Reviewing the way you work is essential to drive efficiency. It is important to distinguish between work activities that are value creating and those that are incidental or wasteful.

We often don’t think about how work gets done, we just do it and it becomes second nature. Consider your key operating processes and review each step critically to identify what could be eliminated, rearranged or merged with another step to improve workflow. Do any of your process steps waste time or contribute to delays or potential errors?

The most efficient processes eliminate steps that do not add value to the patient. Invite your employees to step back and observe your key operating processes. Encourage them to identify bottlenecks, unnecessary travel or factors that cause delays in the process. Allow employees to offer opportunities for improvement.

Are you aware of how many steps a technician or pharmacist takes each day in your pharmacy? Like the patient journey, consider mapping the travel of dispensary staff with a prescription.

Could you eliminate any wasteful time and activities to enhance productivity while also improving employee satisfaction? Can workstations be redesigned to help employees complete prescriptions more efficiently?

Creating more efficient operational processes is an ongoing task. Be sure to periodically review and adjust your processes to adapt to changes in the work environment. Collaborate with your employees and see if they have any suggestions for improvements. It’s a great discussion point for pharmacy team meetings.

Depending on your objectives, automation could release pharmacist’s time for other patient care activities or to maintain service without increasing staff numbers.

However, embedding technology comes at a cost and if this is not a realistic proposition, an honest review of your manual processes is required. For example, are the fastest moving lines in one area near a workstation?

Focused pharmacist-patient engagement

Patient-centred care demands that pharmacists draw on their cognitive skills and increase the time they spend providing patient care services. This requires engagement with patients and skills to enhance the quality of pharmacistpatient engagement. Honing your consultation and communication skills enhances the quality of time invested in the patient.

Poor communication can lead to:

• Inaccurate patient medication history information being taken
• Inappropriate therapeutic decisions 
• Patient confusion 
• Lack of patient interest 
• Potential non-adherence
• Patient frustration 
• Patient disengagement.

MOT measurement

Every pharmacy has procedures, but many lack a measurement process. Conducting simple audits will help you to identify gaps in quality and areas for improvement.

When choosing areas to audit, consider those that have the greatest impact on workflow efficiency and patient engagement, safety and satisfaction. Audits are a powerful way to involve your team in continuous improvement.

Quality service in limited time

Most of this is common sense, but often pharmacy environments are task oriented, and motivating you and your employees to review the quality of your time is the key to a patientcentred model. Focus on the right things to do.

Pharmacists perform an important role in the healthcare sector. Appreciating that your time is about quality and getting the best outcomes from applying your skills – and not simply about hours and minutes – will enhance the value of patient engagement.