Pharmacy Insights Archives - Page 2 of 3

The benefits of Pay Next Day

Posted on June, 7 2023 | by Locumate

In today’s fast-paced world, financial stability and flexibility are highly valued; one emerging trend that is gaining traction is the concept of “Pay Next Day.” Pay Next Day is a payment option allowing individuals to receive their wages for a day’s work the next day, rather than waiting for the traditional pay cycle. This article explores the numerous benefits of this innovative payment method and how it can enhance financial well-being for locums!

Pay Next Day – Improved Cash Flow:

One of the primary advantages of Pay Next Day is the improved cash flow it offers. By receiving wages the next day, locums can access their hard-earned money sooner and effectively manage their finances. This accelerated payment cycle can alleviate short-term financial burdens, such as unexpected expenses or urgent bills.

Financial Planning and Budgeting:

Pay Next Day empowers locums with greater control over their financial planning and budgeting. Knowing when and how much money will be available enables better budgeting decisions, allowing individuals to allocate funds more efficiently. With a clearer understanding of their income, pharmacists can proactively plan for expenses, prioritise savings, and work towards long-term financial goals (that dream holiday to Europe?).

Pay Next Day – Enhanced Employee Satisfaction and Productivity:

Pharmacies adopting Pay Next Day can significantly boost locum satisfaction and overall productivity. Timely payment of wages instils a sense of financial security and trust in the pharmacy-locum relationship. By ensuring that pharmacists have access to their wages without delay, pharmacists can create a positive work environment that enhances morale, reduces financial stress, and fosters increased productivity.

Empowering Gig Economy and Freelancers:

The rise of the gig economy and freelance work has transformed the employment landscape. Pay Next Day aligns perfectly with this shift by providing a payment option catering to independent workers’ unique needs. Freelancers and gig workers often face irregular income streams, making it challenging to manage their finances effectively. Pay Next Day offers them the ability to access their earnings quickly, helping them smooth out income fluctuations and create stability in their financial lives.

By providing immediate access to wages, this payment option empowers individuals to better manage their finances, reduce debt, and improve their overall financial well-being. With its potential to increase locum satisfaction and productivity, Pay Next Day is a win-win solution for both locums and pharmacies!

How pharmacies can benefit from having locums

Posted on May, 15 2023 | by Locumate

Locums have been essential in supporting pharmacies during times of cover, whether it be for annual leave, sick leave or when it generally gets busy. However, for a lot of pharmacies, the need for a locum can be an important decision, especially when costs, efficiency and disruption to workflow need to be considered.

Pharmacies & Locums help each other.

Although these are all important factors to take into account, pharmacies still need to ensure they are adequately staffed according to the workload and busy periods in a pharmacy. With Locumate, we understand time can be a constraint to organising locums; therefore, we have put simplicity and ease at the forefront of our design. Allowing the managers and owners to focus on running their business!

What are the main 3 reasons for pharmacies to employ a locum?:

Rest & Recharge: having a locum cover shifts, especially annual leave, allows the pharmacist to take time off with the comfort of having a qualified, experienced colleague come in and work their shifts. It is essential for pharmacists to work at the peak of their ability through a proper work-life balance, where taking a break should be a priority.
Reduce workload: if a pharmacy finds it challenging to manage workload due to reduced staffing levels, locums can help fill in the gaps and reduce some of the stress in pharmacies. Having adequate staffing levels helps to assist with tasks such as webster checking, vaccinations or serving patients, is important in maintaining customer satisfaction, delivering quality healthcare and boosting team morale.
Fresh perspectives: sometimes locums can offer new ideas and solutions to processes or workflow optimisation. They have usually worked in a variety of different settings and can help contribute by offering insights from their experience.

In summary, although locums are there to cover a shift, it’s important to recognise their contribution goes far beyond this. With a locum that feels welcomed and supported in their work environment, it can present as a great opportunity to improve on existing efficiencies and give an employee a well-deserved break.

