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🩺 Preparing for Flu, COVID-19 & Winter Pressures

For community pharmacies, this season marks the beginning of the busiest stretch of the year. With flu vaccinations, COVID-19 boosters, and a seasonal rise in prescription volumes, teams are under pressure to balance dispensing, clinical services, and growing demands for patient communication. The right workflows and digital tools can make the difference between feeling constantly behind and staying confidently in control.

Best Practice for Managing Seasonal Spikes

• Smarter Dispensing Workflows - Coping with seasonal demand starts with an efficient process. When teams follow a clear, consistent workflow, they can share responsibilities more effectively, reduce bottlenecks, and deliver prescriptions more safely. Positive Solutions offers two interchangeable workflows, allowing pharmacies the flexibility to choose the approach that suits their environment best:
  
  
  • Batch Assemble Workflow: Structured, reliable, and time-saving, this process allows pharmacies to label multiple scripts at once, use Picking Lists for batch collection, and finalise items with Analyst Quickpick and Assembly Check before moving items into bags ready for Analyst Handout. It creates consistency, speeds up repeat prescriptions, and supports safe delegation.
    
    
  • Scan to Assemble Workflow: Intuitive, precise, and error-reducing, this step-by-step approach is ideal for new staff or high-pressure environments. Using Picking Lists or Analyst Quickpick, items are scanned and labelled instantly. Accuracy is confirmed on the spot, so no separate assembly check is needed. Simple and safe, it helps reduce errors, build confidence, and keep dispensing on track even at peak times.
    
    
• Streamlined Vaccination Services - Flu and COVID-19 vaccination campaigns place significant additional pressure on pharmacy teams each winter. Streamlining consultations with HxConsult, which integrates seamlessly with Analyst PM, helps reduce this burden by bringing the full process into one system. Vaccinations can be recorded directly, compliance with NHS requirements is built in, and duplication of paperwork is eliminated. This not only saves time during the consultation itself but also ensures records and reporting remain accurate and up to date.
  
  
• Better Patient Communication - Seasonal demand often results in a surge of phone calls and queries, alongside missed appointments that add extra strain to already busy teams. MyHealthHub helps pharmacies ease this burden by supporting services delivered under PGDs with a simple, compliant way to manage bookings and communication for vaccinations, urgent supply, and other services. At the same time, patients benefit from easier ways to engage with their pharmacy, ordering repeat prescriptions, receiving automated reminders, and using secure two-way messaging. The result? Fewer calls, fewer no-shows, and more time for pharmacy teams to focus on care.
  
  
• Connected Reporting and Claims - Behind every busy flu season is a mountain of admin, and how that information is managed can make or break efficiency. When dispensing, consultations and patient services are all recorded in systems that link directly with Analyst; claims and reporting become faster, more accurate, and less repetitive. Integration reduces duplication, provides a clear view of activity, and frees up valuable staff time.

🔄 Year in Review: Pharmacy Highlights & Lessons Learnt

2025 is proving to be a defining year for community pharmacy. With NHS priorities continuing to shift more frontline services into pharmacy settings, teams have stepped up once again, delivering vital care under increasingly difficult circumstances.

Expand Clinical Services
From vaccinations to structured medication reviews, pharmacies are now a central pillar of primary care. This has reduced pressure on GPs and increased access for patients, but it has also demanded more from pharmacy teams in terms of time, compliance, and capacity.

Digital Acceleration
Digital tools have moved from being add-ons to becoming the backbone of pharmacy operations. From appointment scheduling and vaccination services to repeat prescription management and patient communication, technology now underpins how pharmacies deliver care day to day. The NHS’s digital transformation agenda reinforces this need, highlighting the importance of systems that not only digitise tasks but also connect seamlessly across patient pathways. (NHS, 2025)

Workforce Pressures Intensify
There remains a shortage of pharmacists and trained staff working in community settings, with persistent concerns around workload, recruitment, and retention. With demand rising, many pharmacies are seeking smarter ways to share tasks, streamline admin, and make the best use of available resources.

