As community pharmacy chains look to scale services and improve dispensing efficiency, one operational model is gaining momentum: the hub-and-spoke system. In this approach, a central 'hub' pharmacy prepares medications -often including blister packs- for multiple 'spoke' branches, enabling greater consistency, lower costs, and reduced onsite workload.
This article explains exactly what a hub-and-spoke model is, how it supports pharmacy automation, and why it’s increasingly adopted in UK community pharmacy. We’ll break down its core components, clarify common misconceptions, and show how it enables multi-site teams to maintain high safety standards at scale.
Featuring a case study from Spivack Pharmacy, we’ll also illustrate how this model works in the real world - from technician workflow improvements to centralised quality control. Whether you're managing two sites or twenty, this guide provides a clear, answer-first explanation of hub-and-spoke automation - structured for clarity, voice search, and strategic adoption. With NHS emphasis on safe, scalable adherence delivery, hub-and-spoke automation helps pharmacies future-proof their operations while remaining compliant and competitive.
What Is a Hub-and-Spoke Model?
A hub-and-spoke model in pharmacy automation is a centralised system where one “hub” pharmacy is responsible for preparing medications - typically blister packs or monitored dosage systems (MDS) - for distribution to multiple “spoke” branches. Rather than having each site prepare its own packs manually, the hub handles dispensing at scale using automation, while the spokes focus on patient interaction, delivery, and clinical services.
This model is increasingly common among community pharmacy chains aiming to reduce duplication, improve safety, and standardise workflows. At the hub, technologies like the Omnicell VBM 200F automate the filling, sealing, and labelling of medication adherence packs. Each spoke receives fully prepared medication trays, ready for handoff to patients.
The result is a system that combines high-efficiency central production with decentralised patient service. It reduces onsite workload at spoke locations, ensures uniform quality standards, and simplifies technician training across the network.
In the UK, the hub-and-spoke model is viewed as a scalable answer to workforce shortages, rising prescription volumes, and stricter regulatory demands. It also helps pharmacies deliver on NHS priorities around medication safety, accountability, and digital traceability.
Put simply, a hub-and-spoke system is about doing one thing -dispensing - exceptionally well in one place, so that every site can focus more on care.
Why Use a Hub-and-Spoke in Community Pharmacy?
Community pharmacies are under increasing pressure to deliver more services with fewer resources. Rising prescription volumes, workforce shortages, and tighter regulatory scrutiny make it harder to maintain safety and consistency, especially across multiple branches. That’s why the hub-and-spoke model is gaining traction as a practical solution for pharmacy chains seeking efficiency without sacrificing care quality.
In a traditional model, each pharmacy handles its own dispensing, packing, and labelling -often manually. This leads to duplication of effort, variable output, and high staff workload. When one branch is short-staffed or overwhelmed, quality and turnaround time can suffer.
A hub-and-spoke setup addresses this by moving the labour-intensive task of medication preparation to a central hub. Using automation, the hub standardises workflows, reduces manual handling, and improves accuracy. Each spoke branch receives pre-filled adherence packs or medication trays, ready for final handoff to patients.
This approach improves overall productivity. Technicians at spoke locations spend less time packing and more time supporting pharmacists or handling clinical services like flu jabs, Medicines Use Reviews (MURs), or patient consultations. It also makes staffing more flexible: centralised prep reduces the burden on smaller or lower-volume sites.
The model also supports better regulatory compliance. Automation at the hub generates digital logs, ensures consistent labelling, and integrates with pharmacy management systems. This improves traceability, supports NHS inspections, and reduces the likelihood of errors that could harm patients or trigger audits.
In the context of NHS long-term goals - including digital maturity, medication adherence, and integrated care - hub-and-spoke automation helps pharmacies align with policy, scale safely, and improve outcomes across every site. For chain owners, it’s not just an operational shift - it’s a strategic advantage. By shifting manual workload away from patient-facing teams, hub-and-spoke models free up capacity for clinical services that generate revenue and meet NHS objectives and funding priorities.
Key Components of a Hub-and-Spoke Workflow
A successful hub-and-spoke pharmacy automation system relies on several key components working together to ensure safe, efficient, and standardised dispensing across multiple locations. These elements form the backbone of a scalable, compliant operation.
1. Centralised Automation Equipment (Hub):
At the core is an automated dispensing system - such as the Omnicell VBM 200F - that handles blister pack filling, sealing, and labelling. This hardware ensures consistency, speed, and accuracy, reducing human error and saving technician hours.
2. Integration with Pharmacy Management Software:
To avoid manual data duplication, the automation system must connect with the pharmacy’s clinical and dispensing software. This allows real-time syncing of prescriptions, patient records, and inventory - ensuring traceability and efficiency.
