Direct Chemist Outlet Henna Street, VIC

With the recent introduction of 60-day dispensing, automation was a key consideration to allow more time with patients, as the scope of practice for pharmacists expanded.

Can you share some insight as to how long you have been a pharmacist and have you always been working in regional Victoria?

I qualified as a pharmacist in 1989 and over the years there have been many changes in practice and the industry. Back then the emphasis was on extemporaneous skills as de rigueur for everybody. The first computers were just starting to appear in dispensaries, and it seems almost archaic that I worked as a student in dispensaries with water baths so wet handwritten or typed prescription labels and recording of scripts was done into a written register.

My wife and I did the tree change to Southwestern Victoria in the mid-2000s and I semi-retired in 2010 when I sold my Melbourne pharmacy from burnout and have since worked in rural Victoria for the past decade. 5 years ago, I was looking for a new challenge when I met Ian Tauman of Direct Chemist Outlet (DCO) on the ski fields who enticed me back into partnership.

Regional practice is a different kind of beast from Metro. I’ve found that the people and the community have been lovely, and the atmosphere is a lot more relaxed than the cut and thrust of the city.

Since my first pharmacy I’ve always believed in IT innovation as a tool for use in day-to-day operations.

Direct Chemist Outlet group is one of the fastest growing banner groups in Victoria, would you like to share some advantages of being part of such a successful group?

The thing that attracts me to Direct Chemist Outlet is the genuineness of the brand. The product matches the promise.

DCO’s primary aim is to cultivate enduring partnerships that prove mutually advantageous for both our franchisees and suppliers. The business model delivers a top-notch service, competitive pricing, and unwavering support. Our forte lies in bolstering smaller business owners, nurturing their profitability and collectively building a thriving brand.

We recently celebrated the opening of our 100th store this year and have set our sights on an even more ambitious goal of 200 stores by 2028.

As an independent and privately owned company, we prioritise attentive listening to our store owners, fostering collective growth. Our comprehensive support package empowers owners to concentrate on serving their customers, providing an essential community service while simultaneously bolstering the brand and the reputation of their stores - an invaluable distinction in an overcrowded industry.

What made you decide to automate your pharmacy and what factors contributed towards your decision?

I’ve always had a passion for technology and pharmacy has allowed me to indulge in experimentation and implementation.

I’d been thinking about full dispensary automation such as the BD Rowa™ Technology for the past few years. Increasing busyness, demands on pharmacists’ time and effort in all sorts of regular and increased scope clinical areas made the necessity even more apparent. The mental effort of putting orders away and searching for correct stock to dispense is otherwise a distraction from script and patient focused time and effort.

The last year of covid with the great resignation, mandatory quarantine days, lockdown days and extreme workloads tipped my thinking about BD Rowa™ Technologies. My priority then became, how soon can I implement a BD Rowa™ Technologies robot?

Which BD Rowa ™ Robot did you choose, and can you describe the design and installation journey?

We chose the BD Rowa™ Vmax™ Robot with one of the first EasyLoad autoloaders in Victoria. The unit is really incredibly simple to use, and we were up and functioning the day the installers commissioned the unit.

We had been considering a minor dispensary re-design for a while, such as adding a consulting room, so when I gave the go ahead with BD Rowa™ Technologies, we decided to take the opportunity to renovate the entire dispensary to fit each of our dispensing elements (patient facing, webster packing, consulting, admin) around the robot.

We had to do a little extra planning, since the BD Rowa™ Vmax™ Robot would facilitate a completely new workflow for us (we decided to go with a fully forward dispensing model with pharmacists out front). We probably went through 3 or 4 iterations of the new design with the BD Rowa™ Technologies workflow designer, with the last change being just before we finalised the contract.

The renovation itself (like all renovations) was stressful transitioning from the old dispensary to the temporary dispensary to the new space. The BD Rowa™ Technologies robot installation was actually the easiest and least stressful part of that!

Can you share some benefits of your new BD Rowa™ Vmax™ Robot with the EasyLoad autoloader?

We’ve called our BD Rowa™ Technologies robot, Agatha. I was reminded listening to a recent podcast that Agatha Christie was an Apothecary assistant before she was an author and so our new dispensing assistant is named Agatha in her honor.

The output chutes have individual numbers which I’ve assigned matching thunderbird aircraft from the 60s marionette tv show too.

The fact that a bulk order can be put away via the EasyLoad means we avoid wasting staff effort and time,

making the EasyLoad an absolute game changer for me and the staff. Inventory management is ridiculously simple and stock take is just a few button presses.

I’ve been surprised by how interested customers have been with Agatha. When we have the time and ability, we give people who are interested in Agatha a brief supervised tour.

How has your BD Rowa™ Vmax™ Robot assisted you with 60-day dispensing (60DD)?

The extra burden for pharmacies added by 60DD was having to hold increased quantities of multiple medications and the BD Rowa™ Vmax™ Robot has made the transition easy. The efficiencies we have gained allow more time for patient facing engagements and for us to work towards a full scope of practice.

I’ve found that I’ve been able to better perform inventory management. Previously we could only order so much stock of “X” because we had limited shelf space. The storage capacity of our BD Rowa™ Vmax™ Robot has enabled us to expand stock holding and future proof the dispensary.

Dispensing is straightforward too; you only have to concentrate on scanning the prescription and the BD Rowa™ Vmax™ Robot supplies the medication in the blink of an eye. This is very useful where patients have multiple scripts, for example 28 days of this, 60 days of that and 120 tablets of the other.

What advice would you provide other pharmacy owners who are yet to consider automation?

BD Rowa™ Technologies provides the benefits of taking the busy work out of your day to day and returning that effort and energy to you for more important patient facing tasks. I would highly recommend anyone considering automation to reach out to BD Rowa™ Technologies and start the conversation. BD Rowa™ Technologies have thousands of robot variations to suit the size and layout of your pharmacy. For those located in Victoria, reach out to Kelvin Suker, BD Rowa™ Technologies Territory Sales Manager VIC/TAS.