MEET YOUR 2014 PHARMACY OF THE YEAR WINNERS CHC

Supporting Excellence in Pharmacy
March–April 2014
MEET YOUR 2014 PHARMACY OF THE YEAR WINNERS
CHC PHARMACY: DRIVING TECHNOLOGY TO DRIVE THE BUSINESS
INTRODUCING THE QCPP KNOWLEDGE HUB
2
CHAMPIONS OF COMMUNITY PHARMACY
Nick Panayiaris
Chair, Quality Assurance and Standards Committee
National Councillor, The Pharmacy Guild of Australia
Congratulations to the QCPP ‘Pharmacy of the Year’ (POTY)
winners for 2014. What a delight to see such shining
examples of community pharmacy and acknowledge those
pharmacies that epitomise everything that is great about
community pharmacy. They are true champions!
The winners are showcased in this edition on pages 7-11.
In winning their individual categories they have surpassed all others
in this hotly contested competition, but they are more than just
champions for winning an award. By demonstrating their community
engagement, excellence in business management, and innovation in
professional services they are champions of the profession, leading
by example, by showing the value of pharmacy to the community
and the wider Australian health system.
These pharmacies have heeded the message that pharmacy must
transform and be seen much more as a health service destination,
integral to their community, integrated with other health services
and providing a more holistic service focussed on preventative
health, wellness, and chronic disease management.
Although the impact of accelerated price disclosure and other
threats to pharmacy have impacted on confidence across the
profession, Pharmacy of the Year is an exciting ‘good news’
story for pharmacy.
POTY 2014 Judge Bill Scott was glowing about all ten shortlisted
finalists and emphasised that Pharmacy of the Year is an exciting
competition because it encourages pharmacists and pharmacies to
see how good they are, and how good they can strive to be.
Importantly, all have found QCPP an essential business tool
and have ensured that staff are familiar with their pharmacy
operations manual and the store policies and procedures, so that
consistent quality service delivery is provided to customers. All have
undertaken extensive strategy and business planning and have
followed their business plans to ensure outcomes and achieve the
goals defined in their business plans. And the best part is that the
owners, pharmacists and staff love working in community pharmacy
and get great satisfaction knowing they are providing an everyday
benefit to the health of their community.
Throughout 2014, we’ll be promoting the Pharmacy of the Year
winners and demonstrating the services, attributes and business
culture that made each of the three winners so successful and
worthy winners of their 2014 Pharmacy of the Year awards.
I urge you to think about entering the 2015 awards and how you
can strive to be a Pharmacy of the Year winner! 
FROM THE
DIRECTOR
Andrew Matthews
National Director, Quality Assurance and Standards
I love March, with the Guild’s APP Conference on the Gold
Coast and the announcement of our QCPP Pharmacy of
the Year winners! What a great thrill for the winners to
know all their hard work in creating such great examples of
community pharmacy is recognised by the POTY award. But
the most humbling aspect of each winner, is they haven’t
created such great pharmacy businesses to win awards, but
because they genuinely want to contribute to the wellbeing
of their customers and community.
Quality Care Pharmacy Program
In handing over to our 2014 winners, I would like to recognise
our 2013 winners who provided QCPP with such great moments,
stories and images. My thanks to the winners and their staff:
Richard Lim, Amanda Bryce, Ron Stuurstraat and Pooja Maru. They
all were so willing of their time and supportive of QCPP and what
we are doing for community pharmacy.
Enjoy reading about our Pharmacy of the Year winners; and start
planning to be a winner in 2015! 
3
IMPORTANT INFORMAtion
REGARDING PPI
PAYMENT ELIGIBILITY
From 1 March 2014, the Pharmacy Guild of Australia will
receive claims and undertake all payments for 5CPA
programmes including Pharmacy Practice Incentives
(PPIs). The changes seek to streamline and improve how
pharmacies and pharmacists receive remuneration for the
valuable services they provide to the Australian community.
