Online Initiative of The Year

Clara Digital Pharmacy platform, Get Clara

'Driving pharmacy forward' is the strapline for the Clara Digital Pharmacy platform. The world is rapidly changing and what the public are expecting of pharmacies has evolved due to COVID-19. In recognition of the need for better time management and to use technology to release the time required for teams to meet the growing expectations, the Get Clara team developed a platform to help teams streamline their processes. It can also be integrated with many third party companies.

Digital CPCS, Well Pharmacy

Well Pharmacy online was unable to take part in the first phase of the CPCS, due to it being a distance-selling pharmacy. However, recognising the need to help free up GP time and the growing want of patients to access healthcare digitally, the team found and partnered with an online GP consultation service to pilot the provision of digital CPCS. The team has now delivered more than 150 CPCS GP consultations and are providing CPCS digitally to 15 surgeries across 3 PCNs.

Fitrah Designs, Shabbir Mellick

For students, healthcare professionals, patients, and the general public, the website and related publications aim to address mental health and wellbeing issues. It gives schools access to subscription-based services and contains videos on mental health that are open to the general public. Shabbir’s entire wellness journey is available for viewing. The team’s goal is to develop additional resources for schools and the NHS to address issues such as suicide, anxiety, and depression, as well as other mental health concerns.

Introducing BookWell, Well Pharmacy

Well Pharmacy’s patient booking system – BookWell – allows patients to book into any service and be pre-screened for their eligbility. The system is used to allocate stock, but also to manage diaries in each individual pharmacy. This means that Well branches have an electronic record of which patients they are due to see in a day, in the week and months ahead. Since its launch, BookWell has taken more than 120,000 bookings and is now Well Pharmacy’s primary system for capturing patient appointments.

PharmCD electronic CD register, PharmData

The PharmCD team set out to create an electronic controlled drugs (CD) register that was quick and simple to use, to help pharmacies manage their records and reduce errors. They also had to ensure they were fully compliant with the data security and protection principles expected of NHS organisations. More than 100 pharmacies have switched from paper CD registers or other electronic providers to PharmCD since its launch. Pharmacy teams now have more time to spend with patients and are reducing paper usage.

PharmaPlace, bringing retailers and suppliers together

PharmaPlace was created to more effectively bring retailers and independent suppliers together. Normally, a buyer must go to suppliers individually to setup an account and order, but PharmaPlace brings suppliers to one place to allow retailers to improve their OTC offering and without the need to setup accounts with each individual supplier. This free platform for pharmacy owners helps them adapt to the changing retail environment, there is no charge to retailers, nor any margin added to the products.

Social media strategy, Medipharmacy Group

Medipharmacy Group uses its Instagram and LinkedIn pages to share success stories about its pharmacy staff, network with other healthcare providers, market new clinical services, and share customer feedback. Staff and customers have greatly benefited by having a platform to see news about their local community pharmacy and also have the opportunity to message for advice. These social media platforms have attracted a new, younger demographic to the pharmacy group and allowed them to raise awareness of national campaigns.

Finalists