MONTREAL — Walmart Canada announced Wednesday it will use Telus Health’s pharmacy management solution, Ubik, for all of its Accès pharma locations throughout the province of Quebec.
The province-wide rollout is modernizing 68 franchised pharmacy locations and will allow patients in Quebec to access more clinical health services, while also enabling pharmacists to streamline operations management and collaborate digitally with other healthcare professionals within a connected healthcare ecosystem, Telus said in a company news release.
“Following an evaluation of our pharmacy management solution across Quebec, we came to the conclusion that Telus Health was the best partner to help us not only meet, but exceed our goals to innovate our pharmacist-owner practices with modern solutions,” said Erik Botines, director, Quebec pharmacy, at Walmart Canada, in the news release. “Our pharmacists can now offer a broader range of services to patients and improve their experience with us both in-person and online.”
With this new solution, the pharmacies can enhance their focus on putting the patient at the centre of care, allowing pharmacists-owners to provide expanded services to patients, to help them with chronic illness monitoring, personalized care plan development, online prescription renewals and educational support on medications, Telus said.
According to Telus, some of the ways Ubik’s technology is helping to modernize pharmacies and increase efficiencies include:
- enhanced inventory management;
- online prescription management; and
- messaging and connectivity features with the patient, which is enabling physicians and pharmacists to communicate digitally for services such as online renewals of medications instead of relying on antiquated technology.
In addition, Ubik supports the expanded scope of the Accès pharma pharmacist-owner practice from dispensing medication to increasingly providing clinical support for patients under their care and strengthening their ability to communicate more seamlessly with physicians and other healthcare providers, Telus said.
“The traditional role of the pharmacist is expanding with more pharmacies across Canada delivering a range of innovative services, including: medication reviews, chronic disease management, immunization services and wellness programs,” said Luc Vilandre, president of Telus Health and Payment Solutions. “Ubik is designed to evolve with this expanding role in pharmacies like Accès pharma at Walmart in Quebec. As we collaborate with the pharmacist community, we are gleaning insights for new features so we can continue improving the pharmacy experience for patients in Quebec and across the country.”
Telus Health’s next-generation pharmacy management solution, Ubik, is currently being used in pharmacist and pharmacy technician schools in the province of Quebec. The solution’s innovative tools and functionalities meet the requirements of the Ordre des pharmaciens du Québec (OPQ) level of practice, and continue to evolve to provide a better user experience for both the pharmacy team and the patient, Telus said.
Telus Health’s Quebec-based dedicated team is supporting a seamless transition and transparent integration of the Ubik solution with the provincial Dossier santé Québec (DSQ) as well as connectivity to the Telus Health ecosystem of electronic medical records, currently used by more than 28,000 clinicians across the country.