One of the changes that relates to the administration of the PPI
Programme includes the removal of the PPI Annual Payment
Eligibility Declaration requirements in the PPI Programme Specific
Guidelines for the four annual priority areas: Primary Health Care,
Community Services Support, Staged Supply and Working With
Others. This requirement has been removed from the latest version
of the PPI Programme Specific Guidelines and becomes effective
from 1 March 2014.
CONTENTS
4
7
13
CHC Pharmacy: Driving
technology to drive the business
Meet your 2014 Pharmacy of
the Year winners
This means that QCPP pharmacies with an accreditation or
anniversary date on or after 1 March 2014 are no longer required
to submit the PPI Annual Payment Eligibility Declaration as part
of the PPI guideline requirements for annual payments. All other
requirements remain the same.
If you have any questions regarding the PPI Declaration please
do not hesitate to call the QCPP helpline on 1300 363 340 or
email [email protected] or for further information regarding the
administration of the 5CPA helpline or PPI Programme Specific
Guidelines please call the 5CPA helpline on
1300 555 262 or email [email protected]. 
16
18
Introducing the QCPP
Knowledge Hub
QCPP—I did it my way
Succession planning
in a rural town
Front Cover
Samantha Kourtis
Managing partner, Capital Chemist Charnwood
2014 Pharmacy of the Year overall winner.
Supporting Excellence in Pharmacy
Excellence March/April 2014
4
chc pharmacy,
DRIVING TECHNOLOGY
to drive the business
Mena Abdel Messih, pharmacy owner, demonstrating his task management system to
Andrew Matthews, National Director Quality Assurance and Standards
‘Technology is not
about using crazy amazing
systems, or top end
specifications, but seeing
what is out there and finding
what works for you and
for your business’
Mena Abdel Messih, pharmacy owner
Quality Care Pharmacy Program
5
Proprietors Sam Ledger, Lloyd
Smith and Mena Abdel Messih
opened CHC Pharmacy in
May 2012 in Coffs Harbour.
The pharmacy is located in
a specialist health complex
adjacent to the Coffs Harbour
Hospital. The pharmacy motto,
‘where you always speak to a
pharmacist’, reflects the strong
professional service focus of
the pharmacy.
Hardware
From day one the pharmacy has focused on using technology to
drive business efficiency and management efficacy. Approaching
two years in business, Mena spoke with Excellence about how
to make technology work for you, rather than being a slave to
technology in key business areas.
Mobile Technology
The pharmacy has four iPad tablets, which are primarily used for
calendar and task management. There are iPads in the dispensary,
the dose administration aids packing area and one with the
delivery vehicle. A common diary synchronises between all four
devices and pharmacy computers, to help manage tasks in real
time. For example, cleaning tasks can be added and assigned to
staff members, or a DAA packer can note that the packs are ready
for a pharmacist to check.
By using iPads as a task management system, the pharmacy is
free of handwritten notes and quickly scribbled instructions that
are easily lost or ambiguous. This also allows tasks to be managed
with better workflow, vastly reducing staff interruptions.
The iPads are also able to remotely log into the dispensary
software, meaning medication dispensing records are available at
the fingertips of pharmacists when counselling patients. While this
has obvious benefits in supporting dispensing, it also has potential
to facilitate professional programs.
When setting up the pharmacy, Lloyd, Mena and Sam invested
time into securing hardware which would serve the pharmacy’s
needs both initially and for the foreseeable future. This included
key assets like servers and dispensing workstations, but also
accessories such as printers, uninterruptable power supplies,
scanners and screens. By developing IT systems which are reliable
and fast, the pharmacy runs more efficiently and effectively.
‘You have to have good hardware, otherwise everything is slow
or interrupted. You need to ask yourself: what are the costs of
having a ten second delay in printing each dispensing label? How
much does that cost you over a few years? Could you be doing
something else with that time?’ Mena said.
Security and Backup
Loss of data represents one of the biggest risks to small
businesses. Recent publicity surrounding pharmacies that have
had their systems locked by hackers using phishing and malware
software are good examples of this. Other common data threats
include software/hardware failure or human error. CHC Pharmacy
backs up all data each night to an off-site backup to help ensure
data security.
