What is the quality of advice like from your pharmacy? Is it good or could it be better? Take steps to regularly conduct internal reviews of your performance in this area and of your supporting systems and processes. Inevitably every pharmacy is different and has its own unique challenges. However, there are some common areas that you may wish to look into as part of your internal review process.

1. Recruitment €“ It is clearly important that you recruit goof staff to work in your pharmacy and on the medicine counter. How do you ensure that you attract the right calibre and quality of applicant?

2. Induction €“ In most pharmacies, new staff can very quickly find themselves working on the medicine counter and in direct customer contact. How do you ensure that they are inducted correctly? When is the best time for them to start their medicine counter assistant training?

3. Medicines protocols €“ Is everyone in your pharmacy clear about when they should be referring to the pharmacist? Are there specific medicines that you should be personally involved in the sale of? Is everyone clear about their limits of authority and when was this last reviewed? Are your staff using a structured approach and are they using a mnemonic appropriately?

4. Training €“ There is a specific requirement for training for anyone working on the medicine counter and this has been in place for many years. Initial training is clearly important, but so is the way that ongoing training is implemented to ensure that knowledge and skills are maintained and developed. Could you do more in this area?

5. Audit and monitoring €“ How do you currently monitor the quality of advice provided by your pharmacy? Could you introduce a regular audit? Do you include structured feedback for your medicine counter staff as part of a regular review of their performance? Is there any opportunity to get feedback from your customers?