Background
LloydsDirect, an online pharmacy and NHS service provider based in London, dispenses over 1 million prescription items per month, delivering medicine to patients at home and helping them in managing their healthcare needs. As the patient base grew, the company faced a significant issue with "split packs". Often, prescribed quantities of medication did not match the pack sizes that pharmacies could purchase. For example, a doctor typically prescribed 28 tablets of a medicine that was only available in packs of 32 or 100.
This discrepancy forced pharmacists to open larger packs, remove the excess medication, and dispose of it, resulting in huge amounts of wasted medication and over £240,000 per month in financial losses.
Company
LloydsDirect
Duration
3 months
Project team
Product Manager, Tech Lead, Data Analyst, 2 Front-End Engineers, Back-End Engineer, Product Designer.
A simplified view of the journey of an order in LloydsDirect, showing where dispensing and the splitting of packs happens in the wider context of the pharmacy operation.
Problem to solve
The primary goal of this project was to develop a process and tool to recover excess medication from split packs and reuse it for other patient orders, reducing waste while maintaining operational efficiency.
Project outcomes
We developed the recovery tool as a feature within our larger stock management tool, giving users access to all stock data and workflows in one place. The flow is made up of just 2 screens , after which recovered medication is added to the stock system and the dispensing flow resumes as normal.
Since its launch, the recovery process has had a significant impact on both the financial and operational health of LloydsDirect. To date, the solution has saved LloydsDirect over £800,000 and prevented more than 240,000 split packs from being disposed of, significantly advancing the company's journey towards profitability and maintaining BCorp status.
A key aspect of success was our focus on minimising disruption to the existing dispensary flow. As a result, the recovery process only marginally increased direct labour costs, making the solution cost effective and scalable. The project has also fostered a broader culture of waste prevention across the organisation and reinforced LloydsDirect's commitment to sustainability.
Key considerations
The team was given a very tight deadline, requiring me to move quickly and adapt my usual design process.
Patient safety was paramount, we needed to ensure clinical accuracy while iterating rapidly.
Given the high volume of medication and split packs being dispensed, any inefficiencies could lead to rising labour costs.
Effective communication between teams was crucial to prevent bottlenecks and avoid disruption to existing tools and processes.
The project team was made up of people who mostly hadn’t worked together before, adding a layer of complexity to both problem solving and team dynamics.
Discovery phase
I collaborated closely with senior stakeholders during the discovery phase to gain insight into their challenges, safety concerns, and operational needs. These ongoing discussions created a short feedback loop, enabling us to stay focused on solving the core problem while ensuring alignment with both user and business requirements.
Due to the tight deadline, there wasn’t scope to conduct a formal research phase, but I leveraged my years of experience in the Operations Technology team to share key insights about our systems, processes, and existing tools with the team. Through hybrid and in-person workshops, we quickly established a shared understanding of the complexities and challenges faced.
Developing a concept
The penny dropped when I realised that all we really needed was a way to create custom packs of medication in our stock system, something we had recently built for another project. By reusing and modifying existing tools, we could massively decrease the time and effort needed to build a working prototype.
I began by mapping the existing dispensary flow to identify where our new process could fit without causing massive disruption. I knew of an existing break in the dispensing software, where the process halts and a large modal appears on screen whenever a pack needs to be split. By inserting the new process here we could use this pre-existing signpost without changing the existing work flow for all other medications.
Pitching the idea
Focusing on simplicity, scalability and speed, I designed my concept, rough sketches of a reconfigured workbench, and mockups of a basic recovery tool to present to the team and stakeholders.
After fielding questions and feedback, I was able to refine the idea and reach agreement on an MVP. This allowed me to start fleshing out the core user flow and accompanying screens.
It was key to the success of this pitch to leverage storytelling and an openness to feedback, to ensure the entire team was on the same page and felt a sense of ownership for the idea.
An MVP ready for user testing
Leveraging existing features from our stock management system and using our design system for rapid prototyping, we were able to build a working MVP quickly. This approach saved significant time, allowing us to go from project kickoff to a functional prototype on a dispensary workbench in just seven weeks.
The process and tool were simple. When prompted, staff scanned the split pack in the recovery tool and input the leftover quantity. A pricing data set would determine if it was profitable to recover. If so, users would input a batch number and expiry date before printing a new medication label. This recovered medication was then put back into the stock system, ready to be picked for the next patient order.
The project team posing with the very first pack of medication to be split, recovered and then dispensed to one of our patients!
Improvements and optimisations
Simple UI and preventing errors
I simplified the form UI so that users could focus on speed and accuracy of inputs. By incorporating an oversized rendering of the recovery label, users could spot input errors before printing.
Designing for the physical context
It was vital that the tool was optimised for the pharmacy context which favours touch screen computers and barcode scanning. This meant minimising the need for a mouse and keyboard.
Speeding up inputs
Testing noted that inputting batch numbers and expiry dates with a keyboard was slow. I realised most medication packs have a special barcode containing this information which we could decode to save even more time.
The recovery tool is a feature within our larger stock management tool, giving users access to all stock data and workflows in one place. The flow is made up of just 2 screens and starts when a medication barcode is scanned. After inputting the required information, recovered medication is added to the stock system and the dispensing flow resumes as normal.
I created a dynamic label template for the project that accommodates variable product name lengths, unique barcodes, and product information which is populated and printed every time medication is recovered. This template was later implemented across the business in other projects, resulting in time and cost savings as well as a uniform label design for all custom stock.
A secondary requirement from the business was the ability to view and manage all recovered items within the stock system. I reused my previous design work to build new stock tables that prioritised showing the most valuable information to ops management. Again, this proved to have utility outside of the recovery initiative and was implemented across all custom stock types.
Key learnings
Considering physical context: This project reinforced the importance of considering both digital and physical aspects of product design. While intuitive UI is crucial, understanding the physical environment in which products are used is essential for success.
Resourcefulness as a tool: Rather than building from scratch, reusing and adapting existing work allowed us to develop the solution faster while also addressing tech debt, saving time and maturing our design system.
Stakeholders are team members: Involving stakeholders throughout the design process rather than just going to them for sign-off, fostered strong alignment and a shared sense of ownership across all teams.
Keep it simple: Prioritising clear communication and simplicity helped prevent over-engineering the solution and kept the team focused on solving the core business problem effectively.
What would I do differently?
Be more assertive: During early ideation, I hesitated to be assertive with my approach, despite knowing it was the most feasible. In hindsight, I should have been more confident in my understanding of the problem and my role as a senior team member.
Allocate more time for user testing: While we covered key steps in the design process, additional time for early user-testing feedback would have led to a smoother rollout. Even under tight deadlines, it's crucial to prioritise this phase before going live.
Address tech debt proactively: Much of the tech debt we encountered had been unresolved for years, consuming valuable time during a critical project. In future, I would advocate for scheduled time to address tech and design debt outside of projects, preventing unnecessary roadblocks in future initiatives.
Closing thoughts
This project highlighted how business and user-centered design can work in tandem to solve complex problems. By staying focused on the core business goals while prioritising user needs, I was able to deliver a solution that not only minimised waste but also significantly boosted profitability for LloydsDirect. It reinforced the importance of balancing both perspectives to achieve impactful, sustainable outcomes.
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