Unsplash (charlesdeluvio)/The Pharmaceutical Journal
After a year in development, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has launched a new app for The Pharmaceutical Journal.
The updated PJ app, which is available on both Apple and Android devices, features a simplified sign-in process and allows users to bookmark their favourite articles, share pages to social media, and easily navigate to popular pages, such as the monthly edition.
Tony Scully, publisher of The Pharmaceutical Journal, said that the app has been “designed to meet the needs of members who prefer to access the PJ on a tablet or smartphone”.
He explained that there is a cohort of RPS members who are “very keen to engage with the app because it most closely resembles the print experience and has greater availability offline”.
“The new PJ app will become an integral part of the portfolio of membership products and services provided to RPS members,” Scully added.
Neal Patel, associate director for membership at RPS, commented: “We are keen to add value to RPS membership and the new PJ app is a welcome addition to the portfolio of membership benefits, products and services, please do continue feeding in your views on what we do.”
RPS members were given the opportunity to try the app at the RPS Annual Conference on 10 November 2023, where 95% of testers rating it as “excellent” or “good” for both ease of use and appearance.
The app was also tested in feedback sessions held by an independent UX consultant on Zoom and by members of the Retired Pharmacists’ Group.
“RPS members report that the new PJ app presents a real improvement in terms of their experience on accessibility and usability,” said Scully.
In a blog post focusing on the development of the app, Corrinne Burns, interim product and delivery manager at the RPS, described it as “offering a more streamlined, secure login for RPS members; content that updates in real time with the PJ website, and easy navigation to popular features such as our monthly edition”.
Burns adds that the PJ app has been designed to be “more flexible” so that the RPS can quickly respond to feedback, which users can submit via a link on the app’s settings page.
“We look forward to receiving further feedback from members about the app and working on future improvements,” said Scully.
In the future, the RPS is also looking at how to integrate members’ current CPD modules and questions into the app, while ensuring that their progress and history is linked and updated with the PJ website.
To find out more about how to navigate the app see the user guide on the PJ website and a set of FAQs.
The app is available for download through the Apple or Android app stores.