3. Secure Distribution Protocols:
Once packs are prepared at the hub, secure logistics must be in place to transport them to spoke locations. Temperature control, tamper-proof packaging, and barcode verification are often used to maintain integrity and accountability.
4. SOP Alignment and Training Templates:
All staff must operate under a unified set of SOPs. These standard operating procedures should be digitised and embedded into workflows via training guides, checklists, or automation prompts - especially important when staff rotate between sites.
5. Spoke-Level Interfaces and Handover:
While the hub handles dispensing, spokes manage patient interaction. Systems at the spoke sites should allow staff to confirm receipt, log handovers, and add local notes - —all feeding back into the central record.
6. Dashboard and Reporting Tools:
To manage performance across the network, hub managers need real-time dashboards showing production rates, error flags, and delivery confirmations. This ensures that issues are caught early and processes remain compliant.
Together, these components create a seamless loop of production, distribution, and care - one that scales easily and delivers value across every link in the chain.
Recent Legislative Changes to Hub-and-Spoke Dispensing in the UK
In 2025, a significant legislative change expanded how hub-and-spoke dispensing can operate across community pharmacy in the UK. Historically, hub-and-spoke arrangements were limited to pharmacies within the same legal entity. This meant that only large chains or groups under common ownership could centralise dispensing activities. Independent pharmacies and smaller groups were effectively excluded from using shared hub models, even where automation and logistics made them viable.That changed with the introduction of the Human Medicines (Amendments Relating to Hub and Spoke Dispensing) Regulations 2025, which came into force in October 2025. The updated legislation allows separate retail pharmacy businesses to work together within a hub-and-spoke framework for the first time.Under the revised rules, a spoke pharmacy can send prescriptions to a designated hub operated by another pharmacy business for assembly. The completed medicines are then returned to the spoke for supply to the patient. This model - often referred to as Model 1 hub-and-spoke - is designed to improve efficiency while maintaining clear accountability and patient safety.To support safe implementation, the legislation includes specific requirements. Pharmacies must have written agreements defining responsibilities, ensure accurate labelling and traceability, display clear notices to patients, and maintain secure data-sharing arrangements. These safeguards help ensure compliance with NHS expectations and regulatory oversight while enabling more flexible dispensing models. For community pharmacies, this change is transformative. It opens access to centralised dispensing and automation beyond corporate chains, allowing independents and small groups to collaborate, reduce manual workload, and scale services safely. As a result, hub-and-spoke automation is no longer a future concept in UK pharmacy - it is now a legally supported operational model.
Common Misconceptions
Despite its growing popularity, the hub-and-spoke model in pharmacy still suffers from a few persistent misconceptions - particularly among small-to-mid-sized community operators. Clarifying these myths is essential for pharmacy leaders weighing up their options.
Myth 1: “It’s only for large chains.”
This is one of the most common misunderstandings. While larger groups may be early adopters, even pharmacies with two or three locations can benefit from centralising blister pack preparation. A modest hub with automation can serve multiple spokes cost-effectively without requiring a corporate-scale footprint. Recent regulatory changes have further expanded access, allowing separate pharmacy businesses to collaborate within hub-and-spoke arrangements.
Myth 2: “It removes patient contact.”
On the contrary, spoke locations often gain more capacity for patient engagement. With dispensing shifted to the hub, staff at the branches have more time for consultations, vaccinations, and clinical reviews - activities that boost revenue and care quality.
Myth 3: “It’s too complex to implement.”
Like any operational change, hub-and-spoke requires planning - but not necessarily disruption. Vendors like Omnicell provide onboarding support, software integration, training, and layout planning. When done right, implementation can be phased in gradually without interrupting day-to-day services.
Myth 4: “We’ll lose control over quality.”
In fact, centralising dispensing can improve quality. Automated systems enforce standardisation, track every action, and generate audit logs. This improves oversight and simplifies NHS compliance compared to manual, site-specific practices.
Myth 5: “All automation is the same.”
Not all systems are designed for multi-site central fill. Choosing hardware and software built for the hub-and-spoke model is key. Look for tools with dashboard access, barcode verification, and role-based workflows.
Breaking these myths helps pharmacy chains of any size see hub-and-spoke for what it is: a practical, scalable model that boosts consistency, saves time, and strengthens patient outcomes - without sacrificing flexibility or care.
Case Study: Spivack Pharmacy’s Workflow Gains
Spivack Pharmacy, a progressive community pharmacy in the UK, faced the growing challenge of maintaining efficiency while managing a rising number of monitored dosage system (MDS) patients across multiple locations. Manual pack preparation was stretching technician resources thin and limiting capacity for growth.
To address this, the pharmacy implemented a hub-and-spoke model using Omnicell’s VBM 200F automated blister pack system. The VBM 200F was installed at a central hub location, while spoke sites focused on patient services, consultations, and local deliveries. The goal was to reduce repetitive workload, standardise quality, and create a scalable dispensing model.
The transformation was immediate. Technicians who previously spent hours manually preparing trays were now managing an automated, barcode-verified workflow. Packs produced at the hub followed uniform standards and arrived at spoke sites ready for patient distribution - reducing in-store congestion and turnaround time.
Operationally, the pharmacy reported fewer errors and near misses. Spoke teams could rely on predictable delivery schedules and spend more time with patients. Staff morale improved, particularly among technicians who now felt their roles were more meaningful and less physically repetitive.
The hub-and-spoke system also streamlined regulatory compliance. Every pack came with a digital audit trail and integrated seamlessly into the pharmacy’s software system, supporting accuracy checks, labelling compliance, and NHS inspection readiness.
Importantly, the model gave Spivack flexibility. During staffing shortages or unexpected surges, resources could be shifted more easily between sites without compromising care standards. What began as a solution for workflow fatigue quickly evolved into a full strategic model for scalable, high-quality dispensing.
Spivack Pharmacy’s experience highlights how even independent community operators can unlock big-chain efficiency - without losing the local patient relationships that define their value¹.
Benefits at Scale
As pharmacy chains grow, so too does the complexity of maintaining safety, consistency, and service quality across all locations. This is where the hub-and-spoke model truly delivers its value - by enabling scalable infrastructure that keeps standards high while controlling costs.
At scale, hub-and-spoke systems reduce duplication. Rather than having every site buy and maintain its own equipment or manage separate SOPs, chains centralise critical functions. This reduces capital expenditure, simplifies training, and makes maintenance more manageable.
From a regulatory perspective, automation at the hub ensures uniform compliance. Barcode verification, audit trails, and system-generated labelling help pharmacies meet NHS safety standards and respond confidently to inspections. These tools create a centralised record of accuracy, greatly reducing the risk of non-compliance.
Data access improves as well. Centralised dashboards make it easier to track throughput, spot performance gaps, and deploy resources where they’re needed most. Chain managers gain visibility across sites, leading to faster decisions and better accountability.
Hub-and-spoke also supports strategic alignment. Whether preparing for NHS digital transformation goals or collaborating with integrated care boards (ICBs), standardised, automated dispensing shows maturity and operational discipline. It’s a competitive edge in contract discussions, funding bids, and strategic partnerships.
Most importantly, it’s patient-centric. By lifting dispensing workload off local sites, pharmacy teams can focus more on patient communication, clinical services, and health interventions that truly make a difference.
In short, as your pharmacy network expands, the hub-and-spoke model becomes less of an innovation - and more of a foundation.
Conclusion + Take aways
The hub-and-spoke model is no longer a future concept - it’s a proven strategy that helps community pharmacies operate with greater consistency, lower cost, and higher patient satisfaction. For pharmacy chains navigating workforce challenges, regulatory scrutiny, or service expansion, this model offers a clear path forward.
By shifting pack production and repetitive tasks to a central hub, spoke locations regain the time and flexibility needed to focus on what matters most: patient care. Whether through flu vaccinations, Medicines Use Reviews (MURs), or personalised consultations, pharmacy teams can add clinical value while automation handles the rest.
As seen in the case of Spivack Pharmacy, even independent operators can scale with confidence by combining automation with smart logistics and software integration. The key is choosing the right technology partner and building SOPs that support repeatability across every site.
For decision-makers, the takeaway is simple: the hub-and-spoke model helps your business grow without sacrificing quality. It aligns your operations with NHS goals, simplifies inspections, and empowers staff to do more of what patients truly need.
If you're looking to future-proof your dispensing operations, the hub-and-spoke model isn’t just a good idea - it’s becoming a best practice.
FAQ
What is a hub-and-spoke model in pharmacy?
It’s a system where one central “hub” prepares medications for multiple “spoke” branches, improving consistency, efficiency, and scalability.
How does automation support the hub-and-spoke model?
Automation standardises blister pack filling, reduces human error, and speeds up production - freeing spoke sites to focus on patient care.
Can small chains use a hub-and-spoke model?
Yes. Even pharmacies with 2–3 branches can benefit by centralising MDS pack preparation and reducing duplication across sites.
Is the hub-and-spoke model compliant with NHS standards?
Absolutely. It supports audit trails, barcode verification, and digital records - aligning with NHS safety and inspection requirements.
Does it replace pharmacists or reduce patient contact?
No. It shifts technical workload away from the branches, giving pharmacy teams more time for consultations, vaccinations, and services.
How does it improve scalability?
It lets you add sites or patients without linearly increasing staffing or overhead - ideal for growing chains or ICB-aligned partnerships.
Citations¹ Spivack Pharmacy Case Study – VBM MDS Video
https://www.omnicell.co.uk/resource-library/videos/spivack-pharmacy-vbm-mds-video22