Compliance and Why it’s so important in Pharmacy

Posted on May, 15 2023 | by Locumate

Understanding the Importance of Compliance in the Workplace

We often discuss the critical role of maintaining compliance in our workplaces. So, what’s the reason behind this? The simple answer is that uniform compliance helps establish a structured, law-abiding workplace environment. At Locumate, we deeply value and steadfastly commit to ensuring compliance for all our clients.

More Than Just Following Rules

Compliance isn’t just about abiding by rules; it plays a vital role in the practice of pharmacy. It’s a fundamental requirement for guaranteeing the safety and quality of medicines, safeguarding patients’ and consumers’ health and rights, and circumventing legal and ethical dilemmas for pharmacists and pharmacy owners. Compliance aids in covering all aspects of pharmacy practice, such as licensing and registrations, patient care standards, quality assurance, and adherence to laws and regulations.

Ensuring Compliance with Locumate: Features and Support

Achieving the advantages of compliance and evading the perils of non-compliance can be accomplished by implementing effective procedures in your pharmacy. Locumate aids this process by continuously updating, introducing, and modifying features that ensure consistent compliance. For instance, when Covid Certificates became mandatory for all pharmacists, Locumate quickly integrated this requirement into the platform. Compliance remains our utmost priority, and we consistently innovate to embed it across the platform.

Focusing on Compliance in Locum Hiring

One of our significant emphases is on establishing a comprehensive compliance package for locum hiring. Pharmacies must clarify the terms and conditions of their contract with locums, such as duration, rate, payment method, and cancellation policy. Furthermore, it’s essential for locums to understand their self-employed status and responsibilities to pay tax and professional indemnity insurance.

Streamlining Compliance Process with Locumate

With Locumate, as soon as a locum accepts a shift at a pharmacy, a binding contract takes effect. All necessary shift details are contained within the platform, simplifying invoicing processes. The platform also creates a separate invoice containing the super contribution for the locum.

Ensuring Compliance from Start to Finish with Locumate

Locumate ensures compliance at every stage of the process from the beginning to the end of an engagement. Thus, you can be confident that your pharmacy is establishing a safe, legal, and compliant workplace.

Download Locumate Today!

Locumate is available on the Apple AppStore and Google Playstore.

Alternatively, visit app.locumate.com.au to get started!

Thriving Outside Your Comfort Zone: A Guide to Growing as a Pharmacist through Challenging Experiences

Posted on April, 25 2023 | by Locumate

As a locum pharmacist, it’s common to find yourself in unfamiliar territory, whether you’re working in a new environment, with unfamiliar colleagues, or dealing with new patients. Stepping out of your comfort zone can be a challenging but rewarding experience that can help you grow both personally and professionally. In this article, we’ll explore how you can embrace challenging experiences and get the most out of them as a locum pharmacist.

Growing as a Pharmacist -Embrace the Challenge

The first step to getting the most out of a challenging experience is to embrace it. Rather than seeing it as a negative, try to see it as an opportunity for growth. Facing obstacles may not always be pleasant, but they can guide you in where to go next. Obstacles shift our perspective by equipping us to handle what is thrown our way.

Instead of viewing setbacks as roadblocks, choose to see them as opportunities for self-improvement. Leaning on your mentors during difficult times can also be beneficial in providing advice or a different outlook on the situation (see our article on mentorship for more information on the importance of mentors and finding a mentor).

Be Prepared

Before stepping into a challenging situation, it’s important to be prepared. This means researching and learning as much as possible about the new environment or situation you’ll be working in. You can ask other pharmacists who have worked in that particular pharmacy or area before, research the area or pharmacy branch online, or reach out to the person who hired you for more information.

Utilising the chat functionality in the Locumate app can be particularly useful in ensuring effective communication between you and the pharmacy. It will allow for an exchange of information to ensure that you are well-prepared before you start your shift. Visit the AppStore or Google Playstore to download Locumate.

