THE PATIENT PRESCRIPTION ORDER PROCESS   KEEPING HCPS AND PATIENTS INFORMED     THE SAMPLE ORDER PROCESS    THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE PROCESS    DRIVING SUSTAINABILITY  EXPLORE THE WAREHOUSE

Many of our customers are familiar with being able to place orders through our dedicated Hospital2Home team or via our eRegistration website. But what happens to a patient’s order once it has been processed?

In this article, we will explore the intricacies behind the patient ordering and fulfilment process, including:

• How healthcare professionals (HCPs) and patients stay informed about orders
• The dedicated individuals powering our operation
• Our commitment to sustainable practices through all aspects of our supply chain.

The patient prescription order process: getting the right products to the right patients

Fulfilling patient orders is more than just a series of steps. It’s a meticulous process carried out by a team of dedicated individuals, from the Hospital2Home customer service team to our warehouse operatives.

Our orders for patients are efficiently handled and dispatched from our Sittingbourne site directly to the patients' doors, while our meticulous procedures guarantee that the correct products are delivered to the right patients at the right time. The entire operation is carried out by a dedicated team of individuals and departments who oversee order checks, prescription reviews, and fulfillment to provide a reliable and accurate service.

A summary of this process and the intricate details behind the scenes is outlined below.

1. Patient stock check: The patients either place a stock check online via the Hospital2Home website, or a stock check is conducted over the phone by one of our Hospital2Home Coordinators. Stock checks occur every 28 days, typically ten days before the patient’s current stock is expected to run out.
2. Patient prescription order submission to Hospital2Home pharmacy team: The Hospital2Home pharmacy team confirms the receipt of a prescription and verifies it against the patient's record. If everything aligns, the order is submitted to the warehouse.
3. Warehouse patient prescription order picking: The warehouse team receives the order and carefully pick, label, and scan products, ensuring what has been picked matches the patient’s order details.
4. Order verification by Hospital2Home pharmacist: A Hospital2Home pharmacist checks the completed order against the delivery notes to ensure all the patient details align between the product and the paperwork. This ensures that the right products, in the right quantities, are sent to the right patient.
5. Product packaging: Orders are packaged ready for dispatch. All ancillary orders are packaged in sustainable paper mailing bags, aligning with Abbott's commitment to reducing its carbon footprint.
6. Prescription dispatch: Customer orders are dispatched via DPD directly to patients.
7. Order tracking: Both patients and HCPs can track the progress of the order in real-time.

Keeping HCPs and patients informed of their delivery status

Communicating with our patients and their HCPs is an essential part of the order process. We want to ensure patients know when to expect their delivery so they can be confident they will always have the feed and/or equipment they need. Our automated notification processes are in place to provide order visibility to both patients and their HCPs so everyone is kept informed of its progress in real time.

Keeping patients informed: If patients have registered on the Hospital2Home website and have provided their mobile number, they can track the status of their order online, and will receive delivery status notifications once their order has been dispatched.

Keeping HCPs informed: HCPs can access consignment details by logging in to their eRegistration account.

The Sample Order Process

Our direct-to-patient sample service is designed to enable HCPs to order samples of Abbott’s nutritional products directly for patients to be able to try different flavours and ONS presentations to find the right one for them.

Sample orders for patients are also distributed via our Sittingbourne site but follow a slightly different process.

The people behind the process:

Of course, our processes wouldn’t work without the hard work and dedication of the individuals behind the scenes. Meet some of the key individuals responsible for Abbott's smooth order processing:

Thanks to our exceptional team and efficient processes, in 2022, we achieved:

Driving sustainability:

Abbott is committed to reducing its environmental impact. The Sittingbourne facility is a zero-waste-to-landfill site and as part of our order processing, we have been working hard to find more sustainable and green ways of fulfilling patient orders. This is an ongoing process, but we have already made some excellent progress, including:

• Switching to paper bags for delivery to reduce cardboard usage.
• We now only use paper void filler instead of plastic for ancillary orders. Where we do use plastic void filler for other orders, this is made from 50% recycled content and is 100% reusable and recyclable.
• Collaborating with logistics companies to ensure environmentally friendly order transportation.

Explore the warehouse

Healthcare organisations have the opportunity to arrange site visits to our Sittingbourne facility, allowing them to witness our processes first-hand. We offer quarterly visits, upon appointment, to NHS organisations in all of our contract areas. If you would like to arrange a visit, contact your Contract Manager, who would be happy to organise this for you.

UK-N/A-2300473 | November 2023