Helping to eliminate manual entry and inefficiencies in pharmacy, providing more control over care home medication management

About Priory pharmacy

Priory Pharmacy, a trusted independent pharmacy that prioritises providing exceptional care to its community, is owned and managed by Prabjaudt Singh Channa, a dedicated Superintendent Pharmacist.

Located in the vibrant town of Orpington, Kent, Priory Pharmacy is dedicated to providing efficient, high-quality pharmaceutical and retail services to the local community and surrounding areas. Priory offers prescription collection, a delivery service, and tailored support such as a minor ailments clinic, ensuring its customers' health and wellbeing remain its utmost priority.

For over a decade, Priory Pharmacy has trusted and relied on ATLAS Pharmacy, our eMAR solution for pharmacies. We recently connected with Priory, where Prabjaudt emphasised the transformative impact of ATLAS in reducing administration errors and driving revenue.

Today, he shares how this powerful system, with its seamless integration with Titan, is streamlining pharmacy operations even more by eliminating manual entry and inefficiencies. Prabjaudt also discusses how the system helps to provide more control over care home medication management, demonstrating its value in today's pharmacy settings.

In 2014, I took a pivotal step in my pharmacy career by acquiring Blenheim Pharmacy. After successfully establishing it, I decided to sell and dedicate my efforts to developing Priory Pharmacy, which I purchased in 2021. Since 2014, I've heavily relied on ATLAS Pharmacy and played a key role in its testing and early implementation, so I've been using the product for a very long time! 

I also actively participate as a beta tester for Titan, the UK's NHS-accredited PMR system, which we use at Priory. My role involves rigorously testing new features and providing valuable feedback to enhance functionality. This collaborative effort not only helps refine the system but also enables me to influence its development roadmap, ensuring it effectively meets the needs of users and is designed by pharmacies for pharmacies.

ATLAS Pharmacy's Titan integration

We use ATLAS Pharmacy predominantly through Titan now, which eliminates the need for double entry that other PMR systems require. This enhancement significantly accelerates our processes, making our workflow more efficient and streamlined, which ultimately benefits our team.

I'm a huge advocate for ATLAS Pharmacy as a product. Its ability to transfer data directly to care homes empowers them to be much more self-sufficient than if they were solely using paper. With ATLAS Pharmacy, they receive not only the prescription but also images of the prescription, which allows them to cross-check the information easily. The booking in process is incredibly secure, ensuring that we receive reliable feedback in the pharmacy. We can confirm when an item has been delivered and when it has been scanned, eliminating any chance of miscommunication. If, for example, an item was scanned in by the care home at nine o'clock at night, we have indisputable proof. ATLAS provides a really clear overview of everything, greatly enhancing transparency and efficiency.

We can effectively track every step of a medication's journey—from the initial prescription to its delivery at the care home, the drug used in the home, and finally, when that drug has been returned or has been fully used. This level of insight is incredibly beneficial and enhances overall medication management.

Additionally, my goal was to establish a highly efficient workflow in my pharmacy. I didn't want to be doing the tedious double entry or having to manually write MAR charts. I really value the seamless interoperability offered by the two systems. When I receive offers from care homes that don't integrate with Titan, I decline them without hesitation because I don't want to do that manual work. 

Providing the highest and safest level of pharmaceutical care

After evaluating different eMAR solutions against ATLAS Pharmacy, it's clear that ATLAS stands out by providing the highest and safest level of pharmaceutical care in medicines management. This innovative system also enables me to focus on addressing critical clinical questions for care homes rather than getting bogged down in operational tasks. By using ATLAS Pharmacy, I can deliver a significantly higher quality service compared to traditional methods, ultimately benefiting care home residents and enhancing overall care quality.

Person Centred Software (PCS) has a gem of a system; ATLAS Pharmacy includes features that no other eMAR solution provides. Its barcoding technology outperforms other systems, ensuring greater accuracy and reliability in medication management. For example, a study by Cardiff University found that after adopting ATLAS eMAR, 21 out of 23 identified error types were eradicated in a care home setting. Not 21 out of 23 errors, but 21 out of 23 ways in which errors can occur. Additionally, missing entries (which can be a significant safety issue) were decreased by nearly 90%. 

Additionally, the system features prescription images, another unique capability that no other system currently offers. 

Increasing pharmacy revenue

In my previous catch-up with PCS, where I wrote the case study about ATLAS Pharmacy reducing administration errors, I highlighted that partnering with ATLAS Pharmacy has led to a revenue increase. However, I did not specify the exact amount of that increase. ATLAS Pharmacy has transformed our business, boosting our profits by an impressive 100%.

I also want to reiterate this point because, since my last conversation with PCS, ATLAS Pharmacy has unlocked new opportunities for us, providing access to a segment of the pharmacy business that would have been challenging to penetrate without the increase in revenue to support staff management. This partnership has made our growth easier and propelled our success in ways we hadn't anticipated. 

For example, we've recently just installed a Meditech pharmacy dispensing robot. Manual medication handling is time-consuming and prone to errors, which can impact workflow and the overall customer experience. Meditech robots provide an innovative, automated solution that enhances accuracy, accelerates dispensing, and frees up valuable staff time. The robot can learn our most commonly dispensed drug lines and then send those to dispensers at a rate of five packets per second. When we have a specific prescription for a care home, we instruct the robot, and the medication is promptly dispensed. 

We are the only third or fourth Titan pharmacy in the UK to have this type of system. Thanks to the growth from implementing ATLAS Pharmacy, we've been able to unlock that potential and take that plunge. 

The Meditech Robot will significantly benefit our care home customers by allowing us to dispense and manage our stock more quickly and efficiently. With this robot, we can enhance our service and complete tasks more efficiently, ensuring our customers don’t have to wait.

Like ATLAS Pharmacy, the Meditech Robot allows us more time to focus on our patients and address important customer inquiries. For instance, we can answer questions like, "What's happening with this drug?" or "This drug is out of stock; what do you recommend?" Additionally, care homes sometimes ask for advice, such as whether certain tablets can be crushed safely; if not, what alternative recommendations do you have? As a result, we now have more time to handle these types of queries without feeling overwhelmed, which is really beneficial.

Has ATLAS Pharmacy helped your relationship with care homes?

ATLAS Pharmacy has significantly strengthened our partnership with care homes, enhancing collaboration and benefiting all parties involved. Care homes greatly value the insights we provide as pharmacists, especially since we have access to all this valuable data within the system.

Additionally, the daily reports that care home managers receive empower us to offer informed advice. When we identify flags in the data, we can take prompt action to improve outcomes. This proactive approach not only enhances resident care but also contributes significantly to good customer retention and overall satisfaction.

Atlas Pharmacy vs other eMAR solutions

When it comes to eMAR solutions, ATLAS Pharmacy truly leads the way. As I mentioned previously, one of its standout features is the inclusion of prescription images, which enables care homes to verify information effortlessly and accurately. I also like how ATLAS reconciles the monthly orders against what prescriptions are received, so care homes always know what's missing, allowing them to take prompt action before their monthly cycle begins.

Additionally, the system provides insightful data on who entered the information and how each medication is being used, a level of transparency that other eMAR solutions lack. 

Through my experience collaborating with the PCS product team, I have gained valuable insights into the exciting new features that will soon be integrated into ATLAS. These enhancements will undoubtedly solidify its position as the leading eMAR solution on the market. I eagerly await these upgrades, which will make ATLAS even more indispensable!

Overall, I highly recommend ATLAS Pharmacy; it truly stands out as the best eMAR solution currently available. There's simply nothing else that matches its quality and effectiveness.