Datascan Featured Client: Dedrick’s Pharmacy and Gift Shop

I grew up in a small business. My family is Greek so we operated diners and restaurants and in the 1950s. We added a pharmacy to an already established lunch counter, candy, and soda fountain. A slice of Americana; drop off your prescription and have a sandwich with an Egg Cream or Lime Rickey. So many of the long-standing independent Pharmacies had a lunch counter at one point and time. I grew up on the restaurant side of things but ultimately wanted something with more stability so I committed myself to becoming a pharmacist. I honestly didn't expect to love it as much as I do; I truly cherish my role as a community pharmacist.

We had Freedom Data Systems (FDS) pharmacy software at one point, and then switched to McKesson Pharmaserv. Both of those pharmacy systems left a lot to be desired. Freedom (FDS), sunset their system, and years later McKesson stopped taking on new clients and started steering everyone to another pharmacy software. It was a clear signal that they would one day in the near future sunset their system and stop supporting it. We figured if we had to change our pharmacy software anyway, that we might as well do the research and find a true partner solution. Coming from two huge corporately run pharmacy systems previously, we wanted to find a vendor that focused on personal service and attention to our needs.

As an independent pharmacy, our business model's cornerstone is compassion and attentive service to our community. In other words, it's about relationships. After vetting multiple pharmacy computer systems, Datascan was our clear choice for several factors. First, their system is top-notch. It has tons of features and benefits and it was clear they regularly made additional innovations. Continuing to improve and meet the needs of their clients was and is a clear priority. The most important factor was the confidence I felt that this family business wouldn't be sold off and gutted of all of its wonderful people. They valued relationships just like we do; it's wonderful to be in business with like-minded people. Any pharmacy management system will fill prescriptions and handle the basics, but the best pharmacy software vendor in my opinion, is one who treats us like we treat our patients. That is what gave Datascan the edge over every other vendor we looked at.

Having gone through a pharmacy software conversion in the past, I knew it could be a very daunting experience. Our biggest concern was losing data. One key is to do as much work and due diligence before the pharmacy conversion. Comb over the data that has been converted routing out and fixing any issues that may exist. This will prove to be incredibly beneficial the day you go live and have to start using the system in your daily endeavors. Stay calm and don't get frustrated. We were also nervous about our staff learning a new pharmacy system. There are keystrokes and hot-keys you use on your old system that are muscle memory; having to think about every keystroke as you learn your new system can be frustrating. Don't allow yourself to get overwhelmed, practice the new keystrokes, hot-keys, and mouse clicks as you build new muscle memories.

The Datascan team helped to alleviate worries and fears by being communicative, responsive, and calm. They are always available when you need them, they are knowledgeable, and project confidence that helps you to trust in the process. The Datacan team worked with us for weeks before our go-live through training, and answering questions, ensuring we were somewhat familiar with the system and day to day functionality. This made our staff feel so much more confident walking into our live day. I think the most important thing that the Datascan team did for us was to make sure we were comfortable.

Med-Sync calendar was nice, but Datascan is working on building out a similar product. Outside of that, NO!

The pharmacy software itself is packed with features and custom options, but the great thing about Datascan is how easy they make it to use. We can take advantage of features like autorefill, mobile apps, deliveries, etc. without worrying that it’s too difficult for our staff to figure out. With the other systems we've worked with, getting helpful and knowledgeable staff was very difficult. McKesson was the absolute worst; when we had a problem we might have to call three different departments in three different states just to be told the problem had to be "escalated"! Almost always, if we need to reach out to Datascan’s pharmacy support team, our questions and issues are resolved on the spot in a matter of minutes. This allows us to keep servicing our patients quickly– which is something they’ve come to expect. We’re happy we can expect the same from Datascan. The team at Datascan is great, and I literally know everyone's name and have built a true relationship with most of them. If you’re frustrated with the service you’re getting from your current software vendor — Datascan is the best.

Converting to a new pharmacy system is not an easy task, but doing the hard things because it is the right move, will almost always lead to better outcomes. If your priority is serving your patients and community, then equip yourself with the proper tools to do just that. After a short transition time, you will wonder why you ever hesitated. Thankfully Datascan was able to provide us with a seamless transition from McKesson and we could not be happier we made the switch. So much so we are working on transitioning our other store to Datascan right now.