Pharmapod launch with Superdrug to drive best practice in patient safety

Growing exponentially since its 2012 launch, the award-winning organisation Pharmapod has signed a landmark deal with Superdrug which will see its revolutionary Global Incident Reporting & Learning System being rolled out across the 210 Superdrug pharmacy and wellbeing clinic stores in the UK.

Pharmapod specialises in the development of innovative cloud computing solutions for the healthcare sector with a focus on improving patient safety, clinical governance compliance and business efficiency. Being quickly adopted by independent pharmacies, regional groups and large corporate chains alike, Pharmapod is now taking the UK by storm as part of a long-term global expansion campaign.

Use of paper-based error reporting systems currently constitutes standard practice across the majority of pharmacies around the UK. Yet, there is a significant and growing body of evidence that clearly shows this practice as being inefficient in many aspects relative to SMART electronic systems such as that offered by Pharmapod. The system facilitates consistently higher levels of analysis capability and reporting of high quality data as required by the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) and the National Reporting & Learning System (NRLS) for medicine-related near misses and incidents ^[[1]]. The system greatly simplifies business intelligence, professional learning and oversight through root-cause analysis and management dashboards.

Patient safety is of paramount importance for progressive companies such as Superdrug and the partnership with Pharmapod aims to share learnings and best practice for optimal patient safety while adding value operationally and maximising efficiencies across the business. Of the launch, Christine Burbage, Pharmacy Superintendent at Superdrug said: “At Superdrug we are continually evaluating our processes to ensure we are harnessing innovation and technology to deliver the highest levels of patient safety. Making the move from paper-based error reporting is key to this commitment and we are delighted to be introducing the Pharmapod system across all of our pharmacies and clinics.”

Healthcare is changing and cloud based systems are central to driving change across the sector. Pharmacists that once considered electronic systems to be complicated with a steep learning curve, are now adopting electronic systems with ease. When asked about Pharmapod’s formula for success its CEO Leonora O’Brien said ‘it’s our focus on design and user experience. We have created a system that’s very intuitive and user-friendly – these are critical success factors for any electronic system. Systems need to be as simple to use as pen-and-paper but deliver significant efficiencies in terms of local and central reporting, plus valuable business analytics. We’re also pharmacists so we understand our customer’s pain points and challenges’.

In a 2014 pilot study, participants in England found Pharmapod to be easier to use relative to current systems in use, with a 5-15 fold time saving showing a dramatic difference in simplicity and business efficiency. ^[[2]] Pharmapod also facilitates reporting into the NHS’s central database of patient safety incident reports, the NRLS (National Reporting and Learning System), driving continuous improvements in patient care.

 

[1] http://etd.library.vanderbilt.edu/available/etd-03312005-194333/unrestricted/THESIS.pdf

[2]NPA Pilot Study 2014