Pharmacy management systems happen to be one technology that is rapidly gaining traction in the healthcare space right now. According to one recent report, the Global Pharmacy Management System market is poised to grow at a CAGR of 10.73% during the forecast period (2019-2024).
These systems do everything right from providing insights and simplifying the management of drug inventory, to tracking and enhancing the supply of pharmaceutical products. A complete pharmacy management system also aids in handling pricing, making sure prescriptions are matched to the appropriate dosage and medication, automates processing claims, and directs benefits for customer insurance.
However, even as these systems are packed with benefits, there are a few core features and functions they need to perform these operations with optimal efficiency. Here are the top five essential features of a robust pharmacy management system.
1) Reports
Pharmacists interact with a number of patients on an everyday basis, and data related to each one of these interactions is recorded and stored within the pharmacy information system. This data can be leveraged in the future for enhancing business strategy or it could be needed at the time of certification or for the inspection process.
Data reports furnish key insights and patterns related to the way in which a particular pharmacy operates. These reports can also help service providers in differentiating patients who visit the pharmacy often for refills from new ones. This information can then be utilized to stock appropriately and create new marketing strategies especially tailored to suit the needs of repeat buyers.
2) ePrescription
E-prescription is one of the most vital features to consider in a Pharmacy Management System.
More often than not, prescriptions are difficult to decipher. This may result in confusion among patients and is also a common cause of errors in dispensing the appropriate medicines. Unclear prescriptions can also lead to wrong medicines being handed to patients which, in turn, can cause severe ailments or allergies.
E-prescriptions considerably mitigate the risk of errors and furnish a user-friendly solution for patients.
The E-prescription feature also helps pharmacies manage refills and enables doctors to send the new refills directly into the pharmacy management system. This leads to rapid dispensing of medicines.
3) SMS and Notifications
As a pharmacy owner, you need to make sure that you connect with your patients often if you wish to grow your business. And while there is no denying the significance of face-to-face interactions with patients during prescription pickup and drop-off, there need to be more touch points even when customers are not physically present in your pharmacy. This is one of the secrets behind the rapidly growing number of independent pharmacies in the US.
Embedding an SMS or notifications feature within a Pharmacy Management System can help pharmacists to schedule text messages and push notifications to be sent to patients. These notifications can include something as simple as informing them before their prescriptions run out.
Patients can then update pharmacists about whether they need refills, just by responding to the messages. The status updates enable pharmacists to keep in touch with patients, confirming patient satisfaction.
Getting a mobile app developed and linking it to your pharmacy management system through the backend is another excellent option for pharmacies wanting to boost patient engagement and streamline communication.
4) User Management Module
This happens to be another key feature to look for in a Pharmacy Management System. A User management module enables pharmacies to restrict access across different user groups. The underlying purpose behind implementing this module is that different features can be reserved for different users for effortless management.
This authentication can be categorized into two conditions, namely-
- Administrator User- In this case, the user can manage buying and selling, monitoring stocks, listing medicines, and executing other tasks. The user can also track both the pharmacy map and the pharmacy list in an effortless manner.
- Administrator Authentication User- Authorized users can monitor all processes- transactions, sales reports, manipulate the medicine stocks and the medicine lists. This also enables users to monitor routine activities and create everyday accounts by utilizing the multisite software.
5) Dashboards
As pharmacy management systems continue to grow more complex, developers are increasingly turning to analytics and business intelligence to provide the information they need to optimize their sites.
The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has further speedened up this trend due to the need to minimize the number of staff on-site and surging shelter-in-place orders, resulting in an inflation in demand for remote pharmacy management tools with built-in dashboards that provide actionable insights.
Dashboards should be one of the key components you look for in a pharmacy management system. It can help keep track of production and wastage of medications.
Having focused charts and reports, each with Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for your top objectives, accelerates data analysis and improves collaboration and productivity by displaying only the data you need to succeed for any particular goal.
All in all, a robust pharmacy management system needs to have at least these five features in order for it to stand out and get you useful insights to stay ahead of your industry counterparts.
 | Rahul Varshneya Co-founder Arkenea Inc |