Why Digitizing Your Pharmacy will Boost Your Peace-of-Mind

As the aging population grows, we can expect that medication use will grow alongside it. In Canada, it is projected that the senior population will grow from 15% to almost 30% from 2014 to 2051(1). In addition, 62% of these seniors are on 5 or more drug classes(1). This means the pharmacy market will expand and patients will be tasked with choosing a pharmacy to serve their needs. As it currently stands, patients are very likely to choose a pharmacy based on convenience, which usually equates to proximity(2). This is difficult to change after establishing a location, however, other strategies can be used by pharmacies to stand out to new patients.
Here’s why digitalizing your pharmacy can help do so:
1. Build store loyalty
2. Additional convenience without the need for 24/7 operating hours
3. Increased patient satisfaction
Build Store Loyalty
Through the use of digital marketing, a pharmacy can build a reputation online by promoting themselves to serve a particular group of patients. For example, your pharmacy could become the diabetic specialty pharmacy or the travel pharmacy of choice in the community. And by connecting with the community at large, potential new patients may decide to choose your pharmacy because of the familiarity and trust you’ve been able to build with them. Current patients may also decide to switch to your pharmacy if they feel they can be better served by you. Additionally, patients may decide to choose a pharmacy based on reviews much like on Yelp and Google reviews, and without an online presence, your pharmacy may be ruled out quickly.
Additional Convenience
One of the reason that online businesses are attractive is that they are open for as long as the internet is, which is 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And you don’t necessarily need staff to carry out the transactions that occur either. In the pharmacy world, this could translate into having patients be able to request and pay for refills at their own time. Better yet, pharmacy staff could proactively remind patients about refills electronically and promote medication adherence. Pharmacy staff are also no longer tied to phone calls that distract from patients that arrive at the pharmacy thereby reducing workflow interruptions and can translate to better patient care and higher patient retention.
Increased Patient Satisfaction
Putting it altogether, if your pharmacy is correctly matched to the patients who are looking for your services and are able to access them as timely as possible, there’s reason to believe that patients would be more inclined to take action in their healthcare. Moreover, they may recommend your pharmacy to friends and family.
It’s a win-win situation for all when we consider the possibilities of digitizing pharmacy activities!

References
1. CIHI. (2011). Health Care in Canada. Retrieved July 20, 2017, from https://secure.cihi.ca/free_products/HCIC_2011_seniors_report_en.pdf
2. Merks, Piotr, et al. “Comparison of factors influencing patient choice of community pharmacy in Poland and in the UK, and identification of components of pharmaceutical care.” Patient preference and adherence 8 (2014): 715.
Primary Author: Edmond Chiu, PharmD 2018
Editors: Thomas Huang, RPh
