Enhancing Community Pharmacy Consultations with Ardens

Background

Following the introduction of a SystmOne pilot, Graham Young Pharmacy in Peterborough became one of the first community pharmacies in England to adopt Ardens Clinical resources to support patient consultations.

As a highly service-driven pharmacy operating in a busy environment, the team were keen to adopt a solution that would enhance the quality and consistency of consultations, strengthen clinical governance, and support safe, evidence-based decision-making.

Solution

The pharmacy’s neighbouring GP practice, Thistlemoor Medical Centre, has been using Ardens successfully for many years and suggested it as a tool to support structured consultations, adherence to national clinical guidance, improved diagnostic accuracy, and clear clinical documentation.

Recognising the challenges of a fast-paced community pharmacy setting, Ardens offered a way to standardise consultation processes, reduce variation between clinicians, and minimise the risk of missing critical clinical information.

With support from the GP practice team, Graham Young Pharmacy rapidly embedded Ardens templates into day-to-day clinical practice across a range of services:

• Pharmacy First services: Ardens templates guide clinicians through structured consultations for common conditions such as sinusitis and sore throat, ensuring consistent assessment and documentation.

• General walk-in consultations: For general presentations, the Community Pharmacist template provides a clear framework for gathering information, offering advice, and recording outcomes.

• Contraception services: To support safe and consistent contraception prescribing, Ardens templates guide clinicians through all required eligibility checks and incorporate UKMEC criteria to determine suitability based on a patient’s medical history.

• Governance and audit: Ardens has significantly strengthened clinical governance, providing standardised documentation, easily auditable consultation records, and assurance that all clinicians are working to the same high standards.

Key benefits

• Improved patient safety: Structured templates ensure all essential questions are asked, key clinical information is captured, and decision-making is clearly documented.

• Standardised, high-quality consultations: A consistent framework used across the pharmacy team supports uniform documentation and delivers reliable, high-quality care for patients.

• Greater efficiency in a busy environment: By guiding consultations and reducing administrative workload, Ardens helps pharmacists work more efficiently in a high-pressure environment.

• Enhanced clinical confidence: Clinicians are supported to follow best practice safely and confidently, with clear documentation that also supports audit and review, prioritising patient safety.

Testimonial

The Graham Young Pharmacy team said:

“Patients get the best care because everything the clinician needs is readily available, and it makes our lives in the pharmacy much easier. Ardens is very easy to use, and once you’ve run through the template a few times, you know exactly what you’re doing.”

“I would recommend it to every single pharmacy. It’s a game-changer for consultations. Pharmacy is a very hectic environment, so having a template that ensures you’ve covered all aspects is invaluable.”

To find out more about how Ardens can support your pharmacy, please contact [email protected].