We hope you have been keeping well and safe during what has been a challenging time for everyone, particularly for those of you who provide front line pharmacy and healthcare services.

Services During Covid
At PharmaConsult, throughout the height of the Covid pandemic we continued to offer remote consultancy services. While still working remotely where possible, since early July  we have been back in pharmacy, healthcare, training and legal environments, providing our onsite services in a Covid safe manner. Please don’t hesitate to call or email for information on any of our services.

1. Pharmacy SOPs
At PharmaConsult we are continually updating our SOPs to ensure they reflect the current pharmacy environment. For example, our current SOP sets include updated influenza vaccine SOPs for this year's flu season.

In recognition of the challenges facing community pharmacies due to Covid, we are offering the following discounts on SOPs purchased before the 30th September 2020:

• 15% off our SOP Sets
• 10% off all other SOPs

These offers are in addition to the significant price reductions available when purchasing multiple SOPs, multiple SOP sets or SOPs for multiple pharmacies. Further SOP details are available in the SOP section.

2. Onsite and Remote Services:
We currently have some dates in September and October available to provide remote or onsite pharmacy practice or regulatory consultancy services,. The services available include but are not limited to:

• Auditing (detailed quality improvement audits or audits based on routine PSI inspections)
  
• Quality Improvement Services (risk, error and complaint management; bespoke SOPs)
• Regulatory Assistance (inspection; registration; fitness to practice; general queries)
• Service Review and Development (care homes; vaccination; health screening; bespoke services)
• Quality Improvement and Regulatory Training
• Assistance with Pharmacy Practice and Regulatory Queries

3. Expert Witness/Legal Services:
PharmaConsult provides services to pharmacies, other healthcare providers and their solicitors. Our services include:

• Assisting solicitors and their clients with fitness to practice or court proceedings
• Preparation of expert witness and/or audit reports for legal proceedings
• Providing evidence at court or fitness to practice proceedings
• Our areas of expertise include pharmacy practice, medicines, medicines and pharmacy legislation and pharmacy regulation

4. European Automated Dose Dispensing Association (EAADD):
PharmaConsult are currently working with a number of European pharmacies who provide automated dose dispensing services to establish a European Automated Dose Dispensing Association (automated monitored dosage systems). One of the main goals will be to provide a platform for sharing ideas, knowledge, experience and research across Europe. If you provide or are thinking of providing these services and this association is potentially of interest don't hesitate to get in contact.

Further information on our core services is available on our services pages.
Don't hesitate to contact us  if you have any queries about our services.

What is ADD: Automated dose dispensing is the dispensing, of one or more different medicinal products into an ADD container/pouch using an automated process. One container/pouch contains either one, some or all units of medicine an individual patient needs to take at a particular date and time. The medicinal products are usually removed from their (original) primary containers before they are dispensed via ADD; if the primary packaging container is a blister, this process is called “deblistering”. It is essentially the automated version of dispensing a monitored dosage system (MDS). Tosho machines are the most common ADD machines used in Ireland.
 
ADD in Ireland: While this practice is in it’s infancy in Ireland, a number of pharmacies use automated dose dispensing services on a small scale to dispense medication to their community and residential care home patients receiving their medication via MDS. A small number of specifically designed medium scale ADD services are also in operation.
 
ADD standards in Ireland: There are currently no specific ADD standards in place in Ireland. In the absence of legislative requirements, the PSI standards for ADD sites have been based on general pharmacy and medicine legislation and relevant PSI guideline requirements. Relevant international standards have also influenced the standards expected.
 
The development of European Standards: The European Directorate in the Quality of Medicines (EDQM), an organisation which provides policies and model approaches for the safe use of medicines in Europe, including guidelines on pharmaceutical care, have developed draft ADD guidelines. These guidelines were recently issued for public consultation on the EDQM website: Draft Guidelines.
 
The purpose of the guidelines is to harmonise the standards and approaches to ADD across Europe and to help ensure that this service is provided to a consistently high standard which ensures the safe supply of medicines to patients.
• EDQM’s work on this topic began with the identification of a need for guidance by the
Committee of Experts on Quality and Safety Standards in Pharmaceutical Practices and
Pharmaceutical Care (CDPPH/PC) in 2012.
• The document was then drafted by a Working Party of Experts in ADD and a workshop with stakeholders, interested parties and authorities took place in September 2015.
• The draft guideline document was finalised by CDPPH/PC in summer 2016 and released by the Steering Committee for public consultation at its meeting in September 2016. The public consultation closed in February 2017.
 
PharmaConsult’s lead consultant, Caroline Hogg MPSI, sat on the CDPPH/PC committee on behalf of the PSI and Department of Health from 2010 to 2015 and chaired the ADD working group which the developed the guidelines during this time. Her role included drafting the guideline development plan and the patient care elements of the guidelines and reviewing/ updating elements of the guidelines drafted by other expert working group participants. Caroline also presented the guidelines at committee meetings and chaired the workshop in September 2015.
 
Following the consultation, it is expected that the guidelines will be reviewed and updated by the relevant EDQM committees and in due course finalised, approved, published and disseminated.
 
Impact of the European Standards in Ireland: Subject to their approval by the necessary EDQM Committees, it is expected that relevant elements of the guidelines will be adopted in Ireland.
 
Information on ADD and the relevant Standards: Should you require information or advice on the guidelines or any elements of the standards relating to automated dose dispensing please don’t hesitate to contact us.