It has been exceptionally difficult for people to get their essential medicines recently, particularly in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Making the jump to an online-only pharmacy is an excellent way of simplifying the process, with no need to don your mask and head to your local pharmacy. Pharmacy Planet specialises in the efficient delivery of prescription medicine directly to the patient's door, throughout the UK.
We chat to James Batson, store manager at Pharmacy Planet, about the advantages of using an online-only pharmacy.
Q: How does your service make it easier for customers to access their prescriptions?
A: Appointments at specific times of the day can be difficult for patients to schedule, particularly when it clashes with work and other responsibilities. An online pharmacy like Pharmacy Planet is open for orders 24/7, removing the need to take time out of your day to organise your medicines. Our in-house prescribers ensure that prescriptions don't need to be ordered in from your surgery, making the process more efficient and convenient.
Q: Is the process of delivering medicine secure?
A: Once an order has been submitted, it is reviewed by our team of qualified in-house prescribers to ensure the medicine is appropriate for the patient’s condition. If further information or advice is required, then the prescriber will contact the patient directly for a consultation.
Safety is our number one priority, and our prescribers check each order against the patient’s medical record for any discrepancies or clinical problems. They undertake rigorous assessments using their decades of experience to ensure that the right patient receives the appropriate medicine at the right time.
Once approved, orders are dispatched via a first-class Royal Mail delivery meaning on average it reaches the patient one or two working days after leaving the dispensary.
Q: Does ordering from an online private practice make it easier to access certain kinds of medicine?
A: At Pharmacy Planet, we aren’t bound by the same budgetary restrictions or strict prescribing guidelines that some NHS providers encounter.
In some regions, prescribing guidelines mean patients sometimes find it difficult to obtain spare or extra supplies of their medicine that they might need.
If you take, for example, EpiPens that are prescribed to treat very severe allergic reactions. These allergies can be life-threatening and patients often like to keep a spare EpiPen on hand in case of an attack. Some people want to keep a spare at home, another at work, one in the car and one at the gym. However, patients sometimes have difficulty obtaining prescriptions for these extra EpiPens as local guidance limits the number of devices that can be prescribed as reserves.
So, patients come to Pharmacy Planet privately to obtain the spare pens that they’re looking for.
Q: Does the shift to online-only pharmacies remove the time constraints and barriers previously in place?
A: It certainly makes the process of organising your medicines much more convenient. Whether it’s your first order or a repeat prescription, the entire process of prescribing, dispensing and delivery is handled by the Pharmacy Planet team.
Since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, more and more GP appointments and consultations are taking place remotely via electronic means. Of course, there will always be situations where an in-person appointment is needed, but right across the healthcare sector we are seeing a shift towards online processes, and we don’t see this trend reversing. Online consultation helps streamline a large proportion of the challenges faced by patients and clinicians alike when ordering prescription medicines.
For more information on the online pharmaceutical procedure, or to place an order for medicines, visit pharmacyplanet.com or call 0800 978 8956.
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