how is wearable tech impacting community pharmacy?
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How is Wearable Technology impacting Community Pharmacy?

The surge in popularity of wearable technology extends well beyond retail Smartwatches. The technology continues revolutionising the way people lead their lives, and it has significant potential for revolutionising the healthcare industry. Community Pharmacies in the United Kingdom and beyond are no exception.

Wearable Technology in Numbers

  • 216 million global smartwatch users (Statista)
  • 1%/Year – The increase in growth of the population who own smartwatches in the US (Insider Intelligence)
  • 13 – Different categories of wearables. Smartwatches are almost synonymous with wearables, but there’s far more to wearables than watches. (Tesla Suit)
a graph showing the number of wearable technology devices globally

The number of connected wearable devices worldwide has more than doubled in the space of three years, increasing from 325 million in 2016 to 722 million in 2019. The number of devices is forecast to reach more than one billion by 2022.

Retail Opportunities for Pharmacies

Before we dive into the practical applications of how wearable tech can affect pharmacy’s day-to-day healthcare operations, a word on retail.

The vast majority of pharmacies in the UK still double-up as a retail shop, or a convenience store, for our American readers. Unless you’re based in a really remote location, you’re competing for little crumbs with multiple fish in the same pond as you.

Dress for the role you want, not the one you have

The way we change the public perception of what a Community Pharmacy is and does is by doing different things. People don’t visit pharmacies for cheap plastic toys.

If Pharmacies became outlets for Wearable Health technology, suddenly the advice of the professionals in-store adds value, giving you a huge advantage over online retailers who can’t offer that same tailored advice.

Take NuroKor LifeTech, as a working example, the wearable technology which manages and relieves Chronic Pain, amongst other things.

Nurokor Lifetech Logo

Read Now

By offering continuous pain management consultations, having live demonstrations and group Q&A sessions on Living with Chronic Pain, you’re providing engaging options that add value to your community.

These products make sense for a pharmacy.

Applications of Wearable Technology in Medication Management

Wearable tech in medicine is still a new field. There’s still a lot of research being done, figuring out the best way for these devices for monitoring meds.

That said, the potential benefits of using them in the following areas don’t require much in the way of advancement of the technology.

  • Insulin – Monitoring blood glucose levels in people with diabetes and provide real-time feedback on insulin dosage and glucose levels.
  • Cardiovascular – Wearable devices can be used to monitor heart rate, blood pressure, and other cardiovascular indicators.
  • Pain management – Monitoring pain levels (through specific physiological responses) and monitor the effectiveness of pain management medications, helping doctors make more informed treatment decisions.
  • Mental health – tracking patients’ mood, sleep patterns, and other indicators of mental health.
  • Asthma medications – Monitoring a patient’s respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, and other indicators of asthma control.

The main area for improvement is the integration of data into healthcare practice, as well as advancements in, and adoption of, the Internet of Things (IoT) into pharmacy practice.

Remote Healthcare, revolutionised with data

One of the most significant ways in which wearable technology could impact community pharmacies is through the increased use of telemedicine.

We’re already seeing an increasing number of pharmacy clients requesting Online Doctor features adding to their websites. This will continue growing, and remote consultations along with it.

Wearable devices such as smartwatches and fitness trackers collect and transmit data on a patient’s health, allowing for remote monitoring and consultation with healthcare professionals. This enables community pharmacies to provide more personalised, real-time care to patients, and potentially reduce the need for in-person visits.

Thinking about the practical application of this with elderly patients with mobility issues is incredibly positive.

Wearable technology improves Chronic Condition Management

Another area in which wearable technology’s impact on community pharmacies will continue to grow, is in the management of chronic conditions.

Wearable devices can track vital signs such as heart rate and blood pressure, and provide alerts for any abnormalities.

This enables the proactive management of patients with chronic conditions and reduces the risk of potential complications.

Prevention is always better than a cure.

Improved Adherence with Reminders & Alerts

Wearable technology can also have a positive impact on medication adherence.

Smartwatches, for example, can be programmed to remind patients to take their medication at the correct time, and can even send notifications to the patient’s healthcare provider if the medication is not taken as prescribed. This improves patient outcomes and reduces the number of hospital readmissions.

Furthermore, wearable technology can also help community pharmacies to provide more efficient and convenient services. For example, by using wearable devices, patients can order their prescriptions and have them delivered to their home, reducing the need for them to visit the pharmacy in person. Additionally, some wearables can integrate with the electronic prescriptions system, making it easier for the pharmacy to manage and track prescriptions.

How far away is Wearable Tech from full integration into Pharmacy?

It’s important to note that the adoption of wearable technology in community pharmacies is still in early stages, and there are some challenges that need to be addressed.

Data & Privacy Concerns

One of the main challenges is data security and privacy, ensuring that patients’ personal and medical information is protected.

Making sure the technology is reliable and accurate, and that the data collected is of sufficient quality for clinical decision-making is another critical factor.

What’s to stop someone lending their smart device to a friend in order to qualify for POM’s? Of course, there are workarounds in our current system too, but this isn’t an immediate fix with wearables in their current guise either.

Investment Costs & Priorities

Another challenge is the cost, as wearable technology is expensive, if you were using it for every patient. Of course, the savings made, margins widening and revenue generating implications of the technology mean it’s a sound investment. But long-term thinking and strategy is a rare bird in healthcare. So it may be some time before widespread adoption.

Diagnosis of Wearable Tech in Pharmacy

In conclusion, wearable technology has the potential to revolutionise the way community pharmacies in the United Kingdom provide care to patients. We’re talking years not months, but it’s likely on the way.

The technology enables remote monitoring, improved management of chronic conditions, and improved medication adherence.

However, the adoption of wearable technology in community pharmacies is still in early stages, and there are challenges that need to be addressed, such as data security, cost, and reliability.

As always, Community Pharmacies should be ready to adapt.

Interested in digitising your pharmacy business? Book in a consultation call with our Diagnose and Prescribe team.

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12 tiktok pharmacy tips
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12 Pharmacy TikTok Tips: The 2023 Beginner’s Guide

As a pharmacist, you’re 100% forgiven for not being “up” on TikTok. But these 12 tips will get you up and running with a Pharmacy TikTok account.

tiktok logo

Want to start a Pharmacy TikTok account? You’ve come to the right place.

Everything You Need to start posting on TikTok

  • One smartphone with a camera
  • The TikTok app
  • One TikTok Account (with unique username & profile picture)

And that’s it.

12 Pharmacy TikTok Tips

Getting involved with TikTok is honestly pretty simple, because it’s a platform where no one expects perfection. But with these 12 tips, you’ll feel like a pro in no time.