Growing as a Pharmacist – You have to keep an open mind

When you step out of your comfort zone, it’s important to keep an open mind. You may encounter new ways of working or different perspectives from your new colleagues. Try to be open to these new experiences and ideas, and learn as much as you can from them. This can help you develop new skills and perspectives that you can bring back to your work as a pharmacist, professionally and personally.

Learn from Your Mistakes

Stepping out of your comfort zone can be a challenging experience, and you may make mistakes along the way. However, it’s important to learn from these mistakes and use them as opportunities for growth. Take the time to reflect on what went wrong and what you could do differently in the future. Reflecting with a mentor can also be beneficial. This can help you avoid making the same mistakes in the future and become a better pharmacist overall.

Take Care of Yourself

Finally, taking care of yourself is important when stepping out of your comfort zone. Challenging experiences can be mentally and emotionally taxing, so it’s important to practise self-care. This can mean taking breaks when you need them, getting enough sleep, eating well, and doing activities that help you relax and recharge. If you require additional support, the Pharmacists’ Support Service is available all year round (every day from 8 am to 11 pm AEDT). The service provides a listening ear over the telephone to pharmacists, pharmacy interns, and students.

Embracing challenging experiences can be a rewarding experience for locum pharmacists. By embracing the challenge, being prepared, keeping an open mind, learning from your mistakes, and taking care of yourself, you can get the most out of these experiences and grow both personally and professionally. So, the next time you find yourself in a challenging situation, take a deep breath and see it as an opportunity for growth.

3 Tips for How You Can Best Equip Yourself For The Flu Season This Winter

Posted on April, 17 2023 | by Locumate

Winter is coming, and so is the flu season. As pharmacists, we know the importance of being prepared for the upcoming flu season. This year, the flu season coincides with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, making it more critical than ever to take proactive measures to protect your patients and yourself. So, let’s dive into some helpful tips on how to best equip yourself for the cold and flu season this winter!

Stay Up-to-Date on Flu Season Information

Staying informed is the first step in preparing for the flu season. As a pharmacist, it is essential to keep an eye on the flu season start date, which typically runs from May to September. Monitor the severity of the flu by keeping up-to-date with news articles and listening to patients’ experiences. The Australian Government Department of Health provides regular updates on flu activity across the country, including vaccine effectiveness rates. So, make sure to check their website regularly.

As pharmacists, it is also essential to familiarize yourselves with the latest flu vaccine recommendations, including dosage and administration guidelines. Keep track of any changes in vaccine formulations or recommendations and inform your patients accordingly. You can find this information on the ATAGI website.

Encourage Vaccination

Vaccination is the best defence against the flu, and pharmacists play a vital role in increasing vaccination rates. In Australia, pharmacists can administer flu vaccines, making it easier for patients to get vaccinated. Pharmacists can also educate patients on the importance of getting vaccinated and answer any questions they may have.

In addition to flu vaccines, pharmacists can also encourage patients to get the COVID-19 vaccine. As COVID-19 is still prevalent, getting vaccinated is crucial to protect against the virus and its variants. Inform your patients about the availability and efficacy of the COVID-19 vaccine and encourage them to get vaccinated or up-to-date with vaccinations as soon as possible. In fact, if a patient comes in for a covid booster, check if they would like to get their annual flu vaccine at the same time!

Get Qualified to Administer Vaccines

To administer vaccines, pharmacists must have the proper qualifications. In Australia, pharmacists can obtain certification to administer vaccines through various programs, including the Immunisation Training Program for Pharmacists offered by the Australian Pharmacy Council. This program provides pharmacists with the training and knowledge necessary to safely and effectively administer vaccines and the appropriate accreditation.

By obtaining certification to administer vaccines, pharmacists can expand their role in patient care and improve patient outcomes. Pharmacists who can administer vaccines can provide a valuable service to their patients and the community by increasing vaccination rates and reducing the spread of infectious diseases. As a locum working within the community, having certification to administer vaccines is a valuable skill that many pharmacies will appreciate. Be sure to update your Locumate profile to include this skill, so prospective owners are aware.

