Now Healthcare Group has announced it will create 30 new jobs in Liverpool with the launch of its new £1.5 million ‘tele-pharmacy’, which will be powered by a £250,000 robot to ease dispensing.
The new NHS-approved pharmacy will help people living with chronic care conditions manage their medicinal needs through artificial intelligence mobile app Now Patient.
Now Pharmacy will be able to dispense around 500,000 prescriptions per month and will be using the latest robotic technology to help smooth the distribution process.
“We are the first and only tele-health company in the world to have its own tele-pharmacy, which has been kitted out with the optimum robotic technology to streamline processes and service and fulfil medicines for thousands of NHS patients,” said Now Healthcare founder and CEO Lee Dentith.
The Now Patient app was launched by Now Healthcare in October 2017 and has had over 70,000 downloads to date.
It was created to enable up to 15 million people living with long-term health conditions to get free delivery of their repeat NHS prescriptions.
Dentith added: “The NHS is evolving, and digital innovation is crucial to offering patients quality care and choice. 15 million people in the UK are suffering with chronic conditions, and Now Patient enables them to be empowered to manage their own healthcare needs and to reduce the strain on our country’s overstretched health services.“
Sue Weir, chief executive of Liverpool-based health insurer Medicash, said the company has been working alongside Now Healthcare in driving this new technology to market.
She added: “This new tele-pharmacy is another first for the City of Liverpool, which not only brings new jobs with it, but will also make it easier for tens of thousands of people to get access to the repeat prescriptions they need without having to regularly take time off work to visit their doctor and collect their prescription.”
The new pharmacy will be officially opened by Liverpool Metro Mayer Steve Rotheram this afternoon.