1. It’s never too late

Whilst it might feel that the TikTok ship has sailed, it isn’t too late to jump on. The immediacy and short-term nature of the platform means that, provided your content delivers value, you’ll attract followers and views. When it comes to having a TikTok presence, there’s no time like the present.

2. Remember, you’re a pharmacy

Silly dances and pouting isn’t necessary for success on TikTok. Whilst showing a personal side is encouraged, it isn’t necessary.

Pharmacies can create TikTok content around:

  • Mental health issues
  • Correct Medicine Use
  • Product Demonstrations
  • Behind the scenes – pill sorting and cream mixing is incredibly popular on TikTok!
  • Common minor ailments and treatments
  • Healthcare myth-busting
  • And so much more!

Really, the skies the limit. Get creative, or check out other Pharmacy Content Creators for ideas (just don’t rip people off!)

3. Think about who’s watching

You might think TikTok is a young person’s game and that your audience is, well, the opposite. But anxiety, and associated prescriptions are, unfortunately, on the rise.

And Gen Z are the primary sufferers and most at risk of anxiety, with excessive use of social media central in theories as to why this is.

Exploring medicine use and offering helpful advice around this subject, as well as many other mental health issues, would be a fantastic and engaging issue for exploring with your content.

TikTok is no longer just for young people, either. Like most apps that start this way, the target market has expanded with its popularity. The app has been downloaded 2 billion times globally. That’s a lot more people than just children!

4. Be prolific, not perfect

TikTok users are familiar with handheld videos recorded on phones – Hollywood edited videos aren’t necessary for success on this platform. Posting more often is far more useful than worrying about appearing polished.

In fact, more polished videos seem less genuine and your audience won’t engage as openly with them as a result. In real life, not every sentence you say is perfect, and nor should it be on TikTok.

The whole point is building a relationship with your community, which doesn’t happen if you only show up every few months. The more regularly you post, the better your results become.

5. Have a goal in mind

Building an audience is always a solid marker, as the more followers you have, the better the perception of your brand when new people encounter you. But building an audience is not the end goal.

Ultimately the end goal is nurturing trust with your audience and developing engagement.

6. Utilise your team

Whilst the younger members of your pharmacy team won’t have as much pharmacy experience as more senior members, they almost certainly have more TikTok experience. Use that! Offer them a pay rise and make creating content part of their job description, or give them cash incentives per video. That goes for the stars of the video too, not just whoever’s filming it.

Many staff members might feel uncomfortable on camera, which is fine. But with the right incentives, they might feel more comfortable

Encouraging having fun with the videos suddenly makes the task more appealing.

However you do it, getting someone who’s comfortable with the platform makes the process much easier.

7. Engage with others

It isn’t all about creating your own content. Follow healthcare hashtags, follow other small businesses in your community and comment on their content.

Start conversations that aren’t in your own environment, and you’ll attract people back to yours.

8. Reuse your content on other platforms

If you’re considering entering the TikTok space, the likelihood is you’re already on at least one of Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. TikTok content works well on other platforms! Don’t be shy in spreading your videos across your other platforms.

Do you have digital screens in your Pharmacy? Get your videos playing on your screen and bring the fun into your pharmacy! This also helps boost your followers as people in your pharmacy realise you’re on TikTok.

9. Short, sweet, and straight into the good stuff

Jump straight into the content of your video and try to keep videos between 15-30 seconds. Longer videos are okay occasionally, but people can immediately see if a video is long, and it’s possible that deters them from watching any of it.

10. Link your website in your profile

Your digital marketing works best if things flow nicely. Someone sees your TikTok video demonstrating how lip fillers are professionally applied might want to use you for their treatment.

They’ll click on your profile, and find out more.

Optimise your profile, and maximise the exposure to your pharmacy services.

The Day Lewis Pharmacy Profile doesn’t include its website link, and it’s missing a trick.

11. Use Hashtags!

#pharmacy #health #advice #CityName #TownName #PharmTok

Without hashtags, the TikTok algorithm doesn’t know what your content is about, so it won’t show it to people who like content associated with those subjects. Always hashtag your location, especially as a local community pharmacy. You’re fostering a community, what better place to start than…people in your community!

12. Track & Analyse

If you’re not measuring what you’re doing, you’ve no idea if it’s going to be effective or not. You know this, you’re a pharmacist.

Check your videos and discover which type works best. Double down on what works, and ditch what doesn’t!

If something really doesn’t look great on your account, you can always delete it later!

TikTok has its own inbuilt analytics, but these are only accessible with “Pro” accounts.

How do you get a Pro account?

Manage my account > Switch to Pro account > Select “Pharmacy” Industry > Your TikTok account will reload with the analytics section.

And that’s a wrap!

Those 12 tips are more than enough to get any Pharmacy started on TikTok…so in the words of Shia Laboeuf…

what are you waiting for? just do it!

Interested in setting up a TikTok account and having the account managed by us? We can help. Simply get in touch.

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The Ultimate Prescription Collection Machine Comparison Guide
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The Prescription Collection Machine Buyers’ Guide

Prescription Collection Machines are exploding in popularity in the UK. So we thought we’d save you some time shopping around and write a guide. Hopefully it saves some valuable time finding the right one for your pharmacy.

As a digital marketing and development agency, with a goal of increasing patient numbers whilst improving workflow for pharmacies, we regularly discuss the use of Prescription Collection Machines to our clients.

In December 2021, we featured Prescription Collection Machines in our Ultimate Guide to Automating Your Pharmacy.

The industry is now reacting, and you’re probably on the lookout for a machine that impacts your workflow and patient experience in the same way.

If you’re already sure you want a Prescription Collection Machine, skip down a few headings to see providers’ offerings.

Will my pharmacy benefit from a Prescription Collection Machine?

If you are undecided on investing in a machine at all, you need only look at how it’s transformed the pharmacies who’ve introduced them.

During the course of the pandemic, we saw our clients experience a massive impact post-installation of Prescription Collection Machines in:

  • Attracting New Patients, especially when advertised online (links to Case Study)
  • Managing prescription workload and easing workflow
  • Reducing waiting times, queues and “Is my prescription ready yet?” questions
  • Maximising the convenience of prescription collection in general

The only way your pharmacy wouldn’t benefit from a Prescription Collection Point, is if you’re in an area so remote and sparsely populated that there aren’t the numbers to warrant it.