Online accounting
The pharmacy uses a cloud-based accounting system. Aside
from the natural advantages of cloud computing such as ease of
remote access and automatic backup, the system has allowed the
pharmacy to become genuinely paperless for invoicing. Uploading
electronic and paper invoices is simple and straightforward. For
the pharmacy, this means managers and accountants are able to
access information instantly and communicate easily knowing they
all have the most up-to-date information at their fingertips.

Excellence March/April 2014
6
chc pharmacy
driving technology
to drive the business
With heavy use of cloud computing, the pharmacy has the
challenge of ensuring cloud systems are secure and backed up.
‘With cloud technology, you need to know where your data is stored
and how it is kept secure. Using companies with Australian-based
cloud servers is generally safer.’
The pharmacy maintains their operations manual on a cloud server
which is accessible on all computers in the pharmacy, and remotely
for proprietors. This allows the operations manual to be reviewed
and updated easily as needed to improve the operation of the
business. This process of continuous quality improvement (CQI)
wouldn’t be as efficient in a paper manual. 
The functionality of apps on mobile devices allows invoices to be
uploaded anytime/anywhere—there is never scrounging around
looking for receipts from the stationary store or post office!
Online staff rostering platform
Similar to their accounting platform, the pharmacy uses an online
rostering platform. The software package doesn’t just move
rostering from hand-written forms or manual spread sheets to
online, but adds functionality which saves significant staff time
and allows for easier management of staffing costs. The roster
can be set to a specific budget and calculate instantly the financial
impact of staffing changes, such as overtime, different pay rates
and penalty rates. The platform contains tiered permissions for
different staff members as needed and has a function whereby
staff can confirm shifts via SMS and view rosters online. Staff
can log on and off via the system which integrates with the finance
and payroll systems. The system functions in ‘real time’, allowing
managers to know instantly who is on duty at any time and when
meal breaks occur. This is useful as staff members are often out
on deliveries, conducting medicine reviews or collaborating with
doctors.
Continuous improvement
Like all aspects of business, technology isn’t static or an outcome
in itself. It needs to be continuously evaluated in what it is
achieving. Mena muses, ‘Technology is about efficiency—saving
time and saving money. If it’s quicker to do something with pen
and paper, use pen and paper’. This is exactly what the pharmacy
now does for stock counts, having tried a few digital solutions and
been unsatisfied with the results.
QCPP FastTrack head start
CHC Pharmacy was QCPP accredited in July 2012, less than
four months after opening. As a greenfield site, the pharmacy
didn’t have any existing policies and procedures. ‘QCPP is the
foundation of our business, without good management systems we
wouldn’t be able to be a success. We were focussed on developing
this quickly after we opened.’ When initially developing their online
operations manual, CHC pharmacy used the QCPP FastTrack
resources to give them a head start. ‘We took the templates, and
changed the policies and procedures where we needed to so they
were right for our pharmacy. This saved us time in creating the
policies and procedures from scratch.’
Quality Care Pharmacy Program
FastTrack is a QCPP member benefit. Example policies and
procedures are available by contacting the QCPP team in your
state or territory.
Technology timesaving
tips
 Simple task management tools online can
be more efficient than paper notes
everywhere
 Upgrading dial-up EFTPOS with integrated
point of sale with PayWave on an ASDL2+
internet connection can save significant
time and reduce queuing for processing
customer transactions
 Cloud computing can often be more cost
effective than a network for small
enterprises
 Electronic transfer of prescriptions (i.e. eRx
and MediSecure) can save time and reduce
error rates when dispensing
 Electronic messaging is more efficient than
fax communication 
7
MEET YOUR
2014 PHARMACY
OF THE YEAR WINNERS
CHARNWOOD CAPITAL CHEMIST,
CHARNWOOD, act
The Pharmacy Guild of Australia and
the Quality Care Pharmacy Program
are thrilled to announce the Pharmacy
of the Year (POTY) 2014 winner is
Charnwood Capital Chemist from the
ACT. Charnwood Capital Chemist was
declared the winner at a celebratory
presentation at the annual APP
Conference this month on the
Gold Coast.
