Category: Industry News

Finding Efficiencies for Your Pharmacy is More Important Than Ever

Posted on by Clanwilliam Marketing

Finding Efficiencies for Your Pharmacy is More Important Than Ever

Pharmacy is one of the foundational pillars of modern healthcare and while everyone recognises the vital role that pharmacies play in the day-to-day delivery of front-line care, the reality is that the economics of community pharmacy are under immense pressure.

Community pharmacy is now at a tipping point and as in many other developed markets, revenues are capped and competition is more intense. There is also an increasing expectation on pharmacies to play a stronger role in managing chronic conditions. These challenges are not new, but it is now more important than ever that pharmacies find efficiencies wherever they can.

The Challenges 

Increasing demand for convenience and expertise – Whether it’s prescription services, personal care products, or clinical services, the priority is shifting towards expertise, convenience, and accessibility.  Playing a more service-led role in managing chronic conditions and developing more clinical, revenue-generating services has been a long-term aim of the community pharmacy sector. But where does this leave community pharmacy? How can community pharmacies maintain core NHS dispensing provision to their patients whilst freeing up capacity for new revenue opportunities?

Intensifying competition – Even without the external environment pressures, pharmacy is a ferociously competitive marketplace. The industry continues to consolidate slowly. With the demise of the high-street and the rise of “out-of-town” shopping, supermarkets are becoming an increasingly competitive force in the pharmacy landscape. It is getting harder and harder for community pharmacies to compete as margins continue to tighten.

Squeeze on budgets – The fixed five-year £2.6 billion annual funding agreement in the Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework (CPCF) will reduce NHS dispensing profitability when set against rising annual costs. An ageing UK population will continue to drive increasing dispensing volumes and the removal of the establishment fee and a review of generic reimbursement will further exacerbate this difficult operational and financial situation.

Meeting These Challenges

With all of these challenges and more in mind, we are always looking for new ways to bring value to our customers. Not just in terms of price, but also in terms of features and functionality, that are forward-thinking and directly address the everyday challenges faced by our customers.

And that is where our exclusive partnership with HubRx comes in.

HubRx is developing the UK’s first, centralised, automated dispensing facility that is designed for and dedicated to, independent pharmacies. Their state-of-the-art hub dispensing facility, with its fully-integrated technology, will liberate capacity, space and profitability, enabling pharmacies to transform, into a service-led role and meet the challenges that the sector is facing.

Capacity – for pharmacists and business owners to deliver new clinical services

Space – to enhance the clinical service-delivery potential of your pharmacy

Profitability – Secure the ongoing viability of your business

HubRx is independent of wholesalers, buying groups and agencies. This independence and whole-market buying approach allows them to bring the most competitive large-scale automation solution to the dispensary of even the smallest independent pharmacy.

HubRx will be fully integrated to work seamlessly with our system, delivering a highly efficient dispensing process. Message integration between RxWeb and HubRx will ensure you
have full visibility of the assembly and logistical progress of each prescription while patient messaging within RxWeb will keep patients informed of when a prescription is ready for collection or local delivery.

If you would like to register your interest or learn more about this exciting new opportunity we recommend heading over to the HubRx website, using the link below. The guys would be delighted to discuss how your pharmacy business can get involved.

Register Your Interest Here

 

Big update to your RxWeb system, we are moving to HTML5

Posted on by Clanwilliam Marketing

We wanted to tell you about some exciting developments to our RxWeb system that we are nearly ready to roll out to all of our customers.

We’re upgrading to HTML5

As you may know, Adobe Flash is due to stop working on December 31st, 2020. RxWeb was originally developed using this software which obviously posed a unique challenge for us. As soon as we heard this news, way back in  2017, we began to take a range of internal steps that would not only protect but improve RxWeb for all of our customers.

In early 2018, we began work on a massive development project that would migrate RxWeb from Flash, to HTML5. As this project nears completion, we wanted to give you a short update on what this means for both RxWeb and you, the user.

This migration was a very large undertaking, one which has required a substantial investment of time, development and money in the system. Originally, Flash technology gave RxWeb the platform to be the most cost-effective, innovative and forward-thinking PMR system on the market. Now, HTML5 will open up a whole new world of possibilities for RxWeb and enable us to continue to be the digital foundation, and a trusted partner, to your pharmacy for years to come.

What does this mean for you?

