Telehealth service shortlisted for fourth award
A new telehealth service which brings community pharmacy to people’s homes has been shortlisted for a fourth prestigious award.
PAMAN – thought to be the world’s first remote medicines management service – is a finalist in the ‘Innovation’ category of the Innovation Agency’s ‘Excellence in Supply Awards’.
Winners will be announced on 23 September.
PAMAN was developed by the pharmacist-led Medication Support Company and is being rolled out across health and care.
People deemed to need some extra support to take their prescription medicines correctly are referred to the service.
A ‘video-phone’ called a Medihub is installed in the individual’s home which connects them to a team of pharmacists.
When the pharmacist calls, all the individual has to do is press the button at the top of the Medihub to connect.
The pharmacist can talk to the individual and watch them take their medicines, administer ointments and creams, or use inhalers, advising when necessary.
Of those using PAMAN, 97% take their medicines correctly, compared to the national average of 55% – improving safety, health outcomes and wellbeing.
Service Users taking their medication correctly
97% now take their medicines correctly, compared to the national average of 55%. This means better health outcomes, improved safety, fewer hospital admissions and reduced medicine wastage.
Chief executive of the Medication Support Company, Norman Niven, said:
Being shortlisted for a fourth award in just a few months recognises the hard work we and our partners have put into creating such a workable solution to improving medicines management and patient safety.
We are immensely proud of PAMAN, which has been shown to improve health, wellbeing and independence, as well as reduce the cost of health and care services.
PAMAN service user Paul, 68, a grandfather-of-eight, pictured with his wife Muriel, said:
It’s like having a community pharmacist visit every day. If we have any questions or problems, they get resolved straight away, which is such a relief and has made a real difference to our quality of life.
Paul and his wife Muriel were referred to the PAMAN service by social services because it was felt they would benefit from extra support to take their medicines.
They receive a call at the same time every morning from one of the team’s trained pharmacy technicians who provides help and support around all of the medication issues they have.
