Is Your Current Pharmacy System A Safety Risk?

Hospital Pharmacies are currently facing a plethora of different issues, including a lack of available funding. A lack of funding can lead to pharmacies becoming significantly behind the curve in regard to their systems. Consequently, a number of pharmacies are becoming dependent on outdated and unsupported systems, which introduces a host of problems.

Compatibility

One of the most pressing concerns, especially with unsupported systems is compatibility issues. These systems often struggle to function properly with modern hardware or software, creating higher workloads and additional security risks. Moreover, unsupported systems fail to comply with current legal or regulatory standards.

Unsupported systems are more susceptible to crashes, data corruption, and other operational issues. These disruptions can severely impact the day-to-day operations of a pharmacy, harming workflow efficiency. Without support or updates, resolving these issues becomes nearly impossible, leading to prolonged downtime.

Clinical Safety

Maintaining clinical safety standards also hinges on using supported systems. Older systems often struggle to communicate with modern software, leading to tedious operations for healthcare professionals and potential clinical safety .

Without adequate investment, your pharmacy system will struggle to keep up the pace with evolving regulations. This can hinder the ability to effectively serve communities, as users typically make workarounds or utilise non-digital solutions to bridge gaps in the overall service design, potentially leading to more errors.

By upgrading to the latest versions, pharmacists can avoid these risks and ensure the safety and security of their patients.

Cyber Security

Outdated systems are extremely vulnerable to cyber-attacks, as they lack the necessary standards to defend against modern threats. In June 2024, NHS England experienced a cyber-attack where patient data was stolen in a ransomware attack. The responsible group shared almost 400GB of private information to third-party sellers. This attack caused major disruption with more than 1,000 planned operations and over 3,000 outpatients’ appointments being postponed. This makes it crucial for hospitals and pharmacies to ensure their systems are up to date in order to safeguard sensitive patient data.

What Steps Can You Take To Secure Your Pharmacy?

A fully safe and secure pharmacy can only be achieved with a fully supported system. Ask yourself or your colleagues the following:

• Is your current Pharmacy solution regularly updated by the supplier?
• Is there a development roadmap in place?
• Does the solution run on the latest operating systems?
• Does your solution keep up with the latest regulations and practice?

If the answer is "no" to any of these questions, you need to take action. Contact us to arrange a demo of our fully supported pharmacy solution, CareFlow Pharmacy. You can also watch our recorded webinar and download our Pharmacy Brochure. You can even get an idea of the kind of savings your organisation could potentially make with our CareFlow Pharmacy Calculator.