Improving pharmacy efficiency isn’t always about dispensing more prescriptions in less time. Sometimes, it’s about looking more closely at how work moves through your dispensary and identifying where staff are spending time on tasks that could be managed differently.
For many community pharmacies, the challenges aren’t necessarily obvious. Prescriptions are being processed, compliance packs are being prepared and patients are collecting their medication. But behind the scenes, small delays and repetitive tasks can gradually place more pressure on the pharmacy team.
It’s something we understand at PillPacPlus. Having worked in community pharmacy ourselves, we know how easily a dispensary can become stretched when staff are managing multiple responsibilities.
From preparing medication to carrying out checks and handling prescription collections, every stage of the process requires time and attention.
So, where are the bottlenecks most likely to occur, and how can pharmacy automation solutions help you manage them?
Looking at the Entire Prescription Journey
When pharmacy owners consider improving their workflow, dispensing is often the first area they look at.
That makes sense. Preparing prescriptions is a central part of pharmacy operations, and anything that reduces repetitive work can make a difference to the team.
But dispensing is only one stage of the process.
Before medication reaches the patient, prescriptions need to be processed, prepared, checked and made available for collection or delivery.
For pharmacies supplying compliance medication to care homes, there are additional responsibilities, including coordinating medication cycles, preparing pouches and communicating with care staff.
A delay at any one stage can affect what happens next.
For example, preparing prescriptions more efficiently won’t necessarily improve the overall workflow if completed medication is regularly waiting to be checked.
Likewise, prescriptions might be ready for collection, but staff could still be spending considerable time locating bags and managing handovers.
This is why it can be useful to look at your pharmacy’s complete workflow rather than concentrating on individual tasks.
Bottleneck One: Time Spent Preparing Compliance Packs
For pharmacies supporting patients who require medication compliance aids, preparing packs can be a demanding part of the working week.
Traditional blister tray preparation involves organising medication into individual compartments and completing the appropriate checking procedures.
As the number of compliance patients increases, so does the amount of staff time needed to manage the process.
And when technicians are occupied with repetitive tray filling, they’re less available to support other dispensary responsibilities.
This was the situation experienced by McGuinness Totalhealth Pharmacy in Roscommon before introducing PillPacPlus automation.
Pharmacy owner Ollie McGuinness explained:
“We had reached a point where our technicians were spending all their time filling trays manually. The Robot has automated the process for us, making life simpler and safer for both patients and staff.”
The pharmacy also reported improvements in dispensing productivity following the introduction of its automated system.
It’s a familiar challenge for pharmacy owners: when compliance dispensing becomes increasingly labour-intensive, how do you continue growing the service without placing additional pressure on the team?
One option is to introduce automated medication pouch dispensing.
Systems such as the Yuyama Litrea III and Proud NEO automate the packaging of prescribed medication into individual pouches, organised by the required administration date and time.
This reduces the manual work involved in preparing traditional compliance trays while allowing pharmacy staff to remain responsible for medication preparation, checking and professional oversight.
For pharmacies managing a growing compliance workload, changing how medication is packaged can help create a more manageable production process.
Bottleneck Two: The Time Required to Check Medication
Preparing compliance medication is only part of the workload.
Once medication has been packaged, the contents need to be verified through the pharmacy’s established checking procedures.
This is an essential part of safe dispensing, but it can also require substantial staff time, particularly for pharmacies producing large quantities of medication pouches.
As production volumes increase, the checking process needs to be considered alongside dispensing capacity.
After all, producing pouches more quickly is only useful if the pharmacy can also manage the required verification and checks.
This is where optical checking technology can support the workflow.
The MDM Core, supplied by PillPacPlus, uses modern camera technology to capture images of both sides of medication pouches.
The system’s software supports the verification process by comparing pouch images with its programmed medication information, helping identify discrepancies that require further review.
It also includes functionality for building a library of pill models to support the checking process.
For pharmacy teams, this offers a more structured approach to pouch verification.
Rather than relying entirely on manual visual inspection, optical checking can support staff in identifying pouches that need closer attention.
It doesn’t replace the pharmacist’s professional responsibilities or the pharmacy’s required checking procedures. Instead, it provides another tool to support accurate and consistent medication verification.
For pharmacies already using automated dispensing, considering how medication is checked can be an important next step in improving the wider workflow.
Bottleneck Three: Managing Medication Information Between Pharmacies and Care Homes
Not every inefficiency in a pharmacy involves physically preparing medication.
Some of the most time-consuming tasks relate to administration, communication and keeping medication information accurate.
This is particularly relevant for pharmacies supplying residential and nursing homes.
Medication records need to reflect current prescriptions, and care staff must have the information required to administer medication safely.
When information is managed across separate paper-based processes, additional administration and communication may be required.
An electronic medication administration record can support a more organised approach.