POTY judges Bill Scott and Meryl Kane
were presented with a pharmacy passionate
for professional services and well integrated
with and utilised by local health services.
‘While the judging
this year was
incredibly difficult
and there were
so many great
pharmacies,
Charnwood is a clear
example of how a
dynamic pharmacist
with good local
relationships can
provide an excellent
service’
‘Because Charnwood is an area where
there is a considerable amount of diabetes
and there are other issues with people
with poor venous return, Samantha saw
that there was a need for compression
garments and wound dressings. She
joined the Australasian Lymphology
Association and has done the training
so that she can be a qualified fitter and
provider of these garments; and now has
excellent inter-professional relationships
with Calvary Hospital. She deals with the
local GPs, everybody in the area, and is
known as the ‘go to’ spot for anything to
do with compression garments and wound
management in this area.’ Bill Scott said.
Congratulations to Charnwood Capital
Chemist for winning the overall and
Innovation in Professional Services
categories. 
Excellence March/April 2014
8
innovation in
professional services
CHARNWOOD CAPITAL CHEMIST, CHARNWOOD, act
‘We are certainly
on our way to
achieving our goal
as an important
health destination
for Canberrans.’
Charnwood Capital Chemist managing
partner Samantha Kourtis was on the
money when she wrote this statement
in her 2014 POTY entry.
Samantha has moulded the pharmacy into
an irreplaceable healthcare destination
serving customers across the ACT and
surrounding NSW region. With three years’
experience in fitting medical compression
garments, Samantha led the pharmacy’s
collaboration with ACT Wound Services
and Calvary Lymphoedema Clinic to deliver
referral-based services for vascular ulcers
and lymphoedema. The pharmacy has
served over 200 patients since the service
began in 2013.
The pharmacy has recently collaborated
with the ACT Medicare Local to identify
areas of need for mental health for their
patients, and provides private phone line
services direct to Lifeline and BeyondBlue
in crisis situations.
Quality Care Pharmacy Program
Staff are currently completing their mental
health first aid qualification and are
working towards extending their mental
health services with further collaboration
with the local Belconnen Mental Health
Team and BeyondBlue’s NewAccess
program.
The pharmacy provides a free maternal
and child health clinic to the community
and has developed close inter-professional
relationships with paediatricians, lactation
consultants, midwives and general
practitioners through this service. The
service provides continuity of care for a low
socio-economic community, where access
to health providers is limited.
Employing over forty staff, the pharmacy
has recently undergone an extensive refit
to better align with local primary healthcare
needs. The pharmacy also provides opioid
treatment services, MedsChecks, Dose
Administration Aids and continence advice
to patients. 
9
Excellence March/April 2014
10
excellence in
business management
PRICELINE Pharmacy, SPRINGWOOD, NSW
Priceline Pharmacy Springwood have developed a clear, concise
and well-balanced business model. Owners Anthony Hanna and
Kim Stubbs have adopted proven leadership and management
techniques which integrate customer focussed strategies together
with SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timerelated) goals.
The pharmacy receives retail management assistance from
Lion Retail Management Group (LRMG), who employ specialist
mentors in retailing and business management, assisting with
back-office accounting and providing industry context for cashflow
and category management. Managers and pharmacists attend
yearly LRMG conferences to review store performances, discuss
ideas and tactics, share feedback and develop a strategic plan for
the year to come. This is a prime opportunity for the owners and
managers to assess the pharmacy’s performance annually and
address upcoming challenges and goals.
POTY judge Bill Scott was impressed with the business
management of this pharmacy. ‘Springwood shone in management
because they have excellent information gathering and again acted
in an inclusive way involving the younger staff. They have been
excellent mentors and trainers of future pharmacists and pharmacy
team members. They were the standout in this area.’
