A new year marks the perfect time to take a fresh look at your business. How can your pharmacy improve in 2013? What are you doing well? What should you do more of? Take some time at the beginning of the year to create a few business resolutions. Really consider the big ideas—those harder concepts to think about—instead of just the little things. We’ve compiled 13 business resolutions that we see as important for pharmacies in 2013. Make this year great for business!
1. Lower your cost of goods
With razor thin margins on third party claims, your pharmacy needs to reduce expenses wherever you can. Lowering your cost of goods is a great place to start. Take a look at other ordering options that can improve your profits. PBA Health, a pharmacy services organization based in Kansas City, Mo., offers several ordering services and programs that can improve your cost of goods.
2. Differentiate your pharmacy
This is the year. Separate your pharmacy from all of the others out there by specializing in what you do best. Do you have a lot of diabetic patients? Then host nutrition classes at your pharmacy and stock blood glucose monitors and test strips. Are you located in a clinic? Build relationships with the doctors and staff in the clinic, so they’ll always refer patients to you. Do something different in 2013! Don’t let your business be boring.
3. Improve patient outcomes through mobile communications
Mobile phone technology is a growing trend in healthcare, likely because so many people own and use mobile phones today. And, it’s not only mobile phones, but also smartphones. A striking number—nearly half—of American adults own smartphones, according to a report by the Pew Research Center. The features of mobile phones, such as text message reminders, easy online access, email and apps create additional opportunities to help patients better manage their medications and their health. In 2013, consider how your pharmacy can use and promote mobile communications for better patient care.
4. Start using social media
Social media has become increasingly important for businesses, including your pharmacy. Your current and potential patients are on Facebook and Twitter. If your business isn’t represented, you’re missing out on communicating with your most crucial asset—your customers.
5. Stop accepting PBM discount cards
Cut costly PBM discount cards out of your business for good. When you accept PBM discount cards from uninsured patients, you’re forced to meet the discount on the card, and you get charged $2-$6 in administration fees for just submitting the claim. Stop losing money to these cards by simply telling patients that you no longer accept them. (Or, offer patients your own discount card program.)
6. Get better contract terms
When it comes to obtaining the best third party contract terms possible, you need an expert. Contract language can often be muddled with jargon and confusing terms that make it difficult to understand exactly what conditions, requirements and stipulations are being included. At TriNet, PBA Health’s third party network, legal experts examine all contracts for a thorough set of requirements.
7. Create a website
Today, people often look for a pharmacy by searching online. If your business doesn’t have a website, then potential patients might not know you exist. Your digital presence is important for gaining new patients, retaining current patients and showcasing what your business represents.
8. Check out your competition
Visit your competition to see what they are doing, be it the big box, the chain, the grocery or the other neighborhood independent pharmacy. How do they merchandise their product? What is the general feel of their stores? How do their stores’ compare to yours’? If you’re feeling really brave get a script filled there and note the customer experience.
9. Build smart business relationships
You probably communicate so often with your patients, that you forget the importance of communicating with your business partners. When you build great working relationships with your banker, accountant, wholesalers, vendors and other service providers, you do your business a service. Start now!
10. Show appreciation to your patients’ doctors
Speaking of business relationships, maintaining good relationships with the doctors in your area is vital for your pharmacy. Even though pharmacists and doctors aren’t always known to have the best working relationships, breaking that mold can mean more mutual respect between providers and better overall care for patients. Plus, when you have a good relationship with your local doctors, they’ll likely refer patients to you.
11. Make your pharmacy a destination
Boost your business by repositioning how patients think about your pharmacy. Many patients just think of the pharmacy as a quick stop to pick up their prescriptions. If patients start to see your business as more than a pit stop, however, you can increase foot traffic and revenue. How do you do this? Make your pharmacy a destination. Offer other services besides just prescriptions. Think vaccines, durable medical equipment, compounding, wellness screenings and more. Create a unique experience at your pharmacy.
12. Meet with the employers and plan sponsors in your area
The process of an employer selecting a PBM, designing a benefit plan, electing a payment and reimbursement model, and choosing a pharmacy provider network has always been closed off to pharmacy owners. With RxPlanGuard, a prescription benefit plan consultation service, you can receive step-by-step guidance on how to approach the employers in your area and work with them to improve the quality of their benefit plan decisions.
13. Sell your best asset—your knowledge
In the New Year, consider taking a whole new look at how you do business—and how you charge for it. As a pharmacist, your knowledge is your most important asset. A $1-$2 dispensing fee doesn’t compensate you for that knowledge. You should be paid a fair price for the important counseling and services you provide. In order to stay in business in the future, you’ll need to start thinking about how you can use your knowledge and make a profit by it. Currently, the FDA is considering a proposal to allow pharmacists to recommend various types of medication for cholesterol, high blood pressure and more without a prescription. This type of proposal shows that the time is now to voice your opinion on the importance of pharmacists as providers and begin the transition to selling your services.
