Key Summary
- Adhera Dispensing and PHOENIX announce an exclusive service designed for Numark members.
- The hub-and-spoke dispensing could help Independent community pharmacies across the UK.
- The initiative aims to help independent pharmacies free up operational capacity, reduce on-site stock holding, and dedicate more time to patient care and the delivery of clinical services.
Numark members are set to benefit from hub-and-spoke dispensing following an exclusive partnership launched by Adhera Dispensing and PHOENIX.
The innovative model combines Adhera's advanced dispensing technology with PHOENIX's large-scale operational expertise and medicines supply network.
The initiative aims to help independent pharmacies free up operational capacity, reduce on-site stock holding, and dedicate more time to patient care and the delivery of clinical services.
The service is now live, with an initial rollout running through PHOENIX's Wakefield operation to deliver a reliable "day one for day two" fulfillment service for Numark members.
Developed at a time when community pharmacies face escalating costs, workforce pressures, and increasing national demand for clinical services, the proposition allows independent pharmacies to realise backend efficiencies previously available to larger corporate pharmacy groups.
Importantly, the clinical check remains entirely within the spoke pharmacy, and the physical prescription itself never leaves the premises.
Following the local clinical check, only the patient assembly data is securely shared through the digital Adhera Dispensing platform.
Medicines are then picked from PHOENIX’s extensive stockholding in Wakefield and transferred to Adhera Dispensing’s purpose-built, GPhC-registered premises located directly within the Wakefield depot.
There, prescriptions are assembled, labelled, and sealed before being returned to the spoke pharmacy through PHOENIX’s standard delivery network, ready for final supply to the patient.
Under this model, the pharmacist remains at the centre of the patient relationship, and patient nomination processes remain unchanged.
Recognising the critical importance of a dependable supply chain to local pharmacies and their communities, PHOENIX is backing the proposition with an explicit delivery guarantee.
If the agreed service is not met, participating members will not be charged the standard item fee.
Amar Randhawa, Director at Adhera Dispensing, said: "Community pharmacy is evolving rapidly, and independent pharmacies deserve access to the same innovations and efficiencies that have supported larger organisations for many years. By combining technology with trusted operational expertise, we're providing a practical solution that helps pharmacies release capacity while maintaining the relationships and standards of care their patients value."
Rhys Martin, Head of Membership Proposition, added: “Large pharmacy groups have benefited from hub and spoke dispensing for many years, using it to release capacity, improve efficiency and help offset rising operating costs. For too long, many independent pharmacies have been unable to access those same advantages. That's why it's so exciting to bring this proposition to our Numark membership.
“By working with Adhera Dispensing and leveraging PHOENIX's scale and operational expertise, we're helping independent pharmacies free up valuable time to focus on what matters most - caring for patients, delivering clinical services and realising the full potential of community pharmacy. We're already seeing the service support its first customers and look forward to helping more members benefit from a model designed specifically to meet the challenges and opportunities facing community pharmacy today."