PillPacPlus developed eMAR Plus for the care sector, with the system designed to integrate with its automated medication pouch solutions.
For care homes using the integrated system, staff can scan medication pouches to support confirmation that medication is being administered to the intended resident at the correct time.
This creates a connection between the medication prepared by the pharmacy and the administration process within the care home.
Of course, digital systems still rely on accurate prescription information, trained staff and appropriate procedures.
The aim isn’t to remove professional judgement. It’s to support clear medication records and reduce unnecessary complexity in the process.
The importance of accurate communication and record-keeping is also reflected in NICE guidance on managing medicines in care homes, which addresses safe medicines management and the responsibilities of the professionals involved.
For pharmacies working closely with care providers, reviewing how medication information is managed can be just as valuable as examining the dispensing process itself.
Bottleneck Four: Prescription Storage and Collection
Even after a prescription has been prepared and checked, there’s still another stage to consider: getting it to the patient.
In many community pharmacies, collecting a prescription involves a staff member locating the completed medication, confirming the relevant details and handing it over.
It’s a routine part of pharmacy life, but repeated collection requests can interrupt other tasks taking place in the dispensary.
And when prescription volumes are high, managing completed bags and organising collection can become another operational challenge.
This is one of the areas where Pharmaself24 prescription collection technology can offer an alternative approach.
Pharmaself24 allows pharmacies to securely store suitable completed prescriptions for collection outside normal opening hours.
Once the prescription has been prepared and appropriately checked, pharmacy staff scan its barcode and load it into the collection system.
The patient receives a collection PIN by text message, which they use to retrieve their prescription.
For pharmacy teams, this can reduce the number of routine handovers that require staff involvement.
It also provides an additional collection option for patients who may find it difficult to visit during standard pharmacy opening hours.
However, automated collection isn’t appropriate for every prescription or situation. Pharmacists still need to ensure patients receive the necessary advice and that the chosen collection method is suitable.
For pharmacy owners, the opportunity is to consider whether routine prescription collection is creating avoidable interruptions within the wider workflow.
How Can You Identify the Biggest Bottlenecks in Your Pharmacy?
Before making changes to your dispensary, it’s worth understanding where your team is spending its time.
Sometimes, the processes that create the most frustration aren’t necessarily the ones that take the longest individually.
A task that takes only a few minutes can still affect productivity if staff need to repeat it throughout the day.
A practical starting point is to follow the journey of a prescription from the moment it enters the pharmacy until it reaches the patient.
Consider where work tends to build up.
Are technicians spending a large proportion of their time preparing compliance trays? Are completed pouches waiting to be checked? Is medication information being entered or confirmed across several different processes? Are staff frequently interrupted to locate prescriptions for collection?
It’s also worth involving your dispensary team in these conversations.
The people carrying out these tasks every day will often have the clearest understanding of where delays occur.
Not every problem requires investment in new equipment. Changes to scheduling, staff responsibilities or existing procedures may also improve the way work is managed.
However, where repetitive tasks are taking up significant staff time, pharmacy automation may offer an opportunity to change how those processes are carried out.
Why a Connected Pharmacy Workflow Matters
One of the challenges with improving dispensary efficiency is that individual processes don’t operate independently.
Preparing medication more quickly may create additional demand at the checking stage. Improving compliance dispensing might free up technicians, but prescription collections could still be interrupting the team’s work.
This is why looking at the entire pharmacy workflow is important.
At PillPacPlus, our range of pharmacy automation solutions addresses different parts of the medication management process.
Yuyama pouch dispensing robots support automated compliance packaging. MDM Core provides optical pouch verification. eMAR Plus supports electronic medication administration records within care settings, while Pharmaself24 offers an alternative way to manage suitable prescription collections.
Each solution has a different purpose, and the right approach will depend on the pharmacy’s existing processes, workload and business requirements.
For some pharmacies, the priority might be reducing the time spent filling compliance trays.
For others, it could be managing medication checking more efficiently or reducing interruptions associated with routine prescription collection.
The most useful starting point is understanding which part of the current workflow needs attention.
Making Better Use of Your Pharmacy Team’s Time
Pharmacy efficiency isn’t simply about working faster or introducing more technology.
It’s about ensuring staff can make the best use of their time while maintaining safe and effective dispensing processes.
When repetitive tasks take up a significant proportion of the working day, there may be fewer opportunities for technicians and pharmacists to focus on other important responsibilities.
By reviewing how prescriptions move through the dispensary, pharmacy owners can identify where processes could be improved and where automation might provide practical support.
Having started PillPacPlus from our own experience in community pharmacy, we understand that every dispensary operates differently. That’s why choosing an appropriate automation solution should begin with the needs of the pharmacy, rather than the equipment itself.
If you’re looking to improve your pharmacy workflow and make better use of your team’s time, contact PillPacPlus to discuss our range of automated dispensing, medication verification and prescription collection solutions.
