Pharmacists expect to come under greater pressure in 2020

Almost nine in ten pharmacists say that cutting down administrative and back-office processes will be key to releasing much-needed resource to deliver new services.

New research from Brother UK found that 97 per cent of pharmacists expect to come under greater strain at work in 2020 as a result of having to provide more services to more patients, which include the new community pharmacist consultation service (CPCS) and a range of clinical functions, such as hepatitis C testing and a stop-smoking referral scheme.

The survey of 100 pharmacists across the UK found that 89 per cent say cutting down and optimising back-office processes would release much-needed resource. Additionally, 60 per cent say that increasing admin volumes have become a major source of pressure for the sector, compared to retaining staff (58 per cent) and the need for more time and budget to deliver training (51 per cent).

The respondents said the complex working processes between pharmacies and GP practices (71 per cent), handling prescriptions, (50 per cent), document and label printing (48 per cent) and how patient records are managed (41 per cent) are the key issues that need to be addressed to relieve pressure.

Almost nine in ten (89 per cent) are looking at new ways to bring down costs, with the same proportion saying that outsourcing administrative work would help them focus on providing a better service to patients.

Diane Barnes, senior healthcare business manager at Brother UK, said: “These are challenging times for pharmacists, as they deal with increasing demand for a growing range of services despite the threat of cuts to funding. Our research shows a strong demand for change, particularly when it comes to alleviating the growing administrative burden.

“They want to see universal use of digital records and prescriptions, improvements to IT networks and a shake-up of how surgeries and pharmacies work together, particularly in terms of developing clear responsibilities for prescribing and dispensing. Printing and labelling is also a key source of frustration for the sector. More than half of the pharmacists we spoke to said they have little understanding of how much their business spends on print.”