Most providers cite a certain number of items per month, which they say makes investing in a Prescription Collection Machine worth it. But the reality is, with the convenience of 24/7 collection for your patients, the machine will increase your EPS sign-ups, especially if you’re the only pharmacy in your area which has one. And as we continue into a more clinical model of pharmacy, any way you can free up the time of your pharmacy team and improve workflow efficiency is a good investment.

How do Prescription Collection Machines work?

Prescription Collection Machines are the ATMs of Pharmacy. Instead of queueing in the bank to withdraw money, ATM’s allowed the secure withdrawal of cash 24/7. Prescription Collection Machines do the same for Prescriptions. Freeing up staff time, allowing more time for value-adding actions, and saving the customers from unnecessary waits.

The core mechanics of how they work:

  • Step 1

    Script is Processed

    The prescription is processed in the normal way and bagged up

  • Step 2

    Scan the Barcode

    The barcode on the label is scanned before allocation in the machine

    Step 2

  • Step 3

    Place inside Prescription Collection Machine

    The prescription bag is paced into machine, ready for patient to collect.

  • Step 4

    "Prescription Ready" Text Alert

    The message can be customised, but always contains the PIN required to operate the machine.

    Step 4

  • Step 5

    Patient Collects Medication

    Using the PIN provided, the patient then collects their medication at a time convenient to them.

Of course, people need to sign up for EPS with you in order to use the service, as this service naturally requires their details.

The best part about the automation, in our eyes, is the ability to balance workload. When you know you’ve got a certain amount of prescriptions to load in for collections, you can wait for a quieter time in the day and load them in bulk.

Spreading the work over the course of the day instead of the manic rushes reduces the stress on your pharmacy team, and their stress as a result.

Managing the Cost of Investing in Machinery

It’s also worth noting that when investing in Prescription Collection Machines, you can deduct some or all of the cost of the machinery through your Capital Allowances.

Spreading the cost of more expensive machinery over a number of years can shave a lot of the difference off that expense, and leave you with a higher value asset in your business.

It’s worth discussing both financing plans and tax planning with your accountant and the suppliers, and comparing the options to determine the true cost to your business before investing.

Prescription Collection Machine Suppliers

Without further ado (because that was quite a lot of ado) here is your shortlist for Prescription Collection Machine comparison.

Pharmaself24

Pharmaself24, a product of Videosystems, and now being distributed throughout Great Britain by Omnicell, are the market leaders in Automated Prescription Collection. This dynamic is important because it couples the market leading machines with Omnicell’s vast experience in automating retail pharmacy.

The biggest thing that stood out for us is that the Pharmaself24 doesn’t operate like a converted vending machine. In a vending machine, there’s no way to access anything other than the items at the front. The Pharmaself24 Multi design (more like an ATM), allowing for more flexible layout configurations within your pharmacy space, as well as a massively increased capacity. (Think 10 x 10 x 10 capacity, rather than 10 x 10.)

The Pharmaself24 Compact works its robotic mechanisms on a cylinder, which again differs from the stock vending machine technology, increasing capacity.

When the whole point is automating the prescription process, increasing capacity efficiently is the biggest winner. I mention efficiently specifically, because, real estate is valuable, and some pharmacies won’t have room for multiple machines. The Pharmaself24’s effective use of its space is a standout difference.

It’s important too, that the internal front lighting is so bright. Patients collecting 24/7 need external lighting at night (or in the case of the UK, from 5pm-8am from November to February.) Incorporating this into the design is clever. The whole appearance looks slick, a hallmark of good design.

Not only is it slick, but it’s robust, with a certificated anti-vandal IK10 rating. IK is a measurement of how much impact it can withstand, from 0 to 10.

Omnicell Pharmaself 24 Features

  • Unrivalled Capacity
  • Works with both Standalone Software and PMR Integrations
  • Premium Hardware
  • Modular Feature & Colour Customisation Available
  • External & Internal Options
  • Routine Annual Maintenance Checks
  • Fast Loading & Intuitive Traffic Light System
  • Secure IK10 Certification (Anti-Vandalism Protection)
Book A Call with Omnicell

MedPoint

MedPoint is a really solid option, offering three unique model sizes, the i900, i1200, and i1500. (The numbers represent width in cm.) The one that struck us most here was the MedPoint SOLO, designed to be separate to the Pharmacy.

A unique opportunity with MedPoint SOLO

The reason that struck us, wasn’t its cold-chain medicine option (though that’s cool…literally), nor the fact that even pharmacies with no physical floor space available can get the technology. It’s the potential of increasing patient convenience even more.

Covering quite a wide catchment area means travelling to your pharmacy might still be cumbersome for many patients. But delivering to every single patient is also costly and not environmentally friendly. The SOLO could give your pharmacy an outpost – a more convenient location for a wider reach of patients to collect their medications. It would work similar to Amazon Lockers, where a delivery driver delivers to the Prescription Collection Machine and loads everything there, instead of at the pharmacy.

(This machine is a demonstration model.)

 

The MedPoint also integrates with a growing list of PMR Providers: Titan, Proscript, Positive Solutions, Cegedim PMRs and the BeWell patient app, with more in the pipeline.

Whilst MedPoint doesn’t have the large glowing logo on the front, they do show lighting consideration for users with their external light.

MedPoint’s unique barcode-led process helps minimise the risk of the wrong patient getting the wrong bag, significantly enhancing safety by eliminating human error.

MedPoint Features

  • Utilises width rather than depth, with three unique models
  • Developed MedPoint API works with PMR Integrations & other third-party apps
  • MedPoint SOLO offers a unique standalone solution
  • Secure – fitted with CCTV and alarm as standard
  • Completely customisable branding
  • Routine maintenance checks every 6 months
  • Manufactured in Britain
Book A Call with Medpoint

Pharmabox 24

The “affordable” option, the Pharmabox 24 is very much the no-frills solution.

It does the automation part, it’s simple to use, and it works. Whilst not as all-singing, all-dancing, it might well be the entry point for pharmacists on a tight budget.

“Yes our sensors allow each customer 1 minute to collect their package from the flashing collection drawer, and if something is still detected after this time the drawer door will lock. The alloted Pharmabox24 local manager/contact point will receive a service text message to say that there is a package needing to be removed. The “release code” is entered into the front panel and the package can be removed, and can identify obviously who the offender was!

Our internal CCTV records all the activity and the pharmacy’s own CCTV can also be used to show what happened.

Our experience is that this happens very rarely but is a necessary security option.

We recommend the backlit LED lighting for the front panel which provides just the right level of lighting for the customer collecting. Equally in some situations, we recommend a PIR LED downlight to be fitted in the vicinity of the Pharmabox24 in order that the right level of safe lighting is achieved. This is usually included as part of the survey and planning permission work.”

