DDA25: The inspector may be coming. Are you ready?

“There are rumours of a fresh new wave of CQC inspections, so make sure you have your SOPs, systems, processes and safeguards in place,” Greg Bull, director of Dispensing Doctor Experts, said in his DDA 2025 conference presentation: Future proofing: what you should be doing in 2025.

In his joint presentation with Alastair Carmichael, managing director of Pharmabox24, Bull set out the must-dos for dispensary sustainability:

Know your gross profit per item dispensed: Create and use meaningful dispensary management accounts, and use an independent auditor to set these up or to review the current system
Maximise your purchasing income. You should be buying at the best price in the market, consider cascade purchasing systems, check your rebates and wholesaler invoices for credits for MDS schemes
Ensure you are claiming VAT back on all takeaway items. Do not rely on information from suppliers/organisations/software suppliers.
Succession planning: Ensure you are planning for all eventualities in dispensary management. Share your SOPs, consider job shadowing. Disaster recovery planning should include staff
Don’t allow burnout to rob you of your best staff! Managers working 60 hours per week is unacceptable! Give them the support they need

Turning to customer service, Carmichael encouraged delegates to think outside the box. “There is no space for ‘it won’t work here’. Have a growth mindset,” he told delegates, encouraging them to think about extra income from private prescriptions, travel clinics and other innovation such as prescription collection machines. He added that eight per cent of all prescriptions are now online, as people opt for convenience.

View the presentation: Future proofing: what you should be doing in 2025

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