Quality Care Pharmacy Program
‘The fact that they have
continued to grow in the
professional area and in
the pharmacy in general
with almost a complete
change in personnel shows
the systems work.’
The pharmacy undertakes an extensive induction and
performance review process to align employees with
their vision, mission and values. Tools such as TINYpulse
employee questionnaires are used to help maintain a strong
team environment. Effective communication and planning
occurs through weekly team meetings and quick,
easy-to-read reports.
Skill improvement occurs through in-store training by
pharmacists, and through the sharing of ideas and
information using the ‘Priceline Springwood Knowledge Den’
file-sharing application. 
11
excellence in
community engagement
C.P. PEOPLES OUTBACK PHARMACY, BROKEN HILL, NSW
With a population of just 20,000, it comes as no surprise that a
pharmacy in Broken Hill NSW excels at community engagement.
C.P. Peoples Outback Pharmacy is a shining example of a
pharmacy going beyond its four walls and reaching a wide
network of consumers.
With a strong Indigenous population in both Broken Hill and
surrounding areas, one pharmacist conducts weekly medication
reviews at the local Aboriginal Medical Service and also travels up
to 200 kilometres each way to Wilcannia or Menindee fortnightly
to provide services to communities where no pharmacy exists.
The pharmacy supports the community through weekly radio
segments from an intern pharmacist, addressing local support
groups such as the Dementia Carers Support Group, and
participating or donating to local sport and community groups.
The pharmacy is also a strong supporter of the University
Departments of Rural Health pharmacy program in Broken Hill,
which provides placement support to pharmacy students in Broken
Hill. The pharmacy staff ensure that while the student gains
valuable placement experience, they are also integrated into the
local community.
Owner Con Peoples ensures
the Broken Hill community
is the main motivator for
all staff.
POTY judge Bill Scott said ‘Broken Hill are good all-rounders.
They are involved in their community from the Aboriginal services
to the aged care medication records, training of the students and
trainees in a multi-professional, inclusive way. Plus, they are active
in the charities and local community groups and involved in sport
and schools.’ 
Excellence March/April 2014
12
2014
POTY
JUDGE’S
REFLECTION
The 2014 Pharmacy of the Year
competition was hotly contested this
year. With a 25% increase in entries,
the judges were set for a challenging
time to find the best pharmacy in
Australia. The judges undertake a
comprehensive review of the written
submissions and then visit the top ten
in a whirlwind week in January.
Judge Bill Scott has reflected on this
year’s competition and the calibre of
entries:
‘I really love being
a judge. It is just
such an exciting
thing to go out and
meet great people,
doing great things,
providing great health
services to the public,
which is well beyond,
‘here’s a few pills, go
home and take them.’
Quality Care Pharmacy Program
They just provide terrific services, which
sometimes in their own humility they can’t
even point out to us. We have to search a
bit for them, but it is a very exciting thing.
We might have flown nearly 10,000
kilometres and drove 1,200 kilometres in
a week, which was incredibly demanding,
but I have to say at no stage did my energy
wane because I was just so excited about
how good everybody was and this is an
incredibly important thing to do.
Pharmacy of the Year is a great institution
because anything that encourages
pharmacists to see how good they are, how
good they can be or how good they can
strive to be is well worth it.
It’s interesting when you think about
excellent pharmacies; you think these are
people who have had great opportunities
to actually get to where they are. But the
astounding thing this time was nearly all
these pharmacies were in underprivileged
areas.
They were all in areas where you would
think that price was paramount and yet all
of them built good pharmacies by providing
excellent professional care as well as
providing a prescription and medicine
service.
Again with the winners this year, what
we found was that so many of them were
integrated or involved in the community;
they weren’t a pharmacy just providing
a service to the community, they were
actually an intrinsic part of the community.
I have never seen such a close field in the
three years I have been involved. They
were all excellent. I would have been proud
to own any of the businesses.
The Pharmacy of the Year competition
returns in 2015. 
