Dimec allows patients to choose pick-up point for prescriptions
A pharmacy app has announced it is the first service in the UK to allow patients to choose any high street pharmacy to collect their prescription.
Dimec works by linking a patient’s phone directly to their NHS GP and pharmacy and then letting them pick where to collect medicines from at the touch of a button.
Prior to this, patients were required to contact their GP or Pharmacist to request to alter their pharmacy.
The update to the app means patients can now view and select high street pharmacies based on their current location their home address or scroll around the integrated map.
Chief technical officer and co-founder, Andrew Bailey, said: “We’ve been working exceptionally hard with our team, NHS Digital and GP system suppliers to get this new feature live.
“This has taken a long time but we’re very excited, and as pharmacists, we’re proud to offer this unique patient-focused service which sets the foundation for so much more”.
In July 2017, Digital Health News reported that Lloyds Pharmacy Online Doctor had become the first online healthcare provider to pass its Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection.
However, in the same month, Pharmacy 2U was condemned by the CQC for not proving safe, well led or effective healthcare.
Dimec chief technical officer and co-founder, Andrew Bailey, said: “We’ve been working exceptionally hard with our team, NHS Digital and GP system suppliers to get this new feature live. This has taken a long time but we’re very excited, and as pharmacists, we’re proud to offer this unique patient-focused service which sets the foundation for so much more”.
5 Comments
Whilst I applaud the development of this, again, GP practices are having to play catch up! How are these newly developed Apps and their integration with GP systems being communicated to the GP Practices themselves? If they don’t know about these developments, how do they know to sign up? As someone who has to support practices from a Governance perspective, where is the communications guidance and how has this been distributed to practices in order that they are aware they might get asked about this. My practice has not signed up, so what next? If I approach the practice to ask about DIMEC, the first thing they will ask is What is that?
I have received an update from DIMEC and they currently only integrate with EMIS and Vision. There is no mention of this in the APP description, so although you can download it and register for an account, if your practice uses either of TPP or Microtest, it won’t work!
That should read “Freemium”!
For the author – what relevance at all do CQC judgements about online doctor (prescribing) services have to do with an app that is intended for ordering existing, authorised NHS repeats and instructing where they are to be dispensed??!
If you’d have teased out with your writing how this app may provide a technology solution to help smaller independent pharmacies to compete with bigger dispensing players then that would make sense.
Congratulations on the app, looks good and the integration with GP medication records ensures that requesting is both informed and safer compared to the myriad of processes in use out there currently.
The pharmacy nomination element also looks slick – do you resolve when there are issues?
I assume you require independent pharmacies and groups to sign up with you (your commercial benefit) before becoming visible to choose via the app or is this provided fermium, with backend dashboards for the pharmacists to be paid for?
I believe this could be a game changer!!
I already order my meds online but as I travel a lot for work and often run out of meds, having the option to choose any high street pharmacy to collect my prescriptions, is fantastic!!
Glad to see that a health company is looking at what patients really need in a day-to-day basis and is using digital technologies to enhance customer service.
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