RURAL communities across Scotland could have their pharmacy services revolutionized by 'robotic kiosks' in future.
A team from The University of Aberdeen are trialling a robotic pharmacy kiosk in Aberdeenshire which allows patients to talk to a pharmacist remotely via a web cam to have prescription medicines dispensed.
The kiosk has taken four years to develop at a total project cost of around £150,000 and is currently being trialled in the Aberdeenshire village of Inverallochy, linked to its 'hub' pharmacy in nearby Fraserburgh.
The project is part-funded by the Scottish Government and has been developed in conjunction with international digital services company Atos, and in partnership with ARX UK, NHS Grampian, the Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh and Robert Gordon University hopes to inform the debate surrounding the best way to deliver healthcare in rural areas.
Professor Christine Bond, chair in general practice and primary care at the University of Aberdeen said the robotic kiosk acts like a vending machine and is kept within a local post office.
Prescriptions are fed through the secure machine which has a video link to a pharmacist and will arrange to have medicines deposited into the kiosk with a delivery delay, which can then be picked up there later in the day.
The machine itself only stocks counter medicines you can get from any pharmacy.
"The role of the pharmacist and the services they provide has expanded greatly in recent years so in rural areas where it is not financially viable to have a pharmacy, the local community are disadvantaged, " she said.
She added: "People in rural areas are faced with having to travel further to access a pharmacist and as such there is the risk they may be more likely just to buy medicine without taking advice from a pharmacist.
"My research is focussed on the safe supply of medicines - both non-prescription and prescription. Originally we were tasked with exploring whether pharmacy services could be supplied remotely via a video link but then we were introduced to Atos and they were able to bring their expertise to the project."
David Green, systems integration business director for Atos in Scotland, said the kiosk could deliver a viable solution to some of the challenges of healthcare in rural communities.
He said: "This exciting innovation in patient care will extend existing community pharmacy and ePharmacy services and offer the chance to test the kiosk's potential to provide new additional services which are integrated with existing NHSScotland systems and services".
As well as being able to speak directly with a pharmacist and collect dispensed medicines, the kiosk also allows access to other standard pharmacy services such as the Minor Ailment Service (MAS).
The MAS allows those who are entitled to them to receive Community Pharmacy advice and in some cases receive dispensed prescriptions that would otherwise require a visit to a GP Practice.
Professor Bond added: "This is a research project so the reality of taking the kiosk forward as a viable solution to the needs of rural communities will face a number of hurdles. Having said that, I think there is considerable scope to expand the kind of services and connectivity the kiosk could have so there are challenges, but also opportunities."
The north-east has played host to a long running dispute over pharmacy dispensing, with local residents bemoaning changes to services after a court ruling meant doctor's surgeries with a pharmacy in the vicinity could no longer dispense medicine.
The Haddo Medical practice in Tarves was ordered to stop dispensing medicines after the owner of a local pharmacy took NHS Grampian to the court of Session, who ruled the surgery's arrangement was unlawful forcing the health board to rule that only those with an "acute" need, who had no access to a car on the day of their appointment, would be able to get their prescription direct from their surgery.
The potential new robotic kiosks may provide further scope for legal challenges in future as rural communities seek to maintain high levels of provision.
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