EY’s scheduling team will contact your pharmacy to confirm your assessment date. In order to schedule all 5000+ assessments centrally and efficiently, EY can only exercise limited flexibility in the scheduling process. While EY will try to be flexible where possible, it is up to the pharmacy to accommodate the assessment date.
 
All pharmacies should be ready to be assessed under the program at any point, and therefore variations to the identified assessment date can only be granted in exceptional circumstances.
 
Exceptional circumstances are considered to be events that have an immediate impact in the pharmacy’s ability to deliver regular services and where the pharmacy has done all reasonable action to mitigate impact to maintain their reaccreditation (out of the pharmacy’s control). Examples might include a recent burglary or fire, significant renovations, or natural disaster.
 
The following are not considered to be exceptional circumstances, and will not result in a reschedule:
·         The pharmacy needs more time to prepare for the assessment
·         The relevant QCPP coordinator does not work on the scheduled day
·         The pharmacy would prefer their assessment as close as possible to their accreditation date
·         The pharmacy is low on staff due to annual leave/standard rostering on specific days of the week
·         The pharmacy is under new management (in this circumstance the owner should consider applying for an extension)
·         Staff changes (e.g. new QCPP coordinator appointed)

EY appreciate your cooperation in this process, and where possible will work to accommodate your pharmacy's specific circumstances.

Find out more!

 

Visit the Contact Us page on the QCPP website for more information about who can help you with the accreditation process, and how.

The EY QCPP Team has brought together EY’s non-financial audit specialists with in-house registered community pharmacists, lead assessors from the previous QCPP assessment team and an advisory committee of pharmacy industry leaders to improve how QCPP assessments are conducted.
 
These improvements mean the QCPP assessment checklist has been tailored to be more risk-focused and outcomes based.

EY Australia will rely on its team of specialists who have proven experience in delivering management system audits, and have performed more than 12,000 specialist on-site assessments over the last three years.
 
While the QCPP requirements remain the same, the revised assessment checklist has been tailored by EY’s pharmacist subject-matter experts in consultation with QCPP to apply a streamlined approach to assessing pharmacy’s management of key risks.
                  
This will deliver a more efficient assessment process for pharmacies and will focus both on the quality management system and actual behaviours demonstrated in the pharmacies.

EY’s process and associated quality controls will also mean that pharmacies receive a more consistent assessment process across Australia.       
 
EY’s assessment team comes with broad technical backgrounds and includes pharmacists, engineers, private investigators, accountants, scientists and lawyers.

They have extensive experience in performing on-site audits over a broad range of management systems including health and safety, quality, environment, financial, human resources and energy management systems.

In addition, all EY’s assessors have undergone specific QCPP training inclusive of on-site assessments by experienced QCPP assessors prior to being deployed.
 

QCPP Program Assessment Rules Update

The updated rules are available on the QCPP website. We recommend you download a copy of the rules and keep them in your QCPP Requirements Manual.
 
The updated rules reflect a minor administrative change only. This update, effective immediately, allows for a more efficient, supportive and effective assessment process. Pharmacies do not need to do anything different to prepare for QCPP Assessment.
 
Pharmacies may notice they no longer receive a score at QCPP Assessment, as ‘the 90% rule’ [Rule 19] has been replaced with a conformance/non-conformance assessment methodology. 

Consistent with this methodology, pharmacies will no longer receive remedial actions for non-mandatory requirements.
 
If you have any questions about the updated Program and Assessment Rules, please contact the QCPP Helpline on 1300 363 340.

Learn more about the update

Assessor Spotlight

Laura Mulligan, Lead Assessor

• Laura registered as a pharmacist in 2007 and has worked in community pharmacies in Victoria and South Australia
• Laura joined EY in 2014, where she now assists companies in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sector with developing pricing models for the international transfer of goods, services and intellectual property
• Laura has worked on revising the QCPP assessment checklist to improve the consistency and efficiency of the assessments, whilst ensuring they still meet the requirements of the Quality Care Pharmacy standard

Employers never forget good employees. They also never forget the bad ones.

Sometimes it’s out of the employer’s hand to fix or improve employee’s declining work performance, but more often than not it’s a problem that can be solved.

Unresolved employee performance issues can lead to serious problems for your business including a decrease in productivity, high turnover and unhappy customers.  

That’s why it’s vital you have a structured and maintained approach to conducting performance reviews with your workers.

There are many reasons why pharmacy businesses would benefit from a performance review system. They allow you to define roles and responsibilities, promote a culture of open communication and can even empower staff.

Staff have an opportunity to reflect, consolidate, plan and review their work performance. Employees also have a chance to show how they can actively contribute to your business in a meaningful way.

Preparing for an employee performance review

So you’ve booked in a time to discuss your employee’s performance. What now? Here are a few tips to help you get started:

• The first thing you need to do is pick a template or review style. There are many different ways to conduct a performance review. Pick the best one that suits your management style. QCPP also have performance review templates to help you get started.
• Define your employee’s goals. Have a clear idea of what key performance indicators your employees are working towards. This ensures they are interested in working towards these goals as part of their job.
• Review job descriptions. Refresh yourself on their documented job descriptions and update their duties if needed.

Conducting the review

Now you are both in the room, it’s time to discuss your employee’s performance. Here are a few key points to remember during the meeting:

• It’s an opportunity to discuss career development. After the review is done you can discuss your employees’ abilities and plan how they can further develop their career while still achieving business goals.
• Praise work achievements. This is a chance to recognise employees who have performed well during the evaluated time-frame. Recognising employees for their achievements helps builds morale.
• Prepare for feedback. You may also like to ask staff to provide feedback on your performance or on the business as well. Acknowledging concerns and comments from your staff will ensure they feel recognised and understood.

After the review

The review should produce a review document both you and the employee can reference. It should serve as a reminder of goals, KPIs and specific duties. Here are some other things to consider after the review:

• Make sure you both agree on outcomes and set goals. You have the outcomes and goals, but does your employee understand and agree on these changes?
• Don’t wait until the performance review to clear the air. If your employee is becoming increasingly unmotivated or has shown a behaviour that’s unsuitable, it’s best to deal with the issue earlier rather than waiting for a scheduled performance review.
• Performance reviews not your style? If you find you don’t like the traditional style, transition away from a formal conversation to a structured chat every two weeks or month. Or why not give employees time throughout the quarter to reflect on performance to improve it.

Need a little extra help in conducting employee performance reviews? Log into the Knowledge Hub to check out Element 14 - Managing staff for advice on what to include in your reviews.

Log in to read Element 14 - Managing Staff

 

A performance review is more than just a conversation, it’s an opportunity to gain a better understanding of your employee’s performance and how it reflects your business goals.