“I find it hard to imagine any other team being as deeply committed to continuously improving their solution for clinicians and patients,” is how Adrian Aggett describes his team at Better Meds.
Adrian is a Client Director for both Better Meds and Better Platform on our UK & Ireland team. Throughout his time at Better, he has developed strong relationships with our partners and customers in the UK. And what is the one thing that stands out for him in his work with different clients? “Passion. Their unwavering focus on improving patient outcomes is admirable, and it drives me to match that energy in how I support them,” he said. Besides being a passionate advocate of medication management, Adrian is also an active athlete who does Taekwondo. And how does he see the role of Better in the future? “To continue innovating, collaborating with NHS partners, and delivering solutions that put patient safety at the heart of digital transformation,” Adrian said. Get to know Adrian better in the interview below.
What does a normal working day look like for you as a Client Director, and what are the parts of your work you enjoy the most?
I recently joked at a meeting when I was introducing myself to a client for the first time, that I do everything and yet I do nothing. What I mean by that is I am not one of our clinical or technical experts, who do cool stuff, so I cannot add value in that respect. However, I see myself as the fixer bringing everything/everyone together, so they can continue to perform their cool stuff.
What does a normal day look like? I don’t think there is such a thing as a normal day, and that is what I enjoy the most. Of course, my main role is to maintain and grow relationships with our UK clients – I truly enjoy speaking with them and am always in awe of the great work they do to improve digital processes with the sole aim of improving patient safety and experience. Aside from client management, my day often involves focusing on the commercial aspects of the UK business, and I can often be found looking at contracts and frameworks.
You have seen ePMA systems evolve over the years. What do you think distinguishes Better Meds in how it supports clinicians and improves patient safety?
What immediately stands out to me about Better Meds is the genuine passion of the entire team behind the product. While I can’t speak with certainty about other ePMA providers, I find it hard to imagine any other team being as deeply committed to continuously improving their solution for clinicians and patients. The level of user engagement is truly remarkable, and every new piece of functionality is developed with meticulous care and a clear focus on meeting real clinical needs.
What have you learned from the clinicians and pharmacists you work with that now helps you support them better?
Passion. That is the word that defines what I have learned most from the clinicians and pharmacists I work with. Their unwavering focus on improving patient outcomes is admirable, and it drives me to match that energy in how I support them. By support, I don’t mean I can improve code or clinical pathways within Better Meds (remember, the cool people here do that), but I do make it my mission to solve the problems they face, whether through finding practical solutions or connecting them with someone in Better or within my network who can help. Their passion fuels mine.
You have worked with and supported NHS Trusts for quite some time now. What is the most important ingredient in building strong, long-term relationships with NHS Trusts and partners?
I believe the most important ingredient is being genuine. I bring my personality into everything I do, hopefully with a bit of humour (though others may disagree!); above all, I aim to be myself. Relationships with Trusts and partners are built on trust, and that starts with authenticity. At the end of the day, it is about people working with people. That phrase gets used a lot, but it is true. Trusts and partners need to know you are consistently doing your best for them, and that you genuinely care about the outcomes.
From your perspective, what are some of the common challenges healthcare organisations face when implementing digital medication management systems? How do you help them navigate those?
Historically, I would have said adoption was the most common challenge, particularly among staff accustomed to legacy systems who may not see the need to change. While that challenge still exists, I believe interoperability has now become a more pressing issue.
Trusts often operate with hundreds of different clinical systems across their estates. For digital medication management to be effective, these systems need to communicate seamlessly to ensure patient records are accurate and up to date when needed. However, many of these systems “speak” slightly different languages, making integration complex. Solving this requires the use of APIs and adherence to structured data standards, which can be technically and operationally challenging.
As we have established, there is little technically I can do myself, but I do sign post these issues early with clients and know we have some of the best in the business when it comes to making systems talk.
When you look ahead five to ten years, what do you hope digital medication management will look like in the NHS? What role would Better play in making that vision a reality?
I recently came across a statistic stating 66 million potentially clinically significant medication errors occur in the UK annually and contribute to 1,708 deaths*. These figures highlight the need for safer, smarter digital medication management across the NHS.
Looking ahead five to ten years, I hope to see a dramatic reduction in prescribing errors, driven by intelligent systems that actively support clinicians in making safer, more informed decisions. Digital medication management should not only streamline workflows but also act as a safeguard against avoidable adverse drug events.
At Better, I see firsthand how the Meds Product Team is relentlessly refining Better Meds to achieve exactly that. Their focus on usability, clinical decision support, and error prevention is already making a difference. A great example is the Antimicrobial Stewardship Dashboard, which empowers clinicians with real time insights to improve prescribing practices and patient outcomes.
The role of Better in this future is clear: to continue innovating, collaborating with NHS partners, and delivering solutions that put patient safety at the heart of digital transformation.
You are part of the Better UK team. How do you engage within the team while you all work remotely, and how do you keep close ties with the rest of the company in Slovenia?
I don’t find remote working a challenge at all as I have essentially been working remotely for over 15 years. Our UK team is very close-knit, and we are constantly collaborating on projects, which means we are on multiple Teams calls together throughout the week. We also have a regular Friday morning catch-up where we reflect on the week and plan ahead.
Beyond the regular virtual meetings, we have maintained a long-standing tradition of meeting in person at least once a quarter. The location is chosen by whoever is organising the meeting. Recently, we have gathered in Cardiff, Leeds, and Colchester, and next month, we are all heading to Slovenia for a companywide teambuilding event.
Maintaining strong ties with my colleagues in Slovenia is essential. I couldn’t do what I do without the close working relationships we have built. We rely on each other equally, and effective communication is key. I would like to think I have made some good friends across both the UK and Slovenia teams, which makes collaboration not just productive, but genuinely enjoyable.
You said that you draw inspiration from seeing technology improve patient care. What other personal values drive your work?
My dad taught me the value of working hard and that is something I have tried to embed in whatever I do in my life.
Outside of healthcare IT, what inspires or motivates you? How does it help you recharge or gain a fresh perspective?
I do like to exercise, and my happy place is either in the gym or on a run. I am lucky enough to live by the sea, so I can be running next to a beach within 10 minutes from leaving my home. Exercise lets me recharge and just forget about everything for a moment. I am also returning back to my long-term passion of Taekwondo next month so that will certainly require me to forget about work and focus during that time or else, at my age, something will snap.
What does Better mean to you?
The first time I came across Better was maybe 6 years ago, when we were onsite together with a mutual client – the passion and desire to improve the patient experience with innovative and forward-thinking digital solutions was so obvious back then. Those values are still front and centre today and everyone in the company truly wants to solve problems for the end user.
Coming back to a point I made earlier, Better is about people working with people, whether that is across internal teams or with clinicians, nurses and pharmacists. The willingness to get things done with a ‘can-do’ attitude has always stood out for me.
