Your independent community pharmacy is encountering undeniable changes these days. But it’s not all bad. In fact, there are ways you can approach the situation with some services that can be used to flourish amongst competitors from other online options.
In today’s digital world, your independent pharmacy needs to stay up to date while finding ways to implement new technologies and offerings to compete with online pharmacies. This, however, can be a struggle. And with a constrained budget, it’s even tougher. You have several challenges to overcome deriving from increased competition, operational costs, impacts in revenue, workforce issues, and managerial pressures.
The rise of online pharmacies has been reshaping the pharmaceutical industry. Customers have been gravitating towards convenience and competitive pricing, thus opting for online platforms. This has led to a significant decrease in visits to their physical pharmacy locations. Sadly, community pharmacists have been seeing fewer in-store purchases, which is detrimental to their revenue streams.
Your pharmacy also faces substantial operational costs that online pharmacies don’t have to worry about. You, on the other hand, have costs like maintaining physical storefronts, staffing, and utilities. You also have to invest in and adapt to new digital technologies to keep up with the competition. All of this can be extremely time-consuming and quite costly. Then, there are the regulatory and compliance pressures to deal with, along with all the other workforce challenges.
Knowing that many of your customers are looking for convenience, not necessarily low prices, means your pharmacy needs to step it up to keep them from wandering into the competitive, online abyss. Here’s how:
Make it Easy-Peasy
No matter how long your customers have frequented your pharmacy over the years, times have changed. Sooner or later, they’re going to join the world of convenience. Nowadays, if someone has to call to request their prescriptions, it’s almost inevitable that they’ll leave and join an option that allows online ordering.
As a pharmacist, it’s time to embrace technology. It can make requesting prescriptions much more convenient and straightforward. Find a company that can set you up with an app, such as RxLocal and NimbleRx.
- RxLocal offers a mobile app that connects patients with their local independent pharmacy. It provides features like direct messaging with pharmacists, prescription management, refill requests, and medication reminders.
- NimbleRx is another option that enables independent pharmacy patients to track orders, set refill reminders, add OTC items, and even opt for discreet medication delivery.
Both apps can help your pharmacy compete with the larger chains by offering digital convenience while keeping up with personalized care.
Personalized Interactions
You can build strong relationships with your customers simply by providing tailored medication counseling, adherence programs, and specialized services such as compounding. Be attentive to your patients’ concerns and provide comprehensive care.
Technology for Efficiency and Convenience
You can enhance operational efficiency along with added convenience for patients by embedding online prescription refills, mobile apps for medication reminders, and telehealth consultations. All of these can cater to modern consumers’ preferences and busy lives. The use of these technologies can allow pharmacists like you to operate more efficiently and competitively.
Instant Access to Medication
You want your patients to be able to start their treatments without delay, so being able to dispense their medications immediately after consultations will improve your customers’ satisfaction and health outcomes.
Your engagement in the community is vital to establishing your pharmacy as a trusted health resource. You have so much more that online pharmacies can’t offer, such as:
- Community Engagement. Participate in community activities, health fairs, and educational workshops. Build referral networks by collaborating with local healthcare providers. Showing your genuine commitment to community well-being shows trust and loyalty among patients.
- Health Screenings. Invite your community in by offering free or low-cost health screenings for conditions such as blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes. This can bring in more traffic and can provide valuable health insights to your community.
- Partner with Local Organizations. Collaborate and partner with local schools, healthcare providers, and community groups. This can help provide comprehensive care services and promote health awareness.
- One-on-One Medication Reviews. When you provide one-on-one medication review sessions, you’re helping patients understand their prescriptions and educating them on managing their medication effectively to improve adherence.
- Counseling and Support Groups. Set up support groups and counseling sessions for your patients who are managing chronic conditions. This offers a safe place for sharing their experiences and receiving professional advice.
- Seasonal Health Campaigns. Flu vaccination drives and allergy awareness programs are great seasonal health campaigns your pharmacy can launch. These types of campaigns address timely health concerns and can increase community engagement.
- Personalized Care. You can build strong relationships with customers by providing tailored medication counseling, adherence programs, and specialized services, such as compounding.
- Expand Delivery and Curbside Pickup. Provide same-day delivery or easy curbside pickup options. This can match the convenience of online pharmacies.
You can’t escape the fact that the upsurge in online pharmacies presents challenges to your community pharmacy. But it’s important not to lose sight of the personal touch and trusted relationships, along with the immediate accessibility of a community pharmacy. When you implement the above strategies, you’ll improve in-store experiences to create a smooth and integrated healthcare service for today’s consumers.
A Member-Owned Company Serving Independent Pharmacies
PBA Health is dedicated to helping independent pharmacies reach their full potential on the buy-side of their business. Founded and run by pharmacists, PBA Health serves independent pharmacies with group purchasing services, wholesaler contract negotiations, proprietary purchasing tools, and more.
An HDA member, PBA Health operates its own NABP-accredited warehouse with more than 6,000 SKUs, including brands, generics, narcotics CII-CV, cold-storage products, and over-the-counter (OTC) products — offering the lowest prices in the secondary market.
