Page 4 Medical & Healthcare Expert Guide 2019
P. 4
Expert Guide |
Litigation & Dispute Resolution 2018
4
In healthcare’s modern landscape, pharmacists are presented with
a wide range of challenges. Not only do they struggle to garner the
same respect and trust as other healthcare professionals, but they are
also tasked with tackling an image problem that has been decades
in the making. Combined with the rising cost of drugs and the new
central role of online drugstores, brick-and-mortar pharmacies have
been forced to innovate. And that’s just what Cadham Pharmacy,
headed by Bernadette Brown, has done. Corporate LiveWire spoke
to her about her community pharmacy, and how she stays ahead in
a challenging and ever-changing industry.
The image problem of the pharmacy
With pharmacies traditionally providing over-the-counter remedies
with little consultation, the role of the pharmacist has taken a
backseat. Rather than treating
patients
, the focus is often on
customers
who have self-diagnosed medical conditions, and rarely
seek the professional opinion of those behind the counter. As
Bernadette told us: “When I looked around and saw a sea of retail
shelves and over-the-counter conversations, I could see why the
public would not fully understand what I could do for them, other
than get their prescriptions ready. If my pharmacy was to be taken
seriously by GPs and the community, I had to change its retail image
to a more clinical one.”
In order to revive the stale image of community pharmacy,
Bernadette took symbolic action. “I removed all retail stock and
replaced it with public health screens,” she said. “Conversations
with people accessing care were moved to private rooms rather
than being over-the-counter, so that the right medicine could be
found.” She also shadowed local GPs and nurses, in order to earn
their trust and garner respect in her community. “My health board
then allowed me to run a two-year pilot. The results were analysed
over nine months, after I had triaged 3,500 patients.” In 2019, she
secured a formal Service Level Agreement (SLA) between her health
board and seven local GP practices; the first of its kind in Scotland.
Cadham Pharmacy now provides triage services, where patients
have face-to-face appointments with pharmacists to diagnose
illnesses, treat them directly, or refer them to alternative healthcare
providers. Not only does this improve the credibility of the pharmacy
and benefit those patients who seek quick, easy medical support,
but it also has a huge positive impact on the NHS. In one pilot in
North London, a GP practice offered pharmacist-led telephone
triage services to patients, and the surgery saw a 50% reduction
in same-day appointments. Bernadette sees 25 patients a day at
Cadham; 150 patients per week that may have otherwise visited a
GP surgery. “We are saving hundreds of GP appointments at a time
when it is increasingly difficult to access them,” she says.
www.cadhampharmacy.com
Innovatively transforming the
brick-and-mortar pharmacy
With Bernadette Brown, the entrepreneurial
pharmacist behind Cadham Pharmacy
Litigation & Dispute Resolution 2018
4
In healthcare’s modern landscape, pharmacists are presented with
a wide range of challenges. Not only do they struggle to garner the
same respect and trust as other healthcare professionals, but they are
also tasked with tackling an image problem that has been decades
in the making. Combined with the rising cost of drugs and the new
central role of online drugstores, brick-and-mortar pharmacies have
been forced to innovate. And that’s just what Cadham Pharmacy,
headed by Bernadette Brown, has done. Corporate LiveWire spoke
to her about her community pharmacy, and how she stays ahead in
a challenging and ever-changing industry.
The image problem of the pharmacy
With pharmacies traditionally providing over-the-counter remedies
with little consultation, the role of the pharmacist has taken a
backseat. Rather than treating
patients
, the focus is often on
customers
who have self-diagnosed medical conditions, and rarely
seek the professional opinion of those behind the counter. As
Bernadette told us: “When I looked around and saw a sea of retail
shelves and over-the-counter conversations, I could see why the
public would not fully understand what I could do for them, other
than get their prescriptions ready. If my pharmacy was to be taken
seriously by GPs and the community, I had to change its retail image
to a more clinical one.”
In order to revive the stale image of community pharmacy,
Bernadette took symbolic action. “I removed all retail stock and
replaced it with public health screens,” she said. “Conversations
with people accessing care were moved to private rooms rather
than being over-the-counter, so that the right medicine could be
found.” She also shadowed local GPs and nurses, in order to earn
their trust and garner respect in her community. “My health board
then allowed me to run a two-year pilot. The results were analysed
over nine months, after I had triaged 3,500 patients.” In 2019, she
secured a formal Service Level Agreement (SLA) between her health
board and seven local GP practices; the first of its kind in Scotland.
Cadham Pharmacy now provides triage services, where patients
have face-to-face appointments with pharmacists to diagnose
illnesses, treat them directly, or refer them to alternative healthcare
providers. Not only does this improve the credibility of the pharmacy
and benefit those patients who seek quick, easy medical support,
but it also has a huge positive impact on the NHS. In one pilot in
North London, a GP practice offered pharmacist-led telephone
triage services to patients, and the surgery saw a 50% reduction
in same-day appointments. Bernadette sees 25 patients a day at
Cadham; 150 patients per week that may have otherwise visited a
GP surgery. “We are saving hundreds of GP appointments at a time
when it is increasingly difficult to access them,” she says.
www.cadhampharmacy.com
Innovatively transforming the
brick-and-mortar pharmacy
With Bernadette Brown, the entrepreneurial
pharmacist behind Cadham Pharmacy