Pharmabox24 Features

  • Utilises width rather than depth
  • Available in a range of sizes
Book A Call with Pharmabox24

Summary

Ultimately, your pharmacy will have its own specific needs.

Whilst there are many variables between models, you might be constrained by available space, meaning you benefit from either a model that utilises width over depth or vice versa. It’s worth a chat with Chris at T3 Pharmacy Design if you’re struggling with space or the layout of your pharmacy.

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increasing pharmacy sales
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Increasing Pharmacy Sales: How to Cross-Sell & Upsell in a Pharmacy

Every conversation in your pharmacy is an opportunity for helping patients further. The more you know about the patient, the better your service gets. This guide explores the best ways for better serving your patients and increasing your revenue in the process

Increasing pharmacy sales requires talking, exemplified no better than market traders whose dialogue with customers is paramount.

Increasing Pharmacy Sales with your existing patients

A question that’s on practically every pharmacy owner’s lips right now is, “How can I increase the revenue and profitability of my pharmacy?”

There are many ways of doing this, and you should browse around similar guides we’ve written on our blog. We usually focus on how digital marketing helps achieve more sales and improve your workflow.

However, in this article we’re going to examine the tactics you employ on the pharmacy floor. You don’t need any new patients for this, you simply need an open mind for a new approach to both cross-selling and upselling.

It’s important to note that at the heart of increasing revenue is great patient care, quality customer service and convenience. We never want to sell a patient anything unnecessary, and we wish to always remain ethical about what we sell.

The difference between Cross-Selling & Upselling

Cross-selling and upselling are both effective ways of increasing pharmacy sales, whether that’s through promoting services or recommending products.

An example of cross-selling is somebody visiting your pharmacy to collect their prescription and you or your pharmacy team recommending your ear health consultation or microsuction service.

Upselling is where somebody comes in to buy ibuprofen for their back pain, and they leave with a stronger, more effective painkiller or a heat pad for their back. These are more valuable, upgraded versions of the solution they’re already purchasing.

Balancing cross-selling with speedy service

Now, there are two natural enemies of uncovering patient’s problems: time and privacy.

Ideally, a patient isn’t in a rush and there’s no one behind them in the queue. The best time for these conversations would be during a consultation. Realistically however, the bulk of your interactions are at the counter.

So whilst it’s worth bearing in mind that, whilst someone is waiting alone in a pharmacy for their prescription, that’s a great opportunity to explore their other healthcare needs. You also need a tactic for when it’s busy.

6 Simple, Effective Questions for Counter Sales

Cross-selling and upselling in a pharmacy requires training and a good knowledge of your products and services. When our CEO, Saam, was at the coalface, he’d have a conversation with every single patient and customer that he possibly could, given how busy the pharmacy was at the time of course. It always started with a simple smile and:

“How are you doing today?” 

Which is a great way to instantly develop a bond, and shows that you care. Without this essential first step, you’re unlikely to get the best conversation out of the patient and provide the best care.

We’ll provide additional information below each question, but just a foreword that these are recommendations for individual questions, not a full list of questions to ask people at the pharmacy counter. Also, we need to be sure that we’ve asked the usual WWHAM questions for safe and effective supply.

Have you considered using X and Y?

Often, patients come in and go straight to the counter asking for a specific medicine e.g. Day Nurse or Beechams. They have a cold and are feeling under the weather. 80% of pharmacies will sell the product that the patient will ask for, and that’s it. The rest however, will have had a great conversation with the patient and talk to them about:

  • If they have any immune boosters, such as echinacea or Vitamin C with Zinc
  • How the separate ingredients in the branded product can be bought separately e.g. Paracetamol and Ibuprofen at larger quantities for the same price
  • How their sleep is right now that could be affecting their health
  • What their diet is like perhaps
  • If they’ve had the flu jab or not

With the right conversation and actively caring more about the patients’ health, you’ll be able to offer a more rounded, holistic approach to healthcare that will build trust in your patient. The side effect of this is more sales.

That’s why training your team on this is so important, as the pharmacist will be very busy in many circumstances. Every conversation or interaction is an opportunity to make more of a difference to someone’s health. What a great position to be in!

Would you like to book in for a free X whilst you’re here?

X can represent anything, but given that we’re offering it for free, it’s probably best sticking with things that are usually free anyway, such as Blood Pressure Checks or NHS Health Checks (if you’re in the UK). Whilst those checks themselves are useful for the patient, they also present opportunities for building the relationship further. As mentioned before, a consultation environment is a better environment than the counter for questions like the one below.

Is there anything else bothering you at the moment?

This question is ideal for cross-selling, and it also gives patients permission to talk about the things they often consider too insignificant for a doctor’s visit or put off getting advice about. Perhaps they’re stressed, perhaps they’re tired, but these are all openings for further questions and conversations, ultimately leading to you solving their problems.

You won’t open many doors for anything too personal at the counter with this question, but it’s great in a private consultation setting.

Are you going anywhere on holiday this year?

Depending on the answer, recommending various vaccines and travel necessities pharmacies offer becomes the natural next step.

Did you know you can get your flu jab here?

A simple question in the run-up to flu season, with an obvious cross-sell.

Utilising leaflets

Many pharmacies utilise leaflet-drops, delivering thousands of leaflets to their catchment area, and people might become aware of the service the pharmacy is promoting.

A more effective use of the leaflets (which you can use additionally if you’re still tied to leaflet drops) is having a small pile of them displayed in a stand on your counter.

Incorporating a leaflet into your conversation about the new service you’re cross-selling helps the patient digest (and perhaps later, remember) what you’re talking about.

P.S. Need a leaflet designing? Check out the Pain-Free Pharmacy Poster & Leaflet Designs in our shop.

Increasing Pharmacy Sales through incentivising employees

It’s amazing how money incentivises people. And this type of incentive works wonders in the pharmacy.

We’ve seen service sales skyrocket in pharmacies by those who have employed such tactic. One such pharmacy incentivised their team to earn:

  • £5 for every patient that they got to leave a review for a pharmacy online
  • £10 for every patient that they got to sign up to the weight management service

We couldn’t believe the numbers of Google reviews rolling in and their sales on weight management medicines i.e. Saxenda, steadily rose.

The more you incentivise your pharmacy team, the more they’ll work for the results you want. From your perspective, getting 50% of an increase in profit is better than 100% of no increase.

A real-world pharmacy application

Let’s take a classic example. A patient comes in for some sunscreen.

This is a great chance to spark a conversation:

HCA – “Are you going anywhere nice?” 