Medicine Supply Challenges
Medicine shortages have become a daily reality in 2025, with wide-reaching consequences for both patients and pharmacy teams. Recent surveys highlight the scale of the problem: 95% of pharmacy staff said patients are still being inconvenienced by ongoing shortages, while 86% of pharmacy owners reported patients having to visit multiple pharmacies to find their medicines. Alarmingly, 73% of staff believe shortages are putting patient health at risk. (Community Pharmacy England, 2025).

Sector-Wide Strain and Closures
Financial and operational pressures continued to take their toll. Many pharmacies have reduced services, and some have closed entirely. The impact has been felt most sharply in rural and underserved communities, creating so-called “pharmacy deserts” where access to care is significantly reduced.

Innovation Builds Resilience
Amid these pressures, it’s clear that pharmacies investing in digital foundations and redesigning their workflows are better positioned to manage demand. Structured dispensing processes, digital consultation tools, and patient engagement platforms give teams more control over capacity, help reduce administrative burden, and strengthen patient relationships.

One example is Bainbridge Pharmacy, who made the switch to Positive Solutions after experiencing limitations with an alternative PMR provider. Since moving, they’ve benefited from smarter workflows and stronger support, showing how the right technology partner can make a tangible difference in a demanding environment.

Looking Ahead
Reflecting on 2025 so far, one lesson stands out: pharmacies that invested in smarter, connected systems have not only coped better with the pressure but also built stronger foundations for the future.

🔗Ready for 2026? Now is the time to strengthen your foundations. With smarter workflows, integrated consultations, and connected patient engagement, your pharmacy can reduce pressure, build resilience, and deliver better outcomes. Book your demo today and see what’s possible.

💻 Tech & Automation Trends for 2026

Digital transformation in pharmacy isn’t slowing down; if anything, it will accelerate in 2026. For community pharmacies, the challenge is clear: adopt smarter systems that reduce pressure today while laying foundations for tomorrow. Based on what we’re seeing across the sector, here are four trends that will shape the year ahead.

1. Smarter Automation
   Automation is evolving beyond basic dispensing support. Pharmacies will increasingly rely on systems that streamline complex workflows, reduce manual checking, and minimise errors. Smarter automation means more time freed up for clinical services and patient-facing care.
   
   
2. Interoperability as Standard
   Integration will move from an advantage to an expectation. Pharmacies will need platforms that connect seamlessly, linking PMR systems, NHS records, and patient apps. True interoperability reduces duplication, strengthens safety, and creates smoother pathways for patients.
   
   
3. Personalised Patient Engagement
   Patients are expecting more direct and personalised communication from their pharmacy. From reminders about vaccinations to repeat prescription updates, engagement tools will become a key part of how pharmacies build stronger relationships and support adherence.
   
   
4. Data-Driven Insights
   Operational data will shift from retrospective reports to real-time visibility. Pharmacies will increasingly need clear oversight of workload, service delivery, and patient outcomes to plan effectively, adapt quickly, and demonstrate value within the wider healthcare system.
   
   
5. Resilience Through Technology
   With workforce shortages, rising demand, and ongoing supply challenges, resilience will depend on smarter systems that take pressure off staff. Pharmacies embedding digital tools across dispensing, consultations, and communication will be the best placed to balance workload without compromising care.

Future Proofing for 2026 and Beyond
The pace of change is only accelerating. Pharmacies that embrace automation, integration, personalised engagement, and data-driven insights will not only cope with pressure but thrive as central players in the healthcare system.

At Positive Solutions, we’re building for this future, whether through interchangeable workflows like Batch Assemble and Scan to Assemble, clinical platforms such as HxConsult, patient engagement via MyHealthHub, or the continued evolution of Analyst at the core. Together, these connected solutions provide a stronger foundation for both today’s challenges and tomorrow’s opportunities.

🔗 Want to explore what these trends could mean for your pharmacy? Talk to us today, and let’s prepare for 2026 together.

🌟 A Positive Welcome to Positive Solutions

Finally, we’d like to extend a very warm welcome to all new pharmacies and care providers who have joined Positive Solutions in recent months. We’re delighted to support you as part of our growing community and look forward to working together to deliver smarter, safer, and more efficient healthcare. 

If you’re looking to save time, improve services, or plan ahead, we’re here to help. Get in touch today to see how Positive Solutions can support your pharmacy or care setting, now and in the future.