Understanding how Closed Loop Medicines Management (CLMM) works in practice requires a clear view of the entire patient medication journey. Our service blueprints provide detailed visual maps of CLMM processes from hospital admission through to discharge, showing how digital systems, staff, and patients interact at each stage.
What are service blueprints?
Service blueprints are comprehensive process maps that visualise the complete medication management workflow in hospitals. They show the patient’s medication journey through key stages including prescribing, dispensing, administration, and discharge, whilst illustrating the digital systems, staff roles, and technology components involved at each step.
These blueprints help organisations understand how different levels of automation and digital integration can support safer, more efficient medicines management. They provide a high-level view of the “happy path” for CLMM implementation, offering a reference point for planning and discussion rather than prescribing a single approach.
High-level overview map
Our high-level overview map provides a concise introduction to the end-to-end CLMM process before you explore the detailed blueprints.
This single-page visual map traces the patient medication journey from hospital admission through to discharge, showing the key stages of CLMM — including initial assessment and prescribing, medicines retrieval, dispensing and storage, administration, and discharge — and how staff, technology, and standards work together at each point.
The overview map identifies the frontline actions of clinicians and nursing staff alongside the backstage actions of the pharmacy team, and highlights the key technology components and NHS and GS1 standards that underpin a safe, effective CLMM system. It is designed as an accessible reference for those new to CLMM or for use in stakeholder discussions and planning conversations.
The link to view and download the high-level overview map is at the bottom of this page.
Two levels of CLMM implementation
We’ve developed blueprints for two different levels of digital maturity, recognising that NHS trusts are at different stages of their digital transformation journey:
- Intermediate automation blueprint This blueprint shows CLMM processes using intermediate-level technology without automated drug cabinets (ADCs). It includes electronic prescribing systems, barcode scanning for patient identification and medication verification, dispensing robots, and digital stock management systems. This level is suitable for organisations building their CLMM capabilities or those working within infrastructure constraints.
- Advanced automation blueprint This blueprint illustrates a more comprehensive CLMM system incorporating automated drug cabinets alongside other digital technologies. It demonstrates how ADCs integrate with electronic prescribing systems, automated dispensing, and real-time stock management to create a highly automated medicines workflow. This represents a more mature digital implementation suitable for organisations with robust technical infrastructure.
The links to view and download these blueprints as PDFs are at the bottom of this page.
How to use these blueprints
These service blueprints are designed to support organisations at different stages of their CLMM journey. You can use them to:
- Understand the complete medication management workflow and identify opportunities for digital enhancement
- Compare your current processes against different levels of CLMM implementation
- Identify the systems, technologies, and integrations needed for CLMM
- Support business case development by visualising the end-to-end process
- Facilitate discussions with clinical teams, pharmacy staff, IT departments, and suppliers
- Plan phased implementation by understanding dependencies between different components
Important considerations
These blueprints provide a generic, high-level view of CLMM processes. They don’t include process deviations, specialty-specific workflows, or the unique approaches individual NHS trusts have developed. There is no single “correct” way to implement CLMM – each organisation will adapt these principles to suit their specific needs, digital maturity, and local context.
The blueprints include guidance on reading the maps, with keys explaining symbols, acronyms, technology components, and the different roles involved in medicines management.
Download the blueprints and overview map
High-level overview map
Intermediate automation blueprint