One of the issues of running a pharmacy is that everything has to be on point, because if they’re not, then things can go wrong. Even if you’re not directly putting your customer’s health in harm’s way because of a mistake with an order, it’s still important that you’re taking steps to run your pharmacy smoothly, because it’ll help to bring in new customers and keep the ones that you already have on board. You’ll also find that it’s easy to maximize profits if you’re working efficiently. Below, we take a look at a few common mistakes that pharmacies make, and also suggest ways to improve things.
Refine Focus
There’s wastage in every company, and you’ll never be able that down to zero. However, it’s a good place to start looking when you’re trying to become more efficient. One place where many pharmacies can improve is in the services that they provide. Many try to cover all health issues equally, but this is a mistake. While you should cater for all problems, it should be the ones that most affect your community that is given the most focus. This won’t just cut the costs associated with other medical conditions that aren’t as common in your area, but will also push you towards becoming experts in the areas that do affect your community.
Staff Hours
To keep your pharmacy ticking over smoothly, it’s important that you’re managing your staff correctly, and specifically the working hours aspect. There’ll be times when you’ll need more staff on hand, such as during lunchtime or first thing in the morning — whenever you get your rush of customers. This will take time to figure out, but it’s recommended that you look out for what works best, as it’ll lighten the load and help your customers. It’s much better to have plenty of staff on hand when there are a lot of people, rather than having one or two people to handle everything.
Employee Training
There are always advancements being made in the medical and pharmaceutical fields. While your staff might have been at the top of the game when you first brought them on board, after a while they might have slipped behind in some areas. If you’ve hired the best staff, then make sure that you’re investing some money into ensuring that they get updated training. This doesn’t necessarily have to be related to the medical field and practices, either. You may be able to work with an efficiency coach to point out issues in your working practices. By cutting out a few time-wasting issues, you might find that your employees can boost their productivity.
The Right Equipment
You’ll need to have equipment in order to ensure that you can work efficiently. This will include standard pharmacy equipment, such as tablet cartons and bottles, disposable gloves, and pharmacy bags. But it’ll also involve more advanced pharmacy equipment, such as a wifi temperature sensor, which will alert you if it’s possible that the temperature of your medicine storage refrigerator will change. You’ll also need to have high-end laptops and possibly tablets so that your staff can work without having to contend with slow machines.
Software Options
Software technology has changed all aspects of the business world, and the same applies to pharmacies. It’s recommended that you work with an IT company that specializes in pharmacy software, so that you can get all the right software for you. This will involve software that allows you to track and monitor medicine dispensation, medicine reminder notifications, ordering new medicines, and so on. Whatever problem you’re trying to fix in your pharmacy, there will likely be a piece of software that can help you.
Employee Forecasts
The best pharmacies are the ones with the best staff, so it’s important that you’re investing a good portion of your budget into bringing on board the best talent. This will take time, and indeed, in the early days you might want to outsource the task — the costs associated with hiring the wrong employee can be significant. But let’s say you already have a strong team of staff. Even in that scenario, it’s important that you’re staying on top of your hiring processes, which should be ongoing. You don’t know when an important team member may leave, or when you’ll want to expand and will require a bigger team.
Outsourcing Tasks
You’ve got a lot on your plate when you’re running a pharmacy, and not all of it will be to do with delivering the best possible service to your customers. But it should be. If you’re spending too much of your time dealing with non-core duties, such as handling your accounts, marketing, taxes, or IT, then it’s recommended that you look at outsourcing the work to a third party company. They’ll deliver high-quality work for less than the cost of a full-time employee, and will free up a lot of your time.
Get Feedback
You might think that everything’s running smoothly at your pharmacy, but ultimately, does it really matter what you think? Not necessarily. If your customers aren’t happy, then there’ll be an issue — perhaps not today, but in the long-term: it might be that you’re the only pharmacy in town, and that there are no other options. One way to ensure that your customers are happy is to solicit feedback, and see what ideas they have for improvements. Not everything they say will necessarily be a good idea, but every now and again you’ll get something that helps to improve your business.
Keep on Pushing Forward
The world is ever in flux. While everything might be running smoothly right now, there are no guarantees that they will be two or three years down the line. As such, it’s important that you carry on pushing forward. Resting on your laurels is not an option when you’re trying to succeed in an industry as important as medicine. If you’re not looking for new ways to improve your service, you might just fall behind your competitors.