The National Pharmacy Association (NPA) and Charac, an NHS-integrated one-stop gateway for independent community pharmacists, have established a long-term cooperation to enable pharmacies to provide the wide variety of services required to support the general public.
It comes after Therese Coffey, the health secretary, called for community pharmacies to play a larger role in order to free up 2 million GP appointments. Additionally, it occurs at a time when the NHS is under pressure and GP shortages are making pharmacies more important than ever. All new pharmacy graduates should be able to write prescriptions by 2026, and the government has hailed pharmacies as a substitute for consultations. However, in order to execute this successfully, they will need to free up the necessary time and resources.
To increase productivity and free up more time for patient care, one of the major prospects for efficiency improvement is to digitise some tasks. The collaboration is a part of the NPA’s broader initiatives to enhance community pharmacies’ online capabilities, including patient applications, online reservations, website design, and delivery services. The new collaborative ecosystem will give pharmacies access to the money and tools they need to support the delivery of primary care.
Partnering with the NPA is another enormous milestone for Charac and highlights the remarkable steps they are taking in aiding independent community pharmacies, said Santosh Sahu, founder of Charac. In particular, at a time when the cost-of-living issue, an impending recession, and a stretched NHS have formed a toxic combination for the incoming health secretary, they are happy to establish their long-term collaboration with such a recognised and prominent organisation.
The NPA is delighted to collaborate with a business with the vision of becoming one of their reliable partners, said Director of Membership at the NPA, Simon Tebbutt. They are excited to work with Charac, which offers a great way to help community pharmacies update their systems to achieve this goal.
A total of 650 neighbourhood pharmacies have closed since 2016 as a result of NHS England budget reductions and escalating costs.
