size of its old site.
“In terms of the market potential, we know that in the UK there are currently 8.5 million people on five or more daily medications. We are currently serving only a fraction of these people, so we see huge opportunity for the future,” he said.
“Things turned out to be more complicated than we had envisaged”
Mr Humphreys said: “We had ambitious plans for our move, but things turned out to be more complicated than we had envisaged.”
PillTime thanked its customers “for sticking with us during this challenging period for our business and we’re looking ahead now”, he added.
Read more: GPhC: Regulation should not stop innovation, but online pharmacies must meet standards
“Titan will make a major difference to how we operate and grow", along with the company's robotic dispensing system and medication "pouching system",Mr Humphreys said.
There are “far too many instances of medications being properly dispensed but incorrectly taken, leading to people not getting better as they should do”, he explained.
