How to Make Life Easier for Pharmacists
Using Industry-Leading Pharmacy Technology
Pharmacists are in high demand, as they play an increasingly vital role in patient care management. However, outdated pharmacy technology and practices are holding many pharmacists back by leaving them stuck performing tasks such as faxing documents or answering phones instead of focusing on customer care. This frustration can lead to excess stress and burnout.
A tech-enabled pharmacy can reduce these issues. Supportive technology can increase pharmacists’ job satisfaction as well as performance. When pharmacists and technicians have access to the equipment and software that help them do their jobs better, they can create the best possible customer experience. The right pharmacy technology can also revolutionize inventory management and combat supply chain issues, creating a more efficient enterprise.
Utilize the Latest Pharmacy Technology and POS Software
Pharmacy owners will want to implement point of sale (POS) technology that enables their staff to do their jobs more effectively, including functions such as:
Working directly with customers.
A POS systems customer management software makes it easy to create and maintain customer profiles and charge accounts so pharmacists can easily look at customer history, preferences, and more.
Helping customers save money
With easy-to-use customer loyalty programs and support for programs from leading banners such as PharmaChoice Perks and Pharmasave Rewards, it’s easy to incentivize customers and increase return visits and future purchases.
Accessing the most-used databases with up-to-date pharmacy compliance software
Auto-Star’s POS software offers integrations with leading suppliers such as McKesson and Kohl & Frisch, as well as prescription scanning with most Canadian pharmacy systems, including PharmaclikRx, Kroll, WinRX, and Fillware.
Combat Stockouts by Rethinking Inventory Resiliency
One of the most significant needs for pharmacies today is simplified inventory management and ordering. The “just in time” (JIT) approach of reordering products right before stock runs out — a practice that pharmacies have relied on for years to improve inventory turnover and cash flow — is now a thing of the past. The industry continues to struggle with the supply-chain disruptions caused by the pandemic, exacerbated by increased customer demand for larger (90-day) refills and bulk supplies, making JIT impractical.
Pharmacists need to turn to advanced inventory management systems with sophisticated algorithms to adjust safe stock levels quickly, reorder thresholds, and supplier lead times to shift to a more resilient pharmacy inventory strategy.
When deciding what pharmacy technology to use in combating supply chain issues, consider the following:
Replenishment Purchasing
You’ll want to optimize inventory for peak times by calculating purchase orders based on inventory sold historically over a specific timeframe. With replenishment purchasing, pharmacists can view on-hand product quantities in real-time and act accordingly with current trends to optimize new orders and amounts as needed. You should be able to adjust date ranges and new criteria to calculate order quantities and have an opportunity to edit suggested order quantities before finalizing the purchase order.
Suggested Ordering
With suggested ordering, you can streamline your operations with flexible setup and control in order to schedule orders based on sophisticated algorithms. Using it to optimize your pharmacy inventory will help you reduce investment, storage space, and loss due to spoilage or damages while increasing profits and improving cash flow. Suggested ordering should also work with vendor management to track shipments and more.
Emergency Ordering
It’s always good to have a backup plan, and an emergency ordering feature can be put in place to keep you covered in case your staff gets too busy and misses inventory dwindling too low. Emergency ordering identifies items that need to be ordered right away rather than waiting for the next order date. It can be run daily to generate a list of all items required as of that day.
Reduce Gaps in Workflow with Wireless Hardware
Besides good inventory management software, another important pharmacy technology tool to consider incorporating is wireless handheld devices. The latest integrations come with the Mobile Android Delivery Management App, which allows pharmacists to increase efficiency and accuracy when optimizing ordering, receiving, or counting inventory.
These handheld solutions can also come in handy when answering questions about products, including price checks, on the floor. Handheld devices can be used to get out from behind the desk to interact with customers or reduce their wait times by line-busting, improving the customer experience and satisfaction.
Price-checking kiosks can also be strategically placed on the floor to enable customers to scan and check the price of products as well as scan their loyalty card to see their current point balance.
Give Pharmacists Technology that Comes with Flexibility and Support
Each pharmacy needs a POS system that is unique to how they do business. It’s essential to find pharmacy technology and merchant services that offer flexibility in integrations to meet those unique needs. This flexibility creates resilience that helps future-proof your technology so as not to hinder staff in the future.
Implementing and using new technology can be daunting. You need a provider with plenty of experience who can help you from start to finish. Reduce pharmacists’ stress when implementing new solutions by working with a team focused on fulfilling all your software needs from A to Z, including POS, security, payment processing, and more. Support should be provided by experts who understand not only the product but also the industry and your specific needs.
Let Pharmacy Technology Help Grow Your Business
The pharmacy industry is changing. With more demand for pharmacists and new business practices for patient care and inventory management, you need solutions that can take the pressure off your staff and let them do their jobs effectively. For more information on helpful pharmacy POS software that can optimize your business, check out our pharmacy e-book. If you’re ready to make life easier with pharmacy technology, contact us today.
