What changes and industry trends can we expect to see from independent pharmacies in 2021? Although each pharmacy may have a different focus, there are still common issues affecting all independent pharmacies nation-wide. Technology continues to play a pivotal role in the success of independent pharmacies, and how the technology adapts to industry demand is crucial. Datascan continues to work collaboratively with its family of independent pharmacies, building in cutting-edge technology to help pharmacists find success in the ever-changing industry.
Enhanced Patient Communication
Staying connected with patients is more important now than ever before. With the pandemic making it more difficult for face to face time with patients, communicating via text or email will ensure your patients know you’re still there for them. Patient engagement helps build customer loyalty and helps patients to better manage their medications—ultimately resulting in better performance and bigger reimbursements for your pharmacy. Datascan’s pharmacy management software makes it easy to stay in touch with your patients!
The Use of Artificial Intelligence
When we hear AI we often think of robots replacing human beings, but there are many ways AI is implemented in independent pharmacy. At its core, AI replaces the need for a human being to manage certain tasks, and this is something that will continue to help independent pharmacies accomplish more within their daily workflow. Datascan’s pharmacy software system uses several unique algorithms to manage patients MedSync, manage and forecast inventory, and even run tasks and utilities throughout the day. The pharmacy software system is constantly being updated to help watch over trends, make suggestions and assist in running a more efficient independent pharmacy.
Vaccinations
While many pharmacies offered vaccinations prior to Covid, this past year we saw a tremendous increase in the number of independent pharmacies offering immunizations. Community pharmacies really stepped up and continue to do so in order to help patients in their area stay safe and receive vaccines. Datascan’s pharmacy software system helps to make vaccine rollouts easier by offering vaccine templates—a simple to use feature that automatically populates vaccine information to make it quicker and easier to fill and process prescriptions. Datascan also helps pharmacies by automatically reporting to their state registries for vaccine administrations, as well as creating a file for required CDC reporting of the COVID-19 vaccination.
Point of Care Testing
POC testing continues to be a great way for pharmacies to build new revenue sources into their independent pharmacy. Especially with Covid, the need for POC testing in your community continues to grow. It is important to have all of the required certifications in place and make sure you understand how to bill for POC tests in your pharmacy system.
Enhanced Clinical Services
Datascan continues to encourage its family of pharmacies to diversify—we can no longer rely on prescriptions and dispensing medications as the focus for profit centers within a pharmacy. There are countless opportunities and specialized services your pharmacy can offer to your community to help build profits back into your business.
Moving into 2021 we find a greater demand for independent pharmacies within communities nationwide. As the landscape continues to change for pharmacy, software vendors such as Datascan must continue to innovate our pharmacy software offerings to allow pharmacists and owners to easily accommodate the changing needs regardless of what healthcare challenges are presented. Community pharmacy owners and staff need to keep a positive and open mind, adapt to changes in the industry, and trust the technology in their pharmacy software systems. Together we can engage more patients and see better outcomes. You pay for the software designed for pharmacy every month, why not take advantage of all it offers and try to implement at least one technology convenience per month. Make the commitment, and watch over time how you can free yourself up from filling prescriptions, and spend more time building profits back into your independent pharmacy.
