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From local pharmacies to dental clinics, the safe handling of pharmaceuticals and controlled substances is a matter of national trust. In Switzerland, specialized authorities conduct thousands of inspections to ensure medications — including narcotics — are stored, administered, and documented according to strict legal and ethical standards.
Yet until recently, those inspections were weighed down by outdated tools. Word files, Excel sheets, handwritten notes, and photos taken on separate devices made the process inefficient, inconsistent, and error-prone. Reports were often delayed. Findings were harder to track. And auditors spent as much time compiling documents as conducting inspections.
To change that, one leading inspection authority turned to flowdit — a digital inspection platform designed to bring structure, speed, and clarity to even the most regulated environments.
A Mission to Ensure Safe Medicine Management
Switzerland’s inspection regime for pharmaceuticals is among the most rigorous in the world. Inspectors are tasked with auditing a wide range of institutions — including pharmacies, medical practices, dental offices, and drugstores — to ensure compliance with national and cantonal regulations.
Inspections cover storage conditions, expiry management, inventory records, prescription logs, and the handling of narcotics. Deviations must be carefully documented, followed up with formal reports, and tracked for resolution.
But the authority’s own process was fragmented. Inspections relied on printed templates or Word documents. Notes were sometimes typed after the fact. Photos were taken on mobile phones and transferred manually. Data entry errors crept in. And inspectors had little flexibility to adapt checklists in the field.
“It wasn’t the standard of our inspections that was the problem,” said one internal project lead. “It was how much time we spent stitching everything together afterwards.”
One App to Unite Checklists, Photos, and Reports
The search for a better solution began with a simple goal: a single digital tool that could manage the entire inspection lifecycle. That meant customizable checklists, real-time photo documentation, automated data exports, and an intuitive interface for use during on-site inspections.
After reviewing multiple vendors, the team discovered flowdit. Unlike other platforms, flowdit allowed inspectors to design their own checklists, integrate branching logic, and embed photos directly into findings — all without needing developer support or third-party integration.
With a demo in hand, the team began testing flowdit in live inspections — and immediately saw results.
From Excel Files to Intelligent Workflows
Inspections that once required juggling between laptop, clipboard, and camera could now be completed entirely within the flowdit app. Findings were logged step-by-step using structured digital checklists. Suspected irregularities could be supported with photos taken on the spot and automatically embedded into the inspection record.
flowdit’s flexible form builder allowed the authority to replicate and enhance their existing checklists. They added dropdowns, text fields, conditional logic, and scoring — all tailored to the unique requirements of pharmaceutical compliance.
Inspectors could close reports on-site, have them reviewed or confirmed by responsible staff, and automatically generate a structured report that included all findings and documentation. No more copy-pasting between Word, email, and image folders.
Critically, the digital format also eliminated manual transcription errors — a key pain point when documenting controlled substances and narcotics, where accuracy is paramount.
Immediate Benefits — With Room to Scale
Even during its test phase, the benefits of flowdit were clear. Inspectors reported faster data entry, fewer mistakes, and a more streamlined experience both for themselves and for the facilities being audited.
Key advantages included:
- Real-time documentation and validation
- Integrated photo evidence, captured and tagged automatically
- Easy customization without IT dependency
- Clear structure for defect scoring and summary
- Efficient turnaround for inspection reports
At the end of each inspection, data is compiled into a final report with an attached checklist — sent directly to the audited business for official response and correction. Where previously this process could take days or even weeks, it now happens in near real time.
“The simplicity of the app is what won our team over,” the project manager said. “It feels like we’ve gained back hours of time — and confidence that nothing’s falling through the cracks.”
Setting a New Digital Standard in Health Regulation
Today, flowdit is being used across multiple cantons and regions to support inspections in the pharmaceutical field. It brings structure to complex regulations, reduces administrative load, and helps ensure critical health standards are met and documented thoroughly.
In the future, the authority plans to expand its use of flowdit into other inspection types — including medical devices, storage facilities, and environmental hygiene checks — using the same flexible templates and mobile-first workflows that made pharmaceutical inspections a success.
By turning a fragmented process into a digital best practice, this Swiss health authority is setting a new benchmark for how regulatory inspections can be managed — without compromising on precision, transparency, or accountability.
Still conducting regulated inspections with Word, Excel, and email?
