England's chief pharmacist Dr Keith Ridge (pictured) called for greater use of dispensing hubs and technology in a speech to the Royal Pharmaceutical Society conference on September 14.

Centralised dispensing hubs could manage two-thirds of prescription volume, freeing up pharmacy staff to deliver medicines optimisation services, said Dr Ridge. And he called for a change to legislation that prevents independent pharmacies using a third-party dispensing operation. "If there are benefits to centralised dispensing then all pharmacies must be able to access them. That’s not possible at the moment because medicines legislation doesn’t allow it. That must change."

A click-and-collect prescription service could provide added convenience for patients. "The future is clinical, underpinned with efficient use of technology."

The journey to optimum medicines use had only just begun, but good progress had been made towards a defence against dispensing errors. More work remained to be done on supervision, however.

"The pharmacy world has been calling for change for years. The stars are aligning and are pointing to a clinical and digital future."