A pharmacy group has 'revolutionised' its prescription service with a new hi-tech system saving hours of admin a day – allowing customers to get their prescriptions quicker.

Following a six-week trial earlier this year, the ProScript Connect system is now live in 10 Dean and Smedley branches around Burton, meaning staff can locate the whereabouts of a prescription instantly while customers are waiting.

Dispensing more than 90,000 prescription items every month, Dean and Smedley pharmacists say the ability to process prescriptions quickly is already having a huge impact on efficiency and customer satisfaction. Staff have reported saving at least 30 minutes per branch per day.

Ben Eaton, procurement manager and pharmacist at Dean and Smedley, said: "It is so quick.

"Many of the functions are instant and the ability to switch from one task to another saves so much time that was previously spent waiting for records or pages to load.

GP signs a prescription
The prescription service at the pharmacy counter is being speeded up

"We are saving at least 30 minutes per branch every day, simply because we can have multiple tabs open at a time, so that we can multi-task."

The new system uses barcode technology to revolutionise the prescription dispensing process. Traditionally, pharmacists would organise prescriptions on the shelf according to the patient's surname – although this would be far more time-consuming.

Ben said: "You could have 200 prescriptions under the letter 'S'. In all our customer surveys, time waiting to collect a prescription was always where we received the worst feedback.

"It means not only do we know exactly where a dispensed item is, but we also instantly know it's been processed and is ready.

"It's saving on average 45 minutes per staff member per day. More importantly, our customers are getting their prescriptions much quicker. It has revolutionised the process."