Preparing for the flu season is critical for healthcare professionals, especially pharmacists in Australia. Staying informed, encouraging vaccination, and getting qualified to administer vaccines can help pharmacists better equip themselves for the upcoming flu season. By taking these steps, pharmacists can help protect their patients and communities from the flu and other infectious diseases while expanding their role in patient care. So, let’s roll up our sleeves and get ready to fight the flu and COVID-19 this winter!

From ‘register chick’ to Locumate co-founder

Posted on July, 21 2022 | by Niamh Foley

Our co-founder Kavita Nadan got her start in pharmacy on the cash register. Since then, she’s managed a pharmacy in rural Victoria, become a managing partner, and started Locumate.

“As an owner/pharmacist and managing partner, I was hiring locums a lot. The whole process was broken. We realised that we needed to put locums at the forefront of this as well as the owners.”

“We needed to make a platform that was going to suit the needs of both parties.”

So she did.

Pharmacies save over $250k in agency fees within 3 months

Posted on July, 6 2022 | by Niamh Foley

We’re proud of the fact that Locumate offers a genuine solution helping pharmacies save money, find staff, fill shifts, and connect with suitable locums. Whether it’s an emergency shift, a long-term fill, or an additional resource to scale up or down depending on your pharmacy’s needs, we know that our locum pharmacists are solving plenty of staffing challenges.

So today, we’re delighted to announce that in the last three months, we’ve saved our retail pharmacies over $250,000 in premium agency fees alone. This means pharmacies have more freedom and flexibility in spending their money, affording them many more hours of locum resources.

And, with the Fair Work Commission announcing a 5.2% increase to minimum wages from July 1, we know that pharmacies are going to need to be more budget conscious than ever.

However, we’re also proud of the fact that we give pharmacies affordable locum support without compromising locum wages.

We’re committed to providing pharmacies with a fair and accessible service, one that also benefits locums with flexibility, choice in their rates and shifts, and control over their work.

To access our wide range of locums, and save on premium agency fees, join Locumate today.

The importance of planning ahead

Posted on June, 23 2022 | by Niamh Foley

Flexibility and Planning in Locum Pharmacy

One of the biggest drawcards of being a locum pharmacist is the flexibility of planning your work life it offers. Being able to work around your schedule and find and accept shifts that work for you – rather than the other way around – is crucial. Last minute shifts can help pharmacies who might suddenly be stuck without staff, and can be great for locums whose schedules might have changed and are happy to take quick shifts at short notice.

The Role of Long-Term Planning in Locum Work

But, whether you’re a pharmacy or a locum, it’s important to remember that locum work doesn’t always have to be last-minute. Something we’ve noticed on Locumate is that shifts in three, four, and even five months’ time are already starting to book out.

Advantages of Long-Term Planning for Locums

What this means is that locums have the choice to plan their schedule months in advance, being able to arrange work shifts around long-term plans such as travel, family celebrations or other commitments. It also means that in times of high demand, such as holiday seasons and public holidays, locums can accept shifts months ahead of time for peace of mind and planning purposes. If you’re working at multiple locations, getting ahead of your schedule can be a great organisational tool.

Planning Ahead: Benefits for Pharmacies

For pharmacies, the high demand for shifts in advance means it’s possible to plan schedules for the next quarter and beyond, also bringing peace of mind and organisation. Christmas might be six months away, but the further ahead you can plan for it, the more on top of it you’ll be when the time does come whizzing by and you’re suddenly in need of extra staff.

Locumate: A Tool for Effective Planning

Posting jobs in Locumate in advance can help you prepare for what you can. Of course, it’s impossible to plan everything, and last-minute shifts will always be an option for both pharmacies and locums. But next time you’re thinking beyond tomorrow, consider posting or accepting shifts in advance. Future (organised) you will thank you for it.