Ms Lai Ho Yan (Class of ’13) is a Senior Pharmacist and Medication Delivery Team Lead at Tan Tock Seng Hospital (TTSH). In this article, we spoke to her to find out more on what goes behind the scenes in preparing and managing medication deliveries.
Medication delivery service – initial perceptions
“Medication delivery? Don’t want lah, I already come all the way here, wait a while more won’t change anything lah.”
“I already applied for leave for my visit to the hospital today. I have time to wait at the Pharmacy to collect my medications.”
“Deliver medication to my house ah? Aiyah, it’s okay, I don’t want to go through the whole processing of ordering, it’s too much hassle.”
These were some of the common notions I would hear from patients at the pharmacy. As simple and unassuming as they are, these were the very same sentiments that served as an exciting challenge to my role in the Medication Delivery Team at TTSH. I believe that the intended goal of this service is one that would ultimately transform the delivery of care to our patients.
How did you start out as a pharmacist in the Medication Delivery Team?
Having practised in TTSH Pharmacy for 6 years, my career here has been nothing short of exciting. Entering as a pre-registration pharmacist, I was exposed to the pharmacy fundamental skills such as packing, checking, dispensing and patient counselling. In 2016, I was given the opportunity to be part of the Medication Delivery Team with the undertaking of bringing convenience and accessibility to our patient population.
With the rise of e-commerce and being a tech-savvy millennial myself, my initial thought upon receiving this assignment was that this would be a piece of cake. How mistaken I was.
I quickly came to realise that medication delivery is not as straightforward and simple as deliveries of just any consumer products that one could easily get off Taobao or Lazada with a few simple clicks. The delivery of medications has to be handled with utmost care, precision and accuracy as any lapses could very well result in dire consequences such as drug misuse or missed dosage which may directly impact patients’ health or a personal data breach.
How has your role and the medication delivery service changed since COVID-19 started?
During pre-COVID-19 times, I was collaborating with various stakeholders including cross-pharmacy units, doctors, clinic managers and operations management to ideate and develop robust workflows that would ultimately ensure that medications are delivered in an accurate and timely manner to our patients.
Ms Lai and her colleagues embrace all challenges with an open heart. Ready to start work!
(Note: photo was taken prior to implementation of strict social distancing measures)
When COVID-19 knocked on our doors, efforts were made both at the hospital and national level to keep the virus at bay. Within just a span of a few days, up to 50% of Specialist Outpatient Clinic (SOC) appointments were re-scheduled to defer non-urgent patient appointments. As such, these affected patients would now require bridging prescriptions to tide them over till their next hospital visit. Care continuity and accessibility to care are pivotal to our mantra when serving our patients, which was no surprise then when we took swift action to ramp-up our medication delivery services at complimentary rates to ensure that patients receive the medications that they require.
Within a span of 3 months, demand for the medication delivery service grew exponentially by at least 10-fold. I recall vividly the initial sentiments and hesitation from patients when they first hear about medication delivery. The typical daily demand then was only approximately 52 deliveries. However, now, in times of COVID-19, our pharmacy has averaged a daily demand of 400 deliveries, with a record-breaking figure of 676 deliveries in a day!
It must not have been easy for you and your team! Can you tell us more about your team?
Our ramp-up efforts were indeed no easy feat. Much like how a conductor directs the various performers in an orchestra to follow a well-concerted metrical rhythm, I was fortunate to be part of a capable and supportive Pharmacy team to collectively bring together multiple pieces to form a brilliant melody.
In the initial stages, we worked closely with Clinic Managers in the SOCs to enhance the current appointment booking system, Enterprise Appointment System (EAS), to enable clinic Patient Service Associates (PSAs) to schedule a medication delivery slot together with patient’s rescheduled appointments in a single correspondence. This upstream booking of a medication delivery slot reduces the number of unnecessary touchpoints with patients while providing reassurance that they would have sufficient medications to ensure safety and continuity of care.
We also collaborated with ALPS Pte Ltd. to engage suitable and credible delivery couriers on short notice to cope with the unprecedented surge in demand to ensure patients receive their medications in a timely and safe manner.
The crisis was also an opportune moment to review and optimise our internal medication delivery processing workflows which spurred innovation to develop a new ordering platform via FormSG which is not only secured, but also more mobile-adaptive and user-friendly. The new ordering form for medication delivery caters to a large proportion of our patients including the elderly and less tech-savvy patients.
In the age of COVID-19, truly, when the going gets tough, the tough gets going. I am happy to have with me a brilliant team of capable and compassionate colleagues ready to stand firm at the frontline to ensure care for our patients never stops.
Were there any experience that touched your heart through this episode?
During this challenging period, many colleagues volunteered their help and extended their work hours. Some even come back for extra duties over the weekend including Sundays.
This additional effort and many pairs of hands have helped to manage the frontline patient load and also meet delivery timelines, allowing our patients to continue to receive their medication supplies in a timely manner.
I’m really grateful for these colleagues who worked extra hours even if it means taking away precious rest time or family bonding time from them. The selfless contributions from everyone really touched my heart.
Additionally, what warms my heart even more is when the team receives compliments from our patients who benefit from this medicine delivery service. I remember a patient who said, “Thank you for working hard especially during this COVID-19 period. Stay safe please!”. It is really heart-warming to know that patients are truly appreciative of the hard work we put in to ensure that they get their medications in a timely manner and to ensure continuity of treatment. This serves as a great motivation for the team to work even harder to improve our services further so that they can receive better care.
The best team members that one could ever ask for!
(Note: photo was taken prior to implementation of strict social distancing measures)
We really appreciate the hard work and sacrifices you all have made to care for the patients! Any words of advice for our Pharmily?
During the course of your work, sometimes you may encounter unhappy patients who may scream or raise their voices at you. Instead of responding reactively to the situation, pause for a moment and attempt to put yourself in the patient’s shoes. Try to understand their frustrations and focus on resolving the problem instead. Patients actually do appreciate that extra effort that you put in, and they do feel apologetic and also thankful eventually. Depending on how much effort you are willing to put in, you may turn an initial unpleasant encounter into a pleasant one.
The Medication Delivery Team not only work hard, they play even harder!
(Note: photo was taken prior to implementation of strict social distancing measures)
#PassionPridePurpose #PharmacyUnited
Article by Ms Ng Shi Ying (NUS Pharmacy Staff) and Ms Lai Ho Yan (Class of ’13). This article is part of the “#PharmacyUnited against COVID-19” series.