Today, you probably don’t think twice when you receive a patient’s prescription electronically. And, you or your pharmacists probably spend more time providing clinical services than you ever thought you would.
Technology has drastically changed the health care landscape. Are you using pharmacy technology to the full benefit of your patients and your pharmacy?
Here are five ways technology can improve your independent community pharmacy’s patient care efforts.
1. Greater precision, expanded job duties
The addition of automation in pharmacies has minimized errors in dispensing, has helped boost adherence and has enabled pharmacists to improve patient interactions.
With less time spent on dispensing, pharmacists can allocate their time to higher-level tasks, such as counseling, administering vaccinations and providing wellness screenings.
Automation includes automatic pill counters, dispensing robots, workflow management and more. If you haven’t incorporated automation into your pharmacy yet, check out these pharmacy automation tips on how to do just that.
2. Reaching new patients
Technology has made it easier for you to connect with current and potential patients.
For example, the Internet has enabled you to connect with patients when they’re not in your pharmacy through email, e-newsletters and online refill requests. The Internet has also enabled your pharmacy to expand its reach to new patients who may not know about your business through social media and online marketing.
Telepharmacy is another way today’s technology has (or can) help your pharmacy reach new patients. Telepharmacy brings quality health care to rural, medically underserved communities nationwide. It enables individuals living in remote areas to obtain their medications, and receive counseling and education from a pharmacist.
3. Patient ownership of health care
Smartphones and health apps have improved patient care by empowering patients to take control of their own health care.
Apps can help patients keep track of their medications, monitor their exercise and even track their blood sugar.
Your patients are using health apps. Here’s what you need to know about them.
4. Expanded service offerings
Every patient matters to your independent community pharmacy, and Medicare Part D patients likely account for a significant portion of your business. You can look to technology such as iMedicare, an online tool that simplifies Medicare Part D plan comparisons, to help you reach those patients.
iMedicare eliminates the need to enter data patient-by-patient because it integrates with virtually every pharmacy computer system. By simply importing your patients’ information right from your computer system, you’ll be able to directly compare the features of various plan options based on that specific patient’s needs.
This year-round tool allows you to identify the plans available to patients for their pharmacy of choice, and to estimate how much each plan will cost. And, you can use iMedicare on your own desktop computer, laptop or tablet.
5. Increased communication
You can now connect with patients even when they’re not in your pharmacy thanks to social media. And, offering services such as mobile text alerts to notify patients when their prescriptions are ready for refill or are ready to pick-up is another example of ways technology can enhance communication.
Although adopting new technology offers benefits for your business, it can have downsides. Discover three pros and cons of adding new technology to your pharmacy.