Well, initially, our customers won’t notice any difference within the system whatsoever. One of the priorities of the project was that user experience would not be negatively impacted in any way. As such, everything will be in the same place as before and will work in the same way. So there’s no need for your staff to be retrained. The differences and improvements will arrive as we continue to build and develop our system on this new modern technology.

You can expect improvements in security and increased accessibility. For example, you will be able to access our system using Google Chrome. Our development process will become easier and less time consuming, meaning loads of new features, functionality and integrations will be introduced to RxWeb in the months ahead. All of which, will be rolled out through automatic system updates and releases.

With RxWeb, you already get the PMR system most favoured by independent pharmacies and with what we’ve got planned, our system is only going to get better.

Looking to the future

As we enter the final quarter of 2020, we are busy putting the final touches to our product roadmap for 2021. It’s shaping up to be a massive year for RxWeb and we couldn’t be more excited for what the future holds. If you’re a current customer then check your emails, we’ve sent out an announcement email which included a short roadmap feedback survey and we would love to hear from you! We want to get your input and hear your ideas. We value each and every piece of feedback that we receive and we want to work with you to improve RxWeb together. Your input will have a huge impact on the product roadmap for RxWeb.

As this project progresses, we will make sure to keep you all informed. Keep an eye out on the news section of our website for further updates.

First automated dispensing hub for independents

Posted on by Clanwilliam Marketing

HubRx today announced its plans for a multi-million pound investment in a facility that will allow independent community pharmacies to benefit from ‘hub and spoke’ technologies – and extend their clinical role as part of the long-term NHS plan.

Led by a team with decades of experience in pharmacy and digital healthcare, HubRx is set to create the UK’s first automated dispensing hub, purpose-built for independently owned community pharmacies. This will free up time for pharmacies to focus on providing both NHS and private clinical services to patients, such as the Community Pharmacist Consultation Service, extension of NMS and other planned services.

The move comes as local pharmacies take on an expanded role in the community during the coronavirus outbreak. As GP surgeries struggle to stay open and cope with the wave of coronavirus infections, many pharmacists have become the first port of call for worried patients seeking trusted health advice – while also coping with a huge increase in prescriptions.

HubRx has signed a commercial agreement with Clanwilliam Health who provide RxWeb PMR system, the UK’s only web-based Patient Medical Record (PMR) system. Currently used by over 1800 pharmacies across the UK, RxWeb’s system flexibility and advanced functionality made it a natural fit for HubRx. Both systems will be integrated to create processes that facilitate the safe and seamless transfer of prescriptions to the hub and then delivery back to the pharmacy.

By reducing the workload of repeat prescription dispensing, the hub will give pharmacists more time to deliver more profitable clinical services to patients. Importantly, independent pharmacists will remain in control of the patient relationship throughout the dispensing process.

HubRx CEO Daniel Lee said:
“For the first time ever, due to new legislation currently going through parliament, the UK’s 4,461 independents will be able to realise the time-saving benefits of automated dispensing and create a level playing field with the big multiple pharmacies already benefitting from this. In a post- COVID world, pharmacists will expect the significant clinical and advisory role they have played during this crisis to continue – and so will their patients.

Our hub will give pharmacies the option to outsource up to 70% of their dispensing workload, freeing them up to expand their clinical service role in the community. It is designed to support the transformation of independents as they adapt to the new Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework – and ensure that the patient relationship remains with the local pharmacy.”

Daniel, a qualified pharmacist, worked in his family’s independent pharmacy business in Leeds before founding Pharmacy2U, the UK’s largest NHS pharmacy. He is joined at HubRx by Chairman Sean Riddell, who is the former CEO of EMIS Group plc and led its highly successful flotation on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM).

Joining HubRx as a non-executive director is Mike Hewitson. A staunch defender of independent pharmacy, he was a leading member of the National Pharmacy Association board for eight years, and a board member of the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee for three. Mike was instrumental in reviewing the proposed hub and spoke legislation for the NPA.

He said:
“A service like HubRx would have helped independent community pharmacy tremendously during this pandemic, and it will be badly needed long after the outbreak is over. The presence and reliability of local pharmacies has been vital for patients in these last few months. HubRx will help by filling prescriptions reliably and safely while releasing us to take on more of the clinical role we have been trained for.

For me, joining HubRx is an opportunity to show independent pharmacies how technology can work for us. The team have a real desire to help independents compete, transform and thrive in a changing world – and understand the values which make independent pharmacy so important to us and our communities. This is needed now, more than ever – and we need to set the standards as the industry evolves.”