Customer – “We’re off to Morocco”

HCA – “Oh lovely! Where about are you going? Have you considered…”

  • Travel Vaccinations, such as Hep A, Tetanus, Rabies
  • Diarrhoea capsules and hydration sachets
  • Antihistamines
  • Moquito repellant
  • First aid kit

Every conversation can lead to better care for our patients and more revenue.

Your Attitude Matters

There’s a big difference between an insightful observation of someone’s needs and a generic recommendation that they probably overheard you giving the person before them in the queue.

One has a far higher likelihood of increasing pharmacy sales, and the other is arguably more damaging than it is useful.

Don’t diminish your reputation for profit

Telling everyone there’s a bar of Dairy Milk on offer for a pound might fly in WHSmith’s. But as a pharmacy, your word is your bond and requires nurturing. We’re healthcare professionals, not a general shop. Save your recommendations and advice for healthcare topics.

What should I cross-sell?

Whilst the answer to this question is generally, “whatever is relevant for the patient”, we think it’s important for Community Pharmacies to focus on healthcare.

It’s also largely situational for your specific services, the advantages your pharmacy holds, and where your focus is at any one time.

Think Prescription Collection Points, Late Night Pharmacies, clinics, whatever you’re currently under-subscribed for.

Have a focus, but remain flexible

At restaurants, waiting staff recommendations are usually the food where they’ve got loads of stock running out of date.

Now, I’m definitely not suggesting you start pushing nearly expired medicines on people! But it is worth thinking about what your next big push is. Is it shifting people onto EPS, is it filling up your Flu Clinic? Your larger business strategy should guide your upselling approach.

Just remember, remaining flexible, open and inquisitive ensures you’re always helping the patient.

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How Your Pharmacy Benefits from offering Ear & Hearing Health Services

There is currently a huge unmet demand for ear and hearing health services in the UK.

With most GPs discontinuing earwax removal services, it has become increasingly hard for patients to access this care on the NHS. Average wait times (pre-Covid19) were approximately 12-16 weeks. However, many patients are now waiting over a year to receive treatment. 

It is vital patients are able to access this type of care because hearing loss causes problems with balance and falls and is known to be the single largest modifiable risk factor for the prevention of dementia.

TympaHealth Clinics

Offering an Ear & Hearing Health service, plugging the gap

Many pharmacies have already expanded their services. Helping support their local communities in accessing ear and hearing healthcare services and reduce the burden on secondary care settings.

The Tympa system is the world’s first, all-in-one hearing health assessment system. It empowers pharmacists to perform HD digital otoscopy, microsuction wax removal, and a hearing screener, in a single 30-minute appointment. What’s more, pharmacists can access remote advice and guidance from Audiologists & ENT specialist surgeons when required. This means you’re never without support if you need it.

Secure Patient Data

All patient records and data are kept in a fully secure digital system. This can be quickly and easily shared via a professional PDF, with ENT surgeons or audiologists, should the patient need onward specialist treatment.

The Tympa service offers a brand-new revenue stream for your pharmacy. Generally, you only need to deliver two appointments per month to cover the cost of the Tympa device. What’s more, the increased footfall within your pharmacy can lead to boosts in cross-selling potential for other ear-related products such as Earol and decongestants.

“We have traditionally been all about dispensing the medicine, and yet now we can dispense care, we can dispense health, we can dispense a better quality of life and that’s an honour to do that. The bottom line is this service is invaluable.
Bernadette Brown – Pharmacy Owner

“Patients are getting more than just ear wax removal, they’re getting an ear check-up, they’re getting a healthcare professional looking in their ear, who can then actually prescribe for them.
Kara McIvor, Pharmacist

The Tympa System is a win-win. Your pharmacy can benefit from increased revenues, and deliver vital ear and hearing health services to your local community. With hearing loss rapidly becoming one of the UK’s top disease burdens – overtaking diabetes and cataracts by 2030 – now is the time for your pharmacy to be at the forefront of ear and hearing healthcare.

ear and hearing health service

The Tympa Health Kit

Want to find out more about bringing TympaHealth services to your local community?

Please contact enquiries@tympahealth.com, and one of our team will be in touch. Or, head to the TympaHealth website to find out more.

Found this article helpful?

A big thanks to TympaHealth for contributing this article, giving our audience some great insights into the benefits of the Tympa Service.

You can find all our articles and subscribe to our mailing list on our website. We’re always helping pharmacy owners to make the most of their pharmacy business with the very best in pharmacy marketing tips and guidance. We’d love to see you join our community!

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build your independent prescribing clinic
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How to Build an Online Independent Prescriber Clinic (UK) in 2022

Independent Prescribing will soon be the standard in pharmacy. (It’s already here, with early adopters already in full swing.). The move is the next logical step in Pharmacy becoming the true gateway for the NHS. And it’s the next logical step for your pharmacy if you’re growing your clinical provisions.

Want to run a pharmacy clinic as an independent prescriber? This guide shows you how to set yourself up in a way that:

  • Makes it easy for patients to find you and book appointments
  • Makes your clinic easier to manage
  • Gives you more time for customer care and less time on admin
  • Gets you good reviews
  • Maximises your profitability to help your pharmacy thrive
  • Works for any specialism you choose as an independent prescriber

want to run a pharmacy clinic as an independent prescriber?

 

Whilst independent prescribers (IPs) can be set up in a wide range of healthcare settings, this article focuses on independent prescribing in a clinical pharmacy setting.

Getting Started: Laying the groundwork

If we’re building a successful model, we need a solid foundation. The element that underpins the entire operation. That foundation is your website. The easiest way to explain the value of a website is thinking of it as the hub in a hub & spoke model. It’s the backbone of all the various points of your operation, including:

  • Capturing patients when they’re looking for a healthcare service
  • Selling POMs and P-medicines
  • Booking appointments
  • Taking Payments
  • Automating the Qualification/pre-consultation stage
  • Recording data to review and analyse
  • Answering FAQ’s so you don’t have to
  • Making sure you’re legally compliant

Your website is your pharmacy, just online. Being online means it never closes, a massive benefit when it comes to convenience.

Review those bullet points. The only part of the entire prescribing journey the website doesn’t cover is consultations/clinic appointments and the supervision of dispensing medicines. It stands to reason that if you’re the only person who can do those things, those things should be your sole focus. The website should take care of the rest.

Now, will there still be phone calls? Naturally. Will there still be issues you have to handle? Sure. But with a proper website, they are anomalies, not the norm.