For more information on the competition
and to get some valuable insight on what
the judges are looking for in Australia’s
best pharmacies, visit
www.pharmacyoftheyear.com.au
13
succession
planning IN A RURAL TOWN
THE CONDOBOLIN STORY
Rural living is more
than a lifestyle—
it embodies
everything you are
and influences the
way you think, act
and your overall
attitude. Living in a
rural community can
be very rewarding,
but it can come with
many hardships
and often you can
struggle to retain
employees as the
‘bright city lights’
attract your staff
elsewhere.
Succession planning is an important
element of business management each
pharmacy needs to consider, especially
so in a rural environment.
Succession planning
Succession planning is a process for
identifying and developing potential
successors in your pharmacy business. The
key in succession management is to create
a match between the future needs of the
business and the aspirations of individual
people who have a vested interest in
community pharmacy.
One such pharmacy that has embraced
succession planning is Shortis and Timmins
Pharmacy in Condobolin, a small rural
town situated in the centre of NSW on
the Lachlan River. With a population of
3500 and a total catchment population
of 6500, the local pharmacy is vital to the
community and has played a central role in
delivering primary health care services for a
community which has suffered from acute
doctor shortages and limited availability of
health care services.
The pharmacy has thrived and grown over
the years. It attributes its success to the
original owners who forward planned to
guarantee the town of Condobolin did not
lose their local pharmacy. They ensured the
continuation of services well into the future
for the wider Condobolin community.
The pharmacy was first established in
January 1975 when Michael Timmins
and Leo Shortis amalgamated their two
individual pharmacies to become one
large pharmacy. As time went on, Leo
and Michael started to give thought to
succession planning. Condobolin local
and pharmacist, Carolyn Girle, who was
living away from Condobolin at the time,
was approached to see if she would like
to move back with her young family and
work in the pharmacy. Carolyn agreed and
so began the succession planning when
Carolyn purchased Leo Shortis’ share in
July 2006.

Excellence March/April 2014
14
Current owners of Shortis and Timmins Pharmacy (l to r) Michael Timmins, Ashleigh Rees, David Rees and Carolyn Girle
Michael Timmins saw another opportunity
for succession planning in a young
man who completed his high school
work experience with the pharmacy
and expressed an interest in pharmacy
at university. Michael offered David
Rees a scholarship for university on the
proviso he would spend the first two
years working for the pharmacy once
he graduated. David eagerly agreed and
upon completing his degree returned to
Condobolin with his future wife Ashleigh
who was also studying pharmacy. Ashleigh
was offered an intern position once David
was registered and has remained with the
pharmacy.
Now David and Ashleigh are partners in the
pharmacy with Michael and Carolyn.
Quality Care Pharmacy Program
Employee retention
But it takes more than succession
planning to ensure the viability of a rural
pharmacy.
There are many challenges in rural
communities and one key challenge in
particular is the retention of staff with
many young people leaving their home
towns to pursue careers. Retention of
the right employees is critical to the long
term health and success of a pharmacy
business.
Shortis and Timmins Pharmacy has
several long serving staff members, none
more so than dispensary assistant Marilyn
Roberts who has worked in the pharmacy
industry for 52 years.
With a combined working life of 78 years,
Diana Honeysett and Roslyn L’Estrange
were asked why they continue working at
the same pharmacy over all these years,
and the answer for them was simple.
‘It comes down to two things: our bosses
and our customers. Leo Shortis and
Michael Timmins were and are excellent
bosses. They are family-minded,
compassionate and fair, and they made
the pharmacy a happy place to come each
day. They motivated and encouraged us to
strive to be the best and provide the best
possible services to the community,’
they said.
15
‘It comes down
to two things,
our bosses and
our customers.
Leo Shortis
and Michael
Timmins
were and are
excellent bosses.
They are
family-minded,
compassionate
and fair, and
they made the
pharmacy a
happy
place to come
each day.’