Clanwilliam Health Managing Director Eileen Byrne added:
“We are delighted to partner with HubRx to allow our RxWeb PMR users additional flexibility to outsource their dispensing workload. As the UK’s only web-based PMR system we pride ourselves on providing pharmacists with a digital foundation for their pharmacy and we are always willing to work with innovative partners such as HubRx to add value for RxWeb users. We are excited to see the benefits this partnership will offer our customers.”

The facility will be designed with real-time stock information and support the highest clinical accuracy and safety standards. It will use the latest software to drive operational efficiency within the pharmacy.

Making the Most of RxWeb During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Posted on by Clanwilliam Marketing

At RxWeb, we understand how busy pharmacies and our frontline workers are during this Covid-19 crisis and we would like to extend our sincere gratitude and support to each and every one of you for the work that you are doing to fight this pandemic.

We also understand how challenging it can be for our customers to maintain a high level of business continuity during this period. We would like to take this opportunity to remind you all of some of RxWeb’s features and functionality that can be particularly helpful as the Covid-19 situation persists:

Remote Access – As a web-based system, remember that you can access RxWeb from anywhere, at any time. If you’ve got an internet connection you can continue to work. This will be useful if you or a member of your team fall ill or need to self-isolate as a precaution. With RxWeb, you can still work remotely from home. This functionality also extends to Pharmacy Groups. Groups can better manage the workload across all of their pharmacies, even in the case of closures. Patient data can be accessed securely from other branch locations, allowing work to continue.

Remote Data Transfer, Training and Installation – RxWeb has the capacity and resources to remotely transfer your data, train existing or new team members and install RxWeb on devices whenever required.

Independent Hardware – As you know, with RxWeb you choose your own hardware. We don’t force you into any expensive hardware or maintenance contracts. If you experience a failure, you can replace it fast and we can get you back up and running on our system remotely. No waiting around for replacement stock and more importantly no engineers or unnecessary personnel visiting your pharmacy during this busy time. If you are having any issues with your current or new hardware, our support team are happy to help.

Service Desk – It’s business as usual at RxWeb. Our team have been working remotely since Fri 13th March and we have taken a range of internal steps to protect the service we provide for you. And again, our system does not require onsite visits or engineers in the pharmacy. Our support team can do everything for you, remotely.

We genuinely feel that our system can be of great benefit to pharmacies during this difficult period. If you would like to speak to one of our support team please feel free to give us a call on 0207 784 7346. And please make sure to take advantage of the below resources:

For non-customers who are interested in learning more about RxWeb please feel free to use the links below to book a demo or download a brochure. We understand that onsite demos of our system can be difficult to arrange at this time. In lieu of this, we are happy to conduct web demos, and if required, our team can facilitate web demos outside of normal working hours.

Book a Demo Here                      Download a Brochure Here

A message from RxWeb PMR on Covid-19

Posted on by Clanwilliam Marketing

We are writing this to update you on how RxWeb PMR is responding to the challenges posed by the Coronavirus (Covid-19) and how we intend to give our customers the best possible service during this difficult time.

 

We would like to assure all of our customers that it is business as usual at RxWeb during this challenging time. Our primary objective is to do what we can to reduce the risks to all our customers and employees and we are strictly following the advice of health authorities.

We recognise that we are likely to suffer reduced capacity across our operation if the Covid-19 situation persists. Having said that, we will be doing everything in our power to maintain the best possible service for each and every one of our customers. We have already taken a range of internal steps to protect the service we provide for you.

 

We would like to take this opportunity to remind you all of our Support hours:

  • Mon – Fri: 8:30am – 6:00pm
  • Sat: 9:00am – 5:00pm (emergency on-call support)

 

We will continue to work hard through this period to ensure your service is not affected. As circumstances change, we will keep you informed of any changes to our services. And as ever you can find all of our contact information here.

Please do everything necessary to keep yourselves well during the coming weeks.

Everyone at RxWeb PMR

Are you struggling to make a profit with all the pharmacy cuts?

Posted on by Clanwilliam Marketing

Over the past few years, community pharmacists have faced a number of cuts or/and other enforced changes that have created challenges for running a pharmacy.

The good news is that  PSNC has confirmed that the pharmacy funding for 2019/2020 will be maintained at £2.59bn, instead of the previously mooted cut of £33 million to £2.26bn. The bad news is that the single activity fee was reduced from £1.29 to £1.26 in November 2018 and the Category M prices have been reduced by £10m per month between November 2018 and March 2019.