Getting a proper Independent Prescriber website

Emphasis on the word “proper.” This is the foundation of your prescribing business we’re talking about. Cutting corners is not the way to go. Otherwise, cracks you can paper over become crevices that swallow your revenue. Not only that, you have to be super sharp in that the GPhC will inspect your site and if it’s not built “properly”, they will ask you to shut it down. A major issue if you’ve already generated a tonne of SEO and rank.

Ever heard “this website has caused us so many issues”? It’s all too common with the so-called “cheap” solutions. If you’re creating a car on a budget, it’s the frills you’ll want to cut back on, not the engine.

The engine drives the car forward. Your website will drive your business forward.

The websites we create have in-depth features, created specifically for Independent Prescribing.

For example, a patient ordering Treclin for acne through your website will be prompted to start an online consultation. They’re then taken step-by-step through a comprehensive consultation – just like you’d take them through in the pharmacy. Questions don’t become answerable until the last one is completed, ensuring 100% accuracy. But this is an example user journey, not the only one. It depends on how the GPhC sees this as regulatorily sound.

Independent Prescriber websites

A megamenu taken from a Pharmacy Mentor website for an Independent Prescriber

They agree to a few conditions such as reading the patient info leaflet supplied, the medication is just for them, and that all questions have been answered truthfully.

Only then can they order the medication after signing up to your website (to confirm identity). Crucially, before any medication is supplied, the pharmacist must “approve’ the medication is fit for purpose for that particular person. You can’t cut corners here and you need to be fully confident that you’re supplying the POM ethically and within your own SOPs.

It mirrors the process of a patient visiting your pharmacy. But it’s far more convenient. For both you and them.

These pre-consultations are unique for every service and P-medicines/POMs you provide. Of course, GSLs are able to be ordered without the need for a consultation. For clinical services, it means that the only thing that both you and the patient need to do during the appointment is the treatment itself. Doesn’t that just make you want to breathe a big sigh of relief?

Pharmacy Mentor create these websites tailored specifically for Independent Prescribing Pharmacies. I could go on and on describing the functionality, but it’s a bit like describing a painting. The only way to experience it is to look at it yourself.

Book an appointment for one of our team to show you around our Independent Prescribing demo website. See for yourself what your pharmacy business can become when you go online.

Connecting patients with your pharmacy

Ok, so you’ve got a website, now how do we capture the patients when they’re looking for a healthcare service or a consultation?

The traditional healthcare model has been GP or hospital first, then the pharmacy to collect any medication. As we know, that’s highly inefficient for the majority of most patients and the healthcare system itself. But, it’s what people are used to.

So how do we change that?

With marketing.

patients in a waiting room

One of the most common sights in the NHS…patients waiting

Marketing Your Independent Prescribing Clinic

The problem pharmacies face when changing public perception of what they offer is indifference.

Think about how much information is thrown at us on a daily basis. Our brains have adapted to filter out irrelevant information. If you’re healthy, you don’t need to hear about where to go when you’re unwell. So your brain filters it out. Short of making a Netflix documentary, changing public perception in the macro is hard work. But we’ll return to that idea later.

One trick is marketing to people actively looking for healthcare services. Disrupt the existing journey they take. Give them a more convenient option. I can’t stress that enough. Convenience wins this game.

A more efficient, convenient service provided directly to people who need it, will, over time, change this perception of what pharmacy is.

You are the most convenient option

Fortunately, Independent Prescribing in a Community Pharmacy is the most convenient option, especially when coupled with eCommerce. All you have to do is appear when they need you, and you’ll most likely pick up the business. When people are faced with long GP waiting times for appointments, they’ll seek other avenues, and the place they’ll look is online.

a different colour tile sticks out with a light bulb idea

Make search engines your biggest ally

Search engines have one job. To connect the person using them with the information they seek. One of the primary aims of your website should be having that information, and presenting it in such a way that the search engine connects the person searching for the information to your website. This is called Search Engine Optimisation for your Website and it’s pretty critical to success.

This is as true for the medicines you can sell online as it is for private clinics you operate. Give as much information as you can, as concisely and clearly as you can. When people are searching for help with their symptoms, your website should then show up with the clear, relevant information they need to solve their problem.

Rather than go into too much detail here, if you want to learn more about SEO check out SEO for Pharmacy: The Complete Guide to Winning Google.

Using Social Media to spread the word

Social media is an incredible tool. And just like all tools, how you use it determines its utility.

Social media’s primary benefit is that it connects. It unites people with common interests into communities.

Earlier I mentioned a Netflix documentary being one of the only effective ways to get people engaged with health conversations when they’re feeling perfectly healthy. Your social media strategy should be to be like a Netflix documentary. Not in production quality. Just this:

Capture things people care about and talk about them.

As a community pharmacy, you already have a community waiting to connect with you. Their common interest is health. But as an Independent Prescriber, you’ll have a specialised common interest. It might be hair loss. It might be weight management. No matter what it is, you’ll have a topic that some people care about, because it affects them. You can create a community out of this.

Use your specialist knowledge and give your advice out for free through social media. The formula for using social media is quite simple. You can scroll through the slider below to check it out.

 

the not so secret formula to social media success. click right

1. Community. Who is your audience? as an Independent Prescriber, you’ll have a specialised common interest. It might be hair loss. It might be weight management. No matter what it is, you’ll have a topic that specific people care about, because it affects them. these people ARE your community.

2. Content. Create Content your community cares about. talk about people's symptoms & difficulties. That captures people's attention because they relate to it. you have the authority to speak about how to solve their problems. so do that.

3. Conversation. Interact with your community. This content leads people to want to reach out, usually through comments or private messages. ULTIMATELy, you have the solution to their problem. your content showed them that.

4. Conversion. Trust is established. Not everyone needs the conversation to convert, either. Often it’s enough to see you responding to other people to convince them you’re genuine

5. Consistency. Once a year is not enough. trust is built over time. results come over time. take your online presence seriously, AND YOUR ONLINE PRESENCE will BE takeN seriously.


When you’re the one giving out the advice, building the trust that you know what you’re talking about, patients will come to you for the clinic. They’ll come to you for the medicines. And if they don’t? They wouldn’t have done anyway.

A pharmacist told us recently they stopped their team giving out GSL medicine advice over the phone, because the people were then just going to supermarkets to get the medicine. They’re giving their time for no return.

But with social media, it’s not like you’re spending any extra time on these people. You’re creating the content anyway. If 100 people see it and 10 people visit your pharmacy, that’s a net gain of 10 customers, not a loss of 90. They weren’t your customers anyway.

Talking about an example of an audiologist using Social Media to grow a community.

Accelerating the Process with Ads

Money makes the world go round. So, naturally, if you’ve got a budget for it, why wouldn’t you advertise? You’ll get more business and make more money as a result. Absolutely.

