Page 46 - Retail Pharmacy November/Decemeber 2020

44 ANNUAL REPORT When digital health help at home became critical Robert Read, CEO, MedAdvisor If uncertainty and challenge were the words to describe 2020, then courageous and focused might be those that describe the way pharmacy has responded to an unprecedented tidal wave of disruption. The bushfires that started the year were horrific for most of the east coast: the devastation and the lingering blanket of smoke that put immediate pressure on the vulnerable in major cities, but also those directly impacted. Pharmacy needed to be there, providing support and ensuring people had supply of their medications, with appropriate training and advice for millions of asthmatics. As people fled their homes without their medications, having a mechanism to get temporary supply or reorder from another pharmacy was also paramount. MedAdvisor was pleased to hear that our app was an assistance for some facing catastrophic impacts. No sooner had we found our Landscape-changing potential emerges Corum Health 2020 has been a year to remember. Thankfully, as a country we’ve been able successfully to negotiate not only crippling bushfires, but also all that the Covid-19 pandemic has thrown our way. We acknowledge firstly that during this time our customers, the pharmacy groups and pharmacists of Australia, have been manning the frontlines ensuring our communities have been adequately supported. To our customers and your staff, we want to say thank you. Your dedication, devotion and preparedness to roll up your sleeves when needed the most has been appreciated and won’t be forgotten. Corum Health has been designing, building and supporting pharmacy software solutions for more than way through, then Covid hit us all. Lockdowns, panic and uncertainty abounded. Again pharmacists, the forgotten frontline of this fight, remained open and continued supplying medicines safely to patients while facing a shortage of PPE and sometimes angry and violent customers. Many vulnerable patients were advised to remain in their homes, around the globe creating pressure for pharmacy to adapt their models. The Australian government stepped in with $25 million to assist with the delivery costs, and here at MedAdvisor, we provided a contactless payment solution and a delivery management solution. More than 80 per cent of those in the MedAdvisor network now offer in-app payment solutions to their customers. Immediately, the toolkit to help people in the home digitally became critical. The momentum from the federal government was impressive. They broke down barriers as five to 10 years of culture change occurred within a few months. Pharmacies that could adapt to the transition to online sales flourished, with many reporting a 130 per cent spike in online orders during the height of Australia’s first lockdown. 30 years. Our focus in 2020 extended to significant industry-wide technological innovation, and one of the most notable industry-wide trends for the year was the development of electronic prescribing. This innovation has the potential to significantly change the landscape for community pharmacy and patient engagement. Corum has been deeply involved throughout this effort, including chairing the software industry working group. Corum Clear, with its integration partners, is specifically designed to assist pharmacies to take advantage of this trend both now and into the future. We’re focused on our customers and build products to ensure they’re equipped to embrace continual regulatory development and leverage online solutions to maximise immediate and long-term workflow efficiencies. Compliant with the latest healthcare legislation, privacy and security requirements, our solutions assist pharmacists to dispense scripts safely, maintain inventory in the dispensary and shopfront, and run a pharmacy Pharmacies including Amcal, Blooms The Chemist and TerryWhite Chemmart also saw Panadol orders double during the period, topping the list of OTC medications in demand. We saw the introduction of e-prescribing, an overdue but critical piece of infrastructure. Internationally, 80 per cent of patients prefer e-scripts to paper scripts. MedAdvisor launched the first approved app for patients to handle all their tokens seamlessly as a digital script wallet. No confusion: it works with both paper scripts and e-scripts. At the pharmacy end, we improved the workflow from current paper scripts by digitally integrating into your dispense system. MedAdvisor has continued to innovate with our SmartVax integrations, to demonstrate the capability of pharmacies to monitor vaccine-adverse events appropriately – clearly critical as pharmacy will be a key player in the Covid vaccine administration. We’ve also continued to bring industry sponsored health programs to you that you can deliver to help your patients take their medication safely and effectively, but also provide appropriate reimbursement. These are all listed in our Health Services Hub in PlusOne. efficiently and profitably. Considerable resources have been applied to ensure our LOTS and Corum Clear dispense systems can dispense electronic scripts in a seamless manner, all within the one system. We’re pleased to report that we’ve been involved not only with the strategic planning, but we were also a key partner with its rollout throughout Australia. The priorities of the year ahead involve the continued expansion of our Corum Clear suite of products, including the timely progression of Corum Clear Enterprise and our Point of Sale products. Corum Health’s investment in these activities will establish a foundation for Corum Health’s longer- term future in retail pharmacy and digital healthcare. Pharmacy has been a critical component of our national health response to the pandemic in 2020 and Corum is acutely aware of the role it plays in supporting pharmacy operations. Corum Health is excited to continue to support the pharmacy community in 2021 and beyond. RETAIL PHARMACY • NOV/DEC 2020