Pharmacy automation

Hub-and-spoke dispensing expansion set to begin in October 2025

Hub-and-spoke dispensing between different legal entities will be permitted from 1 October 2025 under draft amendments to the Human Medicines Regulations 2012.…

Government ‘working towards’ enabling hub-and-spoke dispensing in 2025

The proposed legislation will enable hub-and-spoke dispensing between different legal entities, changing the current rules that only permit this model of dispensing between pharmacy locations that belong to the same legal entity.…

Changes to hub-and-spoke legislation will be delayed, government tells CPE

Community Pharmacy England says it has been told by the Department for Health and Social Care that the changes will not happen from 1 January 2025 as planned.…

Replacing automated medication dispensing machines: how to plan and implement change when equipment reaches end of life  

An overview of the factors to consider when planning and implementing the replacement of ageing pharmacy robots.…

Scottish government to publish review of automated technology in community pharmacies

The technology being trialled includes robotic process automation, automated medicine storage systems, barcode scanners and prescription collection kiosks.…

Automation pilot cuts prescription checking time by two-thirds

A hospital in Wales has cut the amount of time it takes to check prescriptions by two-thirds by using robotic technology as part of a proof-of-concept trial.…

McKesson UK’s automated dispensing capacity to double by June 2020

The parent company of LloydsPharmacy, McKesson UK, has announced plans to double the number of items it dispenses through its centrally automated system by June 2020.…

Rowlands Pharmacy plans to reduce pharmacy network in order to ‘invest in the future’

Rowlands Pharmacy has announced plans to sell 70 of its pharmacies — 69 in England and one in Wales — in order to focus its investment on automation.…

John D’Arcy — looking back on community pharmacy and predictions for the future

John D’Arcy, managing director of the virtual community pharmacy chain Numark and former chief executive of the National Pharmacy Association, spells out his vision for pharmacy as he approaches retirement.…

A useful adjunct to on-the-job training in hospital pharmacy

Introduction to Acute and Ambulatory Care Pharmacy Practice, Second Edition, by David A. Holdford.…