"I wouldn't want to go back to the way we were working before"
The Golden Evolution is here! Over 100 pharmacies across the country are reaping the benefits of semi-automated dispensing through Golden Tote, exclusive to Numark members.
Golden Tote has been transforming pharmacy processes for over two years, facilitating seamless prescription assembly from the PHOENIX tote and minimising the risk of human error. Using bar code scanning technology, Golden Tote is designed to increase accuracy, reduce costs and free up staffing hours to be used in other areas of the store.
Shital Popat, Superintendent of Pearl Chemist in Leicester, has been using Golden Tote since February 2021. She has utilised the additional hours that Golden Tote has afforded her and her team in order to focus more time on patients, the core focus of a pharmacist’s role.
“Without Golden Tote significantly speeding up our dispensing process, we would not have had the time to set up and successfully run a COVID-19 vaccination service. I now also have the opportunity to dedicate time to delivering new NHS services.”
Introducing Golden Tote into pharmacy can save an average of 40 staff hours per week, and Shital has experienced this saving first hand. She explained that one of her members of staff had recently left the business, and because of the efficiency Golden Tote has brought with it, the pharmacy were able to manage workload without seeking a replacement. “Not only has my time been saved, but also that of the dispensers time too as we are still dispensing the same number of items but with less people.”
The beauty of Golden Tote is that repeat prescription items are ordered from PHOENIX in batches of prescriptions, that we call ‘pick to prescription’. This means that the software sits seamlessly on ProScript, identifying Golden Tote items and eliminating the need for large stock holding. It also eliminates the need to double handle stock from totes, saving time previously spent checking off invoices and putting orders away.
Shital identified this benefit in her own pharmacy, “it is obvious to see that our shelves are holding less stock and as there is no need for us to be putting the stock away, we are again saving additional time.”
Accuracy is another key benefit of Golden Tote, with quantifiable results becoming visible to pharmacists within weeks of implementation. An average of 47% improvement in dispensing error safety can be achieved with the use of Golden Tote.
“Since we have been using Golden Tote, our dispensing error log has been empty,” Shital stated, “the process of Golden Tote dispensing is 100% error free because there is just no way that you can make an error.”
Introducing and installing Golden Tote into your pharmacy couldn’t be simpler. Installation and training is over two days with an implementer who is a qualified dispenser. Over the two days Golden Tote will be fully installed on your existing PMR system, with the implementer guiding your team on how to use it.
After initial sign up, you will have access to the Golden Tote training modules on the Numark training platform, and you will receive additional SOPs and documents. There is also an introduction and quick start guide available for new members of staff that need training in the future.
The implementer will then monitor your site and support you with post installation and any further questions you may have. Golden Tote is the most comprehensive pre/during/post go live we have ever done!
Shital was very impressed with the face to face training given by the implementer, “although there is additional training and SOPs available to guide you through using Golden Tote, the initial face to face training was so comprehensive and straight forward that we have not had to use any additional training.”
Having Golden Tote in Pearl Chemist has definitely made a positive impact on Shital and her team and she explains that she would not want to go back to the old and dated way of dispensing.
“I wouldn’t want to go back to the way we were working before. I think there is a lot of time wastage, for example, picking the stock, putting it away… these are all things that we save time on doing with Golden Tote. For us in an independent pharmacy setting, our way of working has become exceptionally streamlined and more efficient.”
Want to learn more about Golden Tote and how this could work in your pharmacy?