All of this is happening against the backdrop of the new  Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD) and growing uncertainty over the additional challenges that Brexit may pose to pharmacists.

This is the difficult environment facing pharmacy owners who are still trying to run profitable businesses; while continuing to manage their staff and provide the best care to their patients.

When all operating costs are increasing it is no surprise, that more and more pharmacy owners are looking at ways to maximise profitability in the current climate. RxWeb is a key tool that helps our users to streamline their processes and cut their costs. In particular, our customers have embraced some of the following features of RxWeb to positively impact their bottom line.

1. Embrace the digital era and technology advancements

We live in an age where technology is constantly evolving and where consumers rely on it every single day. The likes of Google, YouTube, LinkedIn and other social media channels allow provide platforms that enable businesses to engage with their customers and provide them with useful information.

Pharmacy owners need to consider how they can use the internet and the power of technology to their best advantage. This could be by investing in dispensing robots, promoting your services through a Twitter or LinkedIn page, sending SMS messages to customers or using a web-based PMR system. There are lots of different options and RxWeb can help you to get started by harnessing the power of the internet to run your pharmacy.

2. Drive efficient and dispensing processes

The FMD has introduced an additional element to the dispensing process where all medication packs have to be scanned and visually checked. It has never been more important for all the processes within a pharmacy to run efficiently and to eliminate any potential customer service bottlenecks.

Spend time analysing your current processes, review them and identify how you can save time, resources and money to help you run at optimal level. RxWeb can help to ensure that every area of your pharmacy is operating at peak performance to make sure that you benefit from time, resource and cost savings generated by increased efficiencies.

3. Provide excellent customer experiences

There are currently 12,000 pharmacies in England, why should a patient choose your pharmacy over one of the other 11,999? Providing patients with an exceptional, friendly and personable service is a great way to build loyalty ensuring they return time after time.

RxWeb enables you to take an extra step and contact your patients via text message. You can use this feature to notify them to collect their prescription and to provide them with additional clinical services. Pharmacists should also encourage patients to nominate you as their pharmacy with their GP – this will make the prescription process easier for them and they will appreciate anything you can do to help them out.

Request a Demo             Download a Brochure

In summary, it is definitely a difficult environment for pharmacists and pharmacies at the moment. However, RxWeb can help by creating a solid and stable foundation to run your pharmacy from. If your PMR system runs smoothly you can dedicate greater attention to other areas of your business and work towards greater profitability. If you would like to learn more about how RxWeb can help please contact us today to arrange a demo.

NHS Digital Warranted Environment Specification

Posted on by Clanwilliam Marketing

Clanwilliam Health (RxWeb) Limited work closely with relevant stakeholders within the pharmacy sector to ensure that RxWeb meets and exceeds the needs of pharmacy contractors. All our systems have been developed and maintained following advice from NHS Digital and the PSNC.

All patient and pharmacy data is stored in highly secure NHS-approved data centres, which are ISO 27701 accredited, the highest standard of security accreditation available.

RxWeb complies with the NHS Digital Warranted Environment Specification (WES) according to the technical environments listed below.

Operating Systems

  • Windows 7
  • Windows 8
  • Windows 10

Browser Systems

  • Internet Explorer 11

Java Virtual Machines

  • Java version 8

Identity Agents

  • NHS Digital 2.0
  • NHS Digital 2.1.2
  • NHS Digital 2.2
  • NHS Digital 2.2.2

We can confirm that NHS Digital supports the technical environments listed above for connectivity to NHS Spine Systems. It is the responsibility of the customer to ensure that they are using the right version to ensure they comply with WES.

RxWeb is a system used by thousands of pharmacy contractors in England, Wales and Scotland. We are continuously developing the software solution to ensure it meets any new updates from NHS Digital in line with technology and legal compliance.

For more information on Quality Payments – Warranted Environment Specification (WES), please visit the PSNC website.

To download our Warranted Environment Specification (WES) statement, please click here .

RxWeb will Exhibit at the 2018 Pharmacy Show

Posted on by Clanwilliam Marketing

We are happy to announce that the RxWeb team will be exhibiting at this year’s Pharmacy Show.

It will be held at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham on Sunday 7th and Monday 8th October.

Every year, the Pharmacy Show has become bigger and we have grown with it through our stand, our team and most importantly, our product. This year is no different as we will be showcasing two new additional products and services.

