Closed Loop Medicine Supply: Streamline your Pharmacy Operations
By Sandeep Gusai
Digital healthcare is a growing sector in the UK, with a projected market growth of more than 11% by 2028. This presents big opportunities for healthcare but Pharmacy staff often face stock control system challenges such as inaccurate inventory counts, inability to track expiration dates and low stock levels. Manual processes can lead to medication shortages, wastage, and errors in patient care. This is unacceptable.
Pharmacy has come a long way in the last decade. There has been a lot of innovation in areas like robotics, automated dispensing cabinets, and in areas like Electronic Prescribing and Medicines Administration (EPMA) where we are now seeing the majority of hospitals having an ePMA system in place. But it is often the case is that the hospital’s ePMA solution will not communicate with their Pharmacy stock control solution.
Sometimes this is the case even when the supplier of both systems is the same. This leads to one of the biggest challenges faced by Pharmacy, the continued risk of errors throughout the dispensing process. It is time that closed loop medicine supply becomes the norm.
Closed loop medicines refers to a comprehensive system that integrates various components of medication management within a hospital or clinic. It involves the seamless flow of information and processes from medication ordering, inventory management, dispensing, administration, and monitoring, all within a closed loop system. Closed loop medicines supply refers to the part of this loop related to the ordering and dispensing of medications. This has traditionally been a manual process resulting in the risk of transcription errors, selection errors and ultimately, patient harm. As Pharmacies get busier and busier, this risk only increases further.
In a closed loop medicine supply system, data is captured and shared in real-time, allowing for accurate tracking and control of medications throughout the entire supply chain. This includes monitoring medication usage, expiration dates, stock levels, and ensuring proper documentation and accountability at each stage.
We have listened to the Pharmacy needs and we have built a system with Pharmacists in mind. Closed loop medicine supply is one of the key benefits of the Dedalus Pharmacy C4H solution, which is critical to enhance patient safety, improve medication management efficiency, reduce errors, minimise waste, and ensure regulatory compliance.
By implementing the Dedalus Pharmacy C4H system, the Pharmacy can streamline its operations to optimise medication processes, reduce the risk of medication errors, and ultimately improve patient outcomes.
We are working with Pharmacists across the UK and Ireland to put the heart of the hospital at the forefront of digitisation and drive improvements in the Pharmacy workflow.
Sandeep Gusai – Pharmacist and Principal Medicines Management Specialist at Dedalus UK & Ireland. Sandeep has been practicing as a Pharmacist both within the NHS and internationally for over 10 years and also working within the digital health field.
Contact Sandeep for more information on how our Dedalus Pharmacy C4H Solution can streamline your operations.
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