Pharmacy Axel

Apotheek Axel is located in the village of Axel in Zeeuws-Vlaanderen. They have been using Pharmacom from PharmaPartners for many years. Pharmacist Els Dewit explains:

“Through PharmaPartners, I heard they were working on an integration between their Track & Trace module and the Wachtkamerschermen® queue management system. This seemed very interesting to me.” When the integration was ready, Els visited the PharmaPartners stand at the KNMP conference: “After seeing the live demonstration, I was convinced!”

Patient dashboard opens instantly

Apotheek Axel was the first pharmacy where the integration was implemented. The patient enters a collection code at the ticket dispenser. As soon as the patient is called to a counter, the patient dashboard in Pharmacom opens automatically. Els notes that it is very fast:

“When the queue number is called, the patient dashboard opens immediately. Quite often, by the time the patient reaches the counter, the assistant has already collected the medication!”

Surprise at the speed

Patients also find it remarkable. According to Els, they do not expect it to be that fast:

“Especially the first time, they are surprised. Patients even mention it in the customer satisfaction survey. They really appreciate the swift handling.”

Four options on the ticket dispenser

Currently, Apotheek Axel uses four options on the ticket dispenser: New prescription, Repeat prescription, Collection code, and Other. Each option is assigned a letter, which becomes the prefix of the queue number. Els explains that they deliberately work with different services so the assistant can see from the prefix which option a patient has chosen. The assistants find this a convenient way of working.

Back-office screen provides up-to-date information

At Apotheek Axel, a back-office screen displays all tickets and waiting times in a clear, real-time overview. Tickets with a collection code are highlighted in a different colour. Els explains:

“When it gets very busy in the pharmacy, the assistants agree that one person will handle only the collection codes. This creates a sort of express counter. In this way, the queue is cleared quickly.”

According to Els, this approach benefits both the assistant and the patient. The assistant feels less pressure, and patients are calmer and more relaxed because they can see that the queue is moving quickly.

Patients encourage each other

Els also enjoys seeing patients encouraging others to request a collection code:

“Sometimes a patient comments that someone who came in later is being served earlier. We then hear one patient telling the other that they have a collection code and that it’s very handy. Usually, the other then asks at the counter if they can also get a collection code in the future. And that is exactly what we want — the more collection codes, the more efficiently we can work in the pharmacy!”

Waiting time with a collection code halved

Statistics show that patients with a collection code wait on average half as long as those without one. Around one in three patients now has a collection code, but Els notes that this number is growing quickly. She does add that, particularly among the older patient group, not everyone has an email address, so there will always be patients who take a ‘regular’ queue number.

Very satisfied with the system

Finally, Els says she is very satisfied with the Wachtkamerschermen® queue management system and Pharmacom:

“I’m glad I made the decision to switch. I notice a clear difference compared to the old situation. Processing is now much faster, and the integration between the two systems works well. I was also able to reuse my existing ticket dispenser. In the beginning, we had some issues with the printer in this dispenser, but these were resolved well by the Wachtkamerschermen® support department. They are also easy to reach with questions and, in my opinion, deserve a big compliment!”