My first bit of advice, however, is tread carefully. As an agency for pharmacies, we’ve had to learn and understand the rules around advertising on various platforms, especially Google and Facebook-owned ones.

You don’t want to get yourself banned from platforms for advertising things you shouldn’t have.

Now, obviously you can’t advertise POM’s online. But you can carefully advertise your clinics. You can advertise your pharmacists. It’s usually all in the wording.

And it’s where I’ll cheerfully advertise our services. Because we’re Facebook and Google partners. As an agency partner, we have reps to talk to about what’s allowed and what isn’t. We can get pharmacies authenticated for certain medicines e.g. Pneumonia vaccines (though there’s never a 100% guarantee on this.)

But the main reason I’d advise using us, or at least another professional ads agency (who is aware of the delicate nature of pharmacy advertising) is that your return on your spend will be far greater.

It’s the equivalent of paying a stockbroker £5k to manage your £100k portfolio. You spend that £5k because they’re far more likely to make more money from your £100k than you are. And it’s the same with advertising.

If you want to understand more about the advertising process, check out some of our other articles on advertising for your pharmacy:

Generating Feedback & Garnering Reviews

Since Independent Prescribing will be a new service for you, you’ll want to get as many reviews and bits of feedback as possible. Build it into the process. Whilst website review prompts can often be ignored, when you do interact with patients, asking for reviews and feedback is critical to both improving your service and giving the patients of tomorrow confidence in your service.

It’s important to remember that even negative reviews can be turned into positive experiences. Responding to the review is always the first step. Thanking them for taking the time, and empathising. If you feel the review is constructive, you can then let them know you’re taking their feedback on board to improve your service going forward. A lot of the time, people leaving these reviews just want to be heard.

Talking about how to use negative reviews positively.

Once you’ve refined the process for one clinic, rinse and repeat with new specialities.

If you’re a newly qualified Independent Prescriber, starting a new clinic, then you’ll want to make sure you’ve got the process streamlined. It’s a lot easier to handle one clinic if something isn’t quite right than it is three or four!

But when your website is fully functioning, you understand the customer journey, and you’re raking in positive reviews, it’s definitely time to expand the offering. Naturally, you’ll have a personal workload you won’t want to overburden, but this is where we’ve seen several pharmacies we work with expand by hiring new IPs with different specialities.

If every pharmacy sets up successfully, the NHS and how the public interacts with pharmacies will already be changed. It’s an exciting time for pharmacy, and a rewarding one for those pharmacists willing to adapt to the new digital landscape.

After all, you went into healthcare to help people, not do endless administration.

Found this article helpful?

You can find all our articles and subscribe to our mailing list on our website. We’re always helping pharmacy owners to make the most of their pharmacy business with the very best in pharmacy marketing tips and guidance. We’d love to see you join our community!

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How to set up a successful Aesthetics Clinics in Pharmacy

Moving towards a modern healthcare hub, service-focused model of pharmacy, setting up an Aesthetics Clinics in your pharmacy makes perfect sense. It’s a business that can completely stand on its own, being a high-end luxury service rather than the lower-end necessities.

aesthetics clinics in pharmacy

Why should you set up an Aesthetics Clinic in your pharmacy?

  1. They’re incredibly profitable. Successfully run, an aesthetics clinic can be more profitable than a pharmacy.
  2. See number 1.

No, but seriously, there are many reasons to set up an aesthetics clinic. Perhaps you enjoy doing it. Perhaps you believe the industry practice could be improved with more highly qualified clinicians.

But, if done well, (which we’ll cover below) it will make you lots of money and as a business, that’s a real consideration. And as a healthcare institution, you’ve already got a great awareness of the medical side of the business. As ultimately, although it is a luxury boutique, it’s founded in healthcare.

The problem is, a lucrative business comes with lots of competition. Who doesn’t want to make lots of money? But…

Pharmacies are perfectly placed to deliver Aesthetics Clinics as a trustworthy healthcare institution

Luxury customer experience is idealised by the people seeking these treatments, but ultimately their health is their main priority. They want 100% confidence their procedure will go well.

Whilst levels of qualification are required to perform these cosmetic treatments, a pharmacist’s experience and qualifications stand head and shoulders above people whose only medical qualifications are the cosmetic ones.

Being at the heart of your local community also offers the convenience of proximity for a service where a lot of patients want repeat services every few months. Most pharmacies have a consultation space, allowing procedures to be conducted privately and comfortably.

Your Consultation room may not offer the luxury feel of other Aesthetic clinics. A great experience is often the difference between a one-time customer and a repeat customer. If necessary, invest in a facelift for your pharmacy and consultation room.

aesthetics clinic in a consultation room

How’s your consultation room game?

Why shouldn’t you set up an Aesthetics Clinic in your pharmacy?

It’s easy to get swept away in the idea of making lots of money, but Aesthetics Clinics are a big commitment and shouldn’t be undertaken without being properly thought through.

Here are 3 reasons you shouldn’t set up an Aesthetics Clinic.

Aesthetics is, perhaps unsurprisingly, utilised by people who place a lot of emphasis on looks and a luxury experience.

If your pharmacy doesn’t look modern, this could hamstring any efforts to attract people to your clinic. If your consultation room isn’t up to scratch, again this will dent your appearance as “high-end.” People won’t spend a lot of money somewhere they don’t perceive to be high-end. Your medical and clinical experience is already high-end compared to most cosmetic clinicians. But your experience needs to match to make the very best profits.

Neither you nor your team has an interest in aesthetics and learning to be competent.

To re-iterate: the experience of aesthetics treatments should not feel like going for a vaccine, and the treatment is also more complicated. People want an experience to make them feel valued. What this entails varies from individual to individual.

But if you’re only interested in a money-making machine, people will find somewhere else that gives them the experience they seek. Either that, or you’ll have to make your model low-cost, high volume. It’s a lot harder to make a margin this way. It’s also a lot of time being spend doing aesthetics treatments if you have no real interest in it.

Superdrug offers an extremely cheap option, but with their marketing budget, their margin might come from increased footfall in their store. The hope that by attracting aesthetics patients they’ll also cross-sell make-up or other beauty products. (something you should consider doing no matter your price)

You have no marketing strategy for it.

If you don’t know how to connect your service to your paying customers, then there’s really no point investing in not just this, but any service. Our Powerful Aesthetics Marketing service is perfect if you don’t want to do this yourself.

If you’re in this position currently, consider improving these areas. It’ll massively ramp up your chances of success.