We believe RxWeb is Your Pharmacy’s Foundation, which allows you to run your pharmacy through dispensing, ordering, clinical services and communicating with patients. Over the year’s we have introduced our head office tools, care home dispensing, and hub and spoke tools which has enabled pharmacies to increase cash flow and be more than just a pharmacy that dispenses medication. More recently, RxWeb now integrates with a range of dispensing robots and e-MAR providers, which can help improve efficiency.

This is why we are excited to present two new areas of RxWeb: Spectrum and PharmFMD.

Spectrum is our new business intelligence tool which integrates directly with RxWeb to provide you and your team with detailed analytics on your EPS claims, dispensed items, stock, ordering, SMS patients and much more. Spectrum is able to create a wide range of graphs and charts that can be filtered to provide the exact level of detail you require. All data can be exported to Microsoft Excel for further analysis and reporting or alternatively you can save your data and reports directly within the Spectrum system.

PharmFMD allows you to comply with the new Falsified Medicines Directive law that comes into effect in February 2019. The standalone system can be used by both pharmacies and suppliers within the sector. It connects directly to the European Medicines Verification System (EMVS) to allow you to quickly and accurately verify all medication packs. You can also use the system to decommission and introduce medication as required.

We will be releasing more information on these products over the coming weeks and will be demonstrating them live for the first time at the Pharmacy Show.

To register for your free ticket click here.

To book a short mini demo with us during the Pharmacy Show click here.

We look forward to seeing you on our stand: PH30.

FMD – Do you need to sign a new contract with your existing supplier?

Posted on by Clanwilliam Marketing

Please be aware that pharmacists do not need to sign a new contract in order to be compliant with the new Falsified Medicines Directive (FMD) law which comes into effect on 9th February 2019. The new law means that pharmacies will need to verify and decommission medicine to ensure that they are not counterfeit. All medication packs will have a Unique Identifier (UI) in the form of a 2D data matrix (barcode) and an anti-tamper device (ATD).

Despite this being clear and straightforward we have recently been made aware that some other suppliers are asking their customers to upgrade their software, purchase new computers and other hardware.

Please note that this is not the case with RxWeb. We have worked hard to make FMD as simple as possible for our customers and other pharmacists by developing a standalone cloud-based software solution for all UK pharmacies.

The system will allow you to:

  • Scan all products using an FMD-compatible 2D barcode scanner
  • Check the anti-tampering device (ATD) to ensure the product is intact
  • Communicate with the UK’s National Medicine Verification System (NMVS)
  • Verify stock on entry and decommission stock as part of the dispensing process
  • Change the status of the pack from ‘active’ to ‘inactive – supplied’ NMVS before dispensing

In order to use the system:

  • You will not need to upgrade your contract to be FMD compliant
  • You will need to buy FMD-compatible 2D barcode scanners (England and Scotland only, Wales already use 2D barcode scanners)
  • You should have one scanner per dispensing terminal PC or Windows tablet (recommended)
  • You do not have to be a RxWeb customer

As part of the pharmacy process, all medication packs will need to be scanned and checked when FMD is implemented, which could cause an extra burden to pharmacies. We are developing a standalone cloud-based system it will be available to both RxWeb customers and non-customers – therefore making it a software solution accessible to all pharmacies.

We will continue to keep you updated on our process, however, in the meantime, we advise pharmacy owners and managers to do their own research into FMD to find out what they do and do not need to do.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact your Business Development Manager or email us at sales@rxweb.co.uk.

Below are some websites and articles which pharmacists may find useful:

RxWeb Exhibits at the Pharmacy Forward Event

Posted on by Clanwilliam Marketing

On Sunday the 10th June members of the RxWeb team attended and exhibited at the Pharmacy Forward Event.

Pharmacy Forward is a new event within the sector that has been provided by The Pharmacist. The event was open to pharmacy owners, managers, technicians and dispensers. There was a number of seminar streams which covered a huge range of topics providing attendees with key insights into industry changes and trends, as well as giving them ideas to increase profit. Some of the talks covered included digitalisation, GDPR, quality assurance, women in business, FMD and much more.

It was wonderful to attend the event and have a chance to meet a number of pharmacists in the UK. We spent the day demoing RxWeb to potential customers, answering questions and seeing some friendly faces too.

Many attendees expressed their concerns about the additional costs some PMR systems charge including buying new hardware, additional terminals to name a couple. RxWeb provides its users with complete control to choose the hardware that they want, including Windows tablets, 6 terminals per site at no monthly cost and the ability to access the PMR system when you are not in the pharmacy.

We look forward to continuing the conversations we have had with you all and it was such a great event for us to attend.