‘Our customers have also played a big
part in our time in pharmacy; the highs
come with such things as new babies and
weddings, and the lows with the sickness
and demise of customers and their family
members.’
‘Our job satisfaction
comes from making
a difference in
people’s lives.’
The positive and professional approach by
the owners and the staff of Shortis and
Timmins Pharmacy is the town’s ‘security
blanket’.
Through the many hardships the town has
gone through such as drought, floods, and
at times lack of health professionals, it is
comforting knowing the community has
their local pharmacy to rely upon.
David was asked if the business would
change its name once Michael retires:
‘The pharmacy would always be known as
Shortis and Timmins Pharmacy. The name
is synonymous with the pharmacy and is
etched in the community’s landscape.’ 
Excellence March/April 2014
16
knowledge
hub
The Genesis
We live in a highly
technological age.
Our customers are
accessing a wide
range of services
and products on
demand through
the power of their
fingertips.
Quality Care Pharmacy Program
Mobile and web technology has far
surpassed more traditional methods of
communications, and QCPP is working
to keep ahead of the game in its suite of
services to you.
QCPP is proud to introduce its latest tool
to assist members with their accreditation
needs, the QCPP Knowledge Hub. The
Knowledge Hub will become the onestop shop for any and all questions
your pharmacy has for your upcoming
assessment.
Does this content look familiar to you?
Well, it should. The Knowledge Hub was
developed from the QCPP Implementation
Information and Rulings Guide, a pdf
document available for download from the
QCPP website.
The Guide’s content has undergone a
significant review during the past six
months, with input from our QCPP experts
including: QCPP staff, Quality Care State
Managers and Assessors.
17
Elements
QCPP Knowledge Hub
In a nutshell
The review described at left sounds great,
but why is the content so important to
pharmacies? The Knowledge Hub contains
many of the rulings and interpretations of
the Standard and QCPP requirements,
which can assist you in implementing
QCPP in your pharmacy. But not only
does the content provide clarity on your
questions, we also provide links to the
documents needed to meet requirements
and definitions on some commonly used
terms within QCPP.
Navigating the hub
The design of the Knowledge Hub stems
from mobile app technology, utilising button
interfaces.
Welcome—this section explains the intent
of the Knowledge Hub and outlines what
can be expected of the content.
How to access
Elements and alphabetical listing—the
content can be accessed by each individual
Element or alphabetically by subject matter,
and is referenced back to the QCPP
Requirements Manual by action number.
Definitions and acronyms—the list
of definitions provided in the QCPP
Requirements Manual is expanded and
updated with emerging program updates.
Submit a question—here you can
ask your own question for the QCPP
Interpretations Panel which can then
be added to the Knowledge Hub for all
pharmacies to access.
The QCPP Knowledge Hub is provided free
to QCPP members and can be accessed
from the direct link
www.qcpp.com/knowledgehub
or by clicking on the button from the QCPP
homepage.
Guild members can access by logging
on using their Guild website username
and password. Non-Guild members will
be provided with their login details during
March.
Log in, take a look around and make the
most of your new Knowledge Hub tool. 
An electronic copy of the QCPP
Requirements Manual is also provided as
part of the Knowledge Hub.
Excellence March/April 2014
18
QCPP
I DID IT MY WAY
QCPP Accreditation can
sometimes seem to be a ‘hurdle’
that needs to be jumped every
two years if not implemented
into business practices and
maintained throughout the
accreditation cycle.
Quality Care Pharmacy Program
19
An innovative example of embracing
the value of QCPP and incorporating
into everyday practice is Rhys Jones
Pharmacy and their electronic version
of QCPP.
The electronic version of QCPP is available on every computer
in the pharmacy so staff can easily access it when needed.
‘The system has helped greatly in our pharmacy’s professional
practice, allowing staff to quickly access and print commonly-used
documents, improving QCPP as a business resource,’ says Rhys.
