How is a pharmacy system always keeping a step ahead of technological development, while it is also kept stable and reliable? How can artificial intelligence be utilised to facilitate the operations of pharmacies? What are the functionalities and technologies that future pharmacies require? Receptum Software and the company’s managing director Antti Timonen take care of these issues.
Receptum has always invested in continuous development and the quick introduction of new technologies in order to offer pharmacies the best data system in the industry. Strong pharmaceutical expertise and personal software expertise have been utilised in the development of MAXX’s and Receptum’s other software together with the pharmaceutical software development of partners Vallisdata and Widian. This has been a combination, which cannot be found elsewhere in the Nordic countries.
Since software development and technological pioneering are prerequisites for modern success, Receptum decided to convene the best experts under the same roof. Receptum Software Oy was established in the autumn of 2019 as a result of combining three software development operators. Managing director of Receptum Software Antti Timonen, what does this mean?
“One reason for establishing Receptum Software was not only to maintain and continuously develop MAXX’s pharmaceutical solutions in Finland, Sweden and Norway, but also to further increase technological innovation in Receptum companies,” Timonen explains.
MAXX is continuously developed with quality in mind
Receptum Software is responsible for the development of MAXX and its new features. Various regulations and national and EU level reforms require MAXX to be constantly reformed in order for it to meet the current requirements concerning data privacy, security and other relevant requirements.
For such reforms to be carried out smoothly and in a user-friendly manner, a skilled and diverse team is required. Receptum Software consists of a team of 30 people, which includes both the company’s workers and long-term partners. Receptum Software is currently seeking more skilled professionals as there is plenty to do.
“In terms of our basic operations, we have recently implemented MAXX’s Vuosiomavastuu reform and Kantapalvelut’s e-prescription in Europe (E-prescriptions without borders). In other words, there is always something going on in the background,” Timonen says.
Timonen adds that it is also essential to ensure that everything is carried out in accordance with the ISO9001:2015 quality certificate Receptum holds. For example, to ensure keeping to schedules, the specification stage of the projects, the quality of the assessment of work amounts and the monitoring of actual hours is constantly developed.
“In addition, the quality of production is closely supervised by means of testing teams and the constant increase of automated testing. Good quality is associated with the fact that data security is in place and that the systems are functional as well as easy to use,” he says.
The main work task currently for Receptum and Receptum Software is to get the reformed prescription handling user interface into production in Finland. A lot of work has been carried out for its implementation and service design has been highly utilised by collecting user experiences.
Strongly involved in the development of pharmacy e-commerce in Sweden
The corona pandemic has further increased pharmacies’ interest towards e-commerce, both in Finland and elsewhere in the world.
“If pharmacy e-commerce in Finland has intensified due to the coronavirus situation, the growth percentages of pharmacy e-commerce in Sweden are measured in the thousands. Expertise in e-commerce is now of paramount importance,” Timonen explains.
Receptum Software’s experts and Receptum’s consultants have been involved in customising the pharmacy systems and e-commerce integrations of the largest online pharmacy stores in Sweden: Apotea, MEDS and Apohem are all Receptum’s customers, which are familiar to Timonen too.
“Receptum’s and Receptum Software’s experts have had the chance to participate as pioneers in the phenomenal growth of pharmacy e-commerce in Sweden. That experience and the relevant skills will also offer a lot of benefits in Finland,” Timonen says.
Involved in the development of a national pharmacy system in Norway
“In Norway, on the other hand, we are developing a national pharmacy system which, once completed, will serve approximately 900 pharmacies in Norway. Capgemini has the main responsibility for the project, but we have been developing an important part of the cloud-based entity that is based on wide-scale, most recent technological solutions,” Antti Timonen describes.
The national pharmacy system project in Norway has shown how strong Receptum consultants’ and Receptum Software experts’ skills are concerning new technologies and cloud-based solutions.
Artificial intelligence and automation are also opportunities for pharmacies
The pharmacy industry is quickly digitalising alongside other industries. Artificial intelligence and the automation of operations are the subject of debate everywhere. Receptum’s and Receptum Software’s experts are also constantly piloting the opportunities on how artificial intelligence could be used to improve, for example, the efficiency of pharmacy operations.
“Artificial intelligence could be used, for example, to make prescription handling quicker and easier,” Timonen says.
Antti Timonen suspects that Receptum Software will also be a desired partner in the development projects of pharmacies and the pharmacy sector when they require customised, unique solutions.
“We have already created, for example, extremely unique online store solutions for pharmacies. The fact that we are familiar with the authority interfaces in all Nordic countries also facilitates the creation of unique solutions for our customers that are based on the utilisation of these interfaces,” says Timonen.
The system needs of pharmacies and the pharmacy sector will change in the next few years in the Nordic countries as a result of increasing regulatory provisions, the development of e-commerce and the industry integration of the pharmacy sector and health care. Alongside industry-specific skills, the reform also requires strong technological expertise. As examples of reforms caused by major system changes, Timonen mentions National medication lists in Finland and Sweden in Sweden. According to him, Sweden is slightly ahead of Finland in this development.
The managing director of Receptum Software, Antti Timonen, relaxes by playing badminton and racquetball. His leisure time also involves dogs and spending time at his summer cabin. Timonen is also a veteran of Team Rynkeby, which raises funds for paediatric cancer research and for the support of families with children, who have cancer. Due to the pandemic, his 1,200-kilometre fundraising bicycle tour to Paris has been postponed to the summer of 2021.