Marketing your Aesthetics Clinic – Setting yourself up for success

Let’s just make it clear what I mean by marketing – connecting your product/service to your customer. Without that, you’re not going to get anyone into your clinic. If no one knows you offer the service, how can they buy it from you?

Relying on people seeing your service in your pharmacy is going to be slow, slow going. Generally speaking, the market for your aesthetics clinic and the market for your pharmacy will have limited crossover. We’re talking about very different customers. So you need a very different marketing strategy. Your offering could be completely different from an Aesthetics Clinic down the road from you too. So you could need a very different strategy from them.

Your logo, your branding, your website, your social media, your content, even your premises will need to reflect the service you’re offering. And that might sound like a lot of work. But Aesthetics Clinics can make you lots of money. No one ever gets that without work. Set up in the right way though, you can reap handsome rewards. But it’s all dependent on the marketing.

Logo/Branding

Image is everything. For the vast majority of your customers, their first impression and their decision to visit your Aesthetics clinic will be made online. So you have to look, sound, and feel like a brand they’d expect to buy a treatment from.

Website

If you want to have your Aesthetics Clinic share a website with your pharmacy, then the bar for visual appeal needs to be set for the Aesthetics business, not the pharmacy. Your pharmacy customers won’t be put off by a website that looks excessively good for a pharmacy, but your aesthetics customers will be put off by a website that doesn’t look good.

The impression it gives? “If you can’t make your website look good, how can you make me look good?”

SEO

Let’s go back to the definition of marketing. Connecting your service to your customer. The perfect time to do this than when the prospective customer is searching for the service.

At it’s core, SEO means that your website gets found when people search for things. Want your Aesthetics Clinic to be found when people search for “Botox Injections?” You have to optimise your website for that phrase. The video below demonstrates Google searches for different key phrases “botox injections” and “aesthetics injections” and shows how different websites show up for what is a very similar phrase.

 

 

Your average ignoramus like me wouldn’t have a clue about the difference between plastic surgery and cosmetic surgery. So it’s important to be found for all the different search terms that people will use when they want your service.

Understanding what people are searching for is critical to getting your service found. If you’re trying to be found for “Aesthetics Clinic” instead of “Plastic Surgery” for instance, you’d be barking up the wrong tree. Plastic Surgery is searched for around 30x more on average and sometimes 50x more. Even though you don’t offer Plastic Surgery, you could optimise a blog post with the title “Plastic Surgery vs Cosmetic Surgery? What’s the difference and which one fits your needs?”

The same is true for “Botox Injections” – and any other service you’d offer. Just like people don’t search for a pharmacy when they want an earwax removal or a travel vaccine, people don’t search for an aesthetics clinic when they want treatments, they search for the treatments.

 

A Google Trends graph showing the difference in search terms between "Botox" (shown in blue) and "Aesthetics Clinic" (shown in red)

A Google Trends graph showing the difference in search terms between “Botox” (shown in blue) and “Aesthetics Clinic” (shown in red)

 

Social Media

The Social media strategy for Aesthetics Clinics differs from a pharmacy strategy in a number of ways. Aesthetics is a visual domain and needs a visual strategy to match. The primary audience for aesthetics is on Instagram, but that doesn’t mean ignoring Facebook, or even Nextdoor. There are tools to utilise on each platform that can help to not only capture new business, but also retain your existing business. This is super critical for aesthetics, as treatments like fillers require repeat visits every few months. Customer retention should be a big focus of your strategy.

You’ll also need to build and optimise your Google My Business profile and begin generating reviews on there. Social proofing is everything when it comes to Aesthetics.

 

Paid Ads

Paid ads combine the best of Social Media and Search Engines and hand it to you on a plate. Top of Google. Seen on Social Media. Guaranteed.

What’s the catch? You have to pay for it, naturally. But don’t let that put you off.

Digital advertisements provide better value, better analytics, and better targeting than any other form of advertising. Why does anyone advertise? Because the money it costs you to advertise is far less than the money you make by advertising. Creating and developing a successful ad campaign can be the difference between success and failure.

Ads are especially useful for getting business in the first few months while your organic strategy is growing.

Want help marketing your Aesthetics Clinic?

Our Aesthetics Marketing makes your clinic visible, accessible, and convenient to the relevant people and sets you up to capture the market and the profits which follow.

Understanding what people search for is critical in getting your service found. If you’re targetting “Aesthetics Clinic” instead of “Botox” for instance, you’re barking up the wrong tree. Plastic Surgery is searched for around 30x more on average and, in this spike,100x more.

Harnessing these trends both on Google & Social Media is fundamental to a successful Aesthetics clinic, which is a great opportunity to grow a large revenue stream.

 

LinkedIn poll for popular services in pharmacy

(Taken from our current poll on LinkedIn #impartial)

 

Our Aesthetics Marketing makes your clinic visible, accessible, and convenient to the relevant people and sets you up to capture the market and the profits which follow.

Interested in the opportunity to run an excellent aesthetic clinic in your pharmacy? Check our Powerful Aesthetics Marketing and talk to us about how we can help you set up.

 

Want to stay up-to-date on the latest and greatest ways of growing your pharmacy business? Subscribe to our newsletter for regular updates, including articles like this one. Be sure to check your email for confirmation and always check our Privacy Policy before signing up. 

 

 

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Email Marketing for Pharmacy - The Ultimate Guide
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Email Marketing for Pharmacies – The Complete Guide

Attention is an opportunity for relationship building, identifying problems, and presenting solutions. A well-planned email campaign gets you regular attention and the results that follow.

 

Sending emails requires email addresses to send them to. It also requires permission to comply with GDPR. We covered this in our article on Data Collection for Pharmacies, so we won’t include it here. But it’s definitely worth checking out if you’re serious about emails for your pharmacy.

 

 

Email Marketing for Pharmacies – Where to start

 

Probably the first thing to establish in your own head is that email has replaced post for most people. Mail used to be the primary form of communication to people. But the world has changed. If I wrote someone a letter nowadays, I wouldn’t expect a response within a week at least. There’s no interaction or functionality with a letter. I can’t touch it and visit a website. I don’t have to store it safely in my house if I want to refer back to it later. It’s expensive and time-consuming and it just can’t do what emails can.

That doesn’t mean there’s no room for letters in a marketing campaign, but if you sent letters as regularly as you sent emails, it would cost you a fortune and you’d probably get complaints. It’s a lot easier to delete an email than it is to throw away a letter.

 

digital button for email marketing for pharmacies

Email Marketing for Pharmacies by Pharmacy Mentor

 

The benefits of Email Marketing for Pharmacies

Email marