Charac, a healthcare software-as-a-service provider (SaaS), has acquired the Pro Delivery Manager (PDM) prescription delivery management system from its shareholders, which include the National Pharmacy Association, for an undisclosed sum.

PDM currently monitors and tracks 1.5 million prescription deliveries a month from community pharmacies to patients across the UK, says the new owner.

With the acquisition, Charac, which is in its fourth year of operation, now claims to be the largest patient relationship management SaaS platform in the UK, with 20 per cent of community pharmacies nationwide now using at least one module from its platform and access to 7.5 million patients.

Charac says it is on a mission to help community pharmacies across the UK to streamline operations, relieve time pressure, increase efficiency, and improve patient outcomes. Its platform allows pharmacists to manage repeat prescriptions, access patient records, create bookings and conduct consultations. “The acquisition of PDM will help connect the journey from order to delivery using pharmacies’ own delivery drivers, ensuring a streamlined delivery process.”

Santosh Sahu, Charac’s founder and CEO, said: “As a diabetic, I founded Charac as a result of my own difficulties tracking and receiving prescriptions. My vision was to ensure that millions of people across the country would not face the same anxiety in accessing prescriptions, and I am delighted to say that we are now one step closer to achieving that.”

Gary Jones, the Welsh pharmacist who created PDM, is still its managing director. “As a result of our deal with Charac, we can harness the company board’s collective 90 years of experience in market-leading tech and logistics to further improve our delivery systems for the benefit of UK pharmacies and their patients.”