AWARDS
INNOVATION IN supported by
PHARMACY PRACTICE RIGHT MEDICINE PHARMACY, STIRLING
With a staggering £800m per annum linked to wastage and medication issues, the winner of this year’s Innovation in Pharmacy Practice Award was very keen to put measures into place to try and ameliorate this situation.
Noel Wicks, Managing Director of Right Medicine Pharmacy, is not only delighted with having won this year’s award, but with the outcomes that the Local Authorities are witnessing in terms of savings.
‘We have data from local authorities,’ Noel told SP, ‘showing they are paying their domiciliary care providers between £9 and £15 per visit for medication-only support and there could be three or four visits a day.
‘In addition, not all local authorities provide medicines visits, however, and some will only include it as part of a wider care package. If the domiciliary care company are providing services in helping the person with meals etc, then medicines can be included as part of this visit.
‘It is possible that these extra services are being commissioned unnecessarily in order to get the required medicines visits. Not only is there the cost implication, but it does create other areas of concern around the deskilling of people from undertaking tasks that they are actually quite capable of doing for themselves. Medication reminder visits will also impact a person’s independence, restricting their activity by being bound to be at home during the period of the anticipated Dom Care visit.
‘As a result of our research, and in partnership with Protomed Ltd, we spoke to several local authorities/health boards and private organisations about an innovative solution: Biodose Connect and, in fact, Right Medicine subsequently became Scotland’s first supplier of this unique monitored dosage system, which we
Noel Wicks and Rachel Green, Right Medicine Pharmacy celebrate with Stephen McGee, Head of Sales and Marketing, Positive Solutions and Andrew Sinclair, Sales Manager, Willach UK
supply to nursing homes.
‘The device stays in the patient’s home and connects to web portal via an internal GSM data SIM. Each week, we deliver a newly-sealed tray at a convenient time for the person or their carer, and the tray simply slots into the device. The pharmacy sets up the device in line with the person’s individual drug regime and lifestyle so that it will provide a visual alert showing which pod to take and when. There is also an optional audible alert which can be configured for volume and frequency; along with another audible alert if a wrong pod is removed from the tray. Each event is reported back and a dashboard can be viewed by authorised family members and carers. More importantly, it can also be viewed by prescribing
clinicians, allowing them to make more informed decisions about the patient’s medication.
‘In our opinion, this system is capable of supporting a person’s independence unlike any other medicines device in that pods can be safely removed for placement in a ‘HandyPak’ for dosage times when the person won’t be at home, without creating a wrong pod warning alert. For regular activities – where, for example, the person knows they will be out (social events etc), we can also set up text message reminders direct to the patient (assuming they have a mobile phone) on a pod-by-pod basis.
‘It’s clear this pharmacy-led technology not only has the power to help keep people independent and healthier for
longer in their own homes, but also shows how community pharmacy can provide innovative solutions to issues that affect not only individuals but also their relatives, carers, and other healthcare professionals.
‘It’s clear that this innovation not only signals a watershed for community pharmacy services and the way these are delivered and paid for, but also demonstrates how pharmacy innovation can improve patient care and help ensure better use of care resources.’
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