We are pleased to announce that West Kent CCG is going live with Healthera to boost its Prescription Ordering Direct (POD) services. The Healthera mobile app, an NHS Digital-accredited app, will be made freely available to all patients whose GP practices are under the POD scheme.
Using the Healthera system, patients are able to freely request prescriptions and POD operators gain access to a powerful workflow management portal to support the prescription process. The Healthera platform can also be used by West Kent CCG health experts to process patient orders. Through this, the app promotes proper medical adherence and reduces medical waste.
This is following successful deployment in neighbouring the Dartford Gravesham and Swanley CCG, where Healthera went live with its Prescription Ordering Direct coverage last year. Healthera helped Dartford Gravesham and Swanley CCG double its service coverage and reap an additional circa £300,000 worth of annual savings from medicines wastage.
“We currently cover 6 GP practices with our POD service.” Explains Katy Macmillan, POD Manager at West Kent CCG. “We have made a steady amount of medicine wastage savings so far, and we have been looking for a technology-based solution to take the service to the next level. Many of our local patients are quite tech-savvy and didn’t like the idea of queueing over the telephone.”
The Healthera app is especially helpful for those who find it more difficult to make calls or drop by their GP during working hours. Patients can further order and track medications for dependents and use the medication reminder function, delivering reminders at the times prescribed by doctors.
The nationwide introduction of the NHS App offers a standardised platform for third-party providers like Healthera to innovate in the NHS network. CCGs like West Kent are responding to the calling by locally commissioning innovative services that uniquely serve their needs.
In the past years, we have worked closely with NHS Digital in initiatives such as the NHS Apps Library. With the locally commissioned POD service, we are pioneering the Geographical Enabler concept, making the POD service available from more localities over the following months. Watch out for more exciting developments coming in this space!
The Healthera app is available on both the App Store and Google Play Store for download.