The system contains policies and templates based on the
QCPP resources provided on the FastTrack USB that have
Rhys Jones Pharmacy is a small, compact pharmacy located
been customised specifically for his pharmacy. There is a
in Rosny Park, Tasmania, and has been QCPP accredited
comprehensive index so staff can search by document name e.g.
since September 2001. The pharmacy employs one
T2B Compounding Worksheet, or in core areas such dispensary,
pharmacist and four pharmacy assistants.
professional practice, human resources, and safety and security.
Rhys Jones and his staff believe that by providing core reputable
health information they have a crucial role to play in managing
their patient health needs. They do this by ensuring staff provide
consistent professional treatment of their customers.
Whilst Rhys acknowledges that QCPP is a great starting point to
ensure pharmacies provide consistent quality service and QCPP
resources help to achieve this, he and his staff wanted to develop
Another specific area is staff induction and the information
contained there can be transferred to disk for staff to take home
and read.
Rhys explains that a good example of the system’s usefulness is
when providing equipment hire, staff can print a hire agreement
form along with their ‘using crutches guide’ (or similar) handout.
This ensures the patient is given all relevant information which
results in high levels of patient care.
an electronic solution to allow for searching of specific documents
when they need them.
The benefits of having an electronic platform is its ability to better
integrate QCPP as a business resource, its broader scope for
In addition, over many years, Rhys Jones Pharmacy had developed
documentation including non-QCPP resources, great for training
a plethora of other valuable resources such as fact sheets, clinical
and induction, easy to update and improve, easily accessible by
guidelines and professional practice standards that they use on a
staff and results in less paper clutter.
daily basis but don’t quite fit into the QCPP standards framework.
Looking into the future, Rhys is planning a simplified set-up
Rhys’s solution was to develop a system of storing and displaying
procedure with automated data population of QCPP templates,
documents and records in a web-based, searchable, electronic
a comprehensive patient information sheet library, business
format that was accessable by all staff, and easy to keep up to
management library, web page linking, cloud data storage and
date. In creating the software, Rhys wanted it to be flexible enough
back up and a mechanism to record training and CPD.
to cater for documents that were outside QCPP and allow for
improvements and future enhancements such as staff training
This is an example of a simple solution to making QCPP part of
presentations and patient instructional videos.
everyday business and Rhys and his staff should be congratulated
on their creativity and innovation. 
A screen shot of the business management Elements
on the Rhys Jones electronic QCPP program.
Excellence March/April 2014
20
REFRESHER TRAINING
The following courses have been approved for Refresher Training since
the January/February edition of Excellence. This approved list is correct at
Friday 14 February 2014.
To see the complete list of currently approved activities go to
www.qcpp.com/resources/training-requirements.
Approved
Duration
Counter Connection
Approval Period
Training Provider Contact
Details and Notes
Format
Supply Pharmacy Medicines
and Pharmacist Only Medicines
1 hr
05/3/1230/9/15
Distance/Online
Soft Tissue Injury
1 hr
22/10/1321/10/15
Distance/Online
Pharmaceutical Society
of Australia
Email: [email protected]
PSA Self Care in PHARMation
(March 2012/14)
PSA Self Care in PHARMation
(February 2014)
Contacting QCPP
Phone 1300 363 340 Website www.qcpp.com
QCPP STATE MANAGERS
ACT
Lisa Gibbons
02 6270 8900
NT
Kylie Clark
08 8944 6900
SA
Gillian Starr
08 8304 8300
VIC
Natalie Law
03 9810 9999
NSW
Belinda Nankivell
02 9467 7100
QLD
Nicole Floyd
07 3831 3788
TAS
Sally Davis
03 6220 2955
WA
Cathie Marshall
08 9429 4154
Supporting Excellence in Pharmacy
Thank you to Charnwood Capital Chemist, Charnwood, ACT; Priceline Pharmacy, Springwood, NSW; C.P. Peoples Outback Pharmacy,
Broken Hill, NSW; for their participation in the photography. QCPP is committed to adopting environmentally friendly practices and chooses
to print Excellence on 100% recycled paper.
Quality Care Pharmacy Program

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