What exactly is a retail pharmacy POS system?
I don’t know about you, but I kind of hate change, especially when it involves technology. So imagine my surprise when I went into work one day at a small local pharmacy and my nice, comfortable, retro cash register had been replaced by a computer with a scanner. I kind of poked at it, then asked what it was for. My boss explained that it was a new POS, or point of sale system, and that it was basically a cash register on steroids. Even better, it was a certified retail pharmacy POS system, meaning it was uniquely specialized to handle business transactions relating to pharmacies.
Why the retail pharmacy POS system isn’t just hooplah (and doesn’t have to be scary)
I won’t lie, I kind of sighed at my boss. Being a pharmacy tech is already complicated enough without having to learn a nifty new pharmacy software every week. But as I got used to it, I began to realize that this R2D2 knock-off was actually making my day go by much faster, particularly in these areas:
1. Record Keeping-It used to be when a patient came in I’d have to rifle through hundreds of case files and find their prescription information. The new pharmacy software however stores all of this info on a secure drive. This meant that once our intern was finished entering all our usual patient information, all I had to do was run their name and birthday. It makes human error a lot less prevalent (you wouldn’t believe how many folders would go missing and give us heart attacks) and keeps us green, paperless, and organized.
2. Inventory-Few things bite more than realizing you’re out of a really important medication the day it’s called in or having to manually go through back stock to rotate and re-order. Our new software sends us automated alerts based on our ordering history and helps us compare vendor costs so that we’re always getting the best wholesaler deal. This passes some savings along to the consumer, which just adds to the third benefit of this new-fangled contraption…
3. Customer Service- I have discovered that people have almost no patience for rummaging or long pauses at the counter when waiting for their medicine. The new POS system makes rummaging a thing of the past, as I know exactly who you are, how you’ll be paying, what you owe, and what your meds are the second you give me your information. I feel way more together and way less scared you’re going to throw a tantrum at me. I’m pretty sure our customers feel more comfortable coming to our pharmacy as well!
4. Security- Anyone who works in the medical field will tell you that one of their biggest fears is some sort of informational breech or violating HIPPA/losing patient information. A POS system makes much of this impossible at least from a transactional standpoint thanks to the signature capturing feature and encrypted data files.
I guess what I’m trying to say is…
Give the robots a chance. Especially if you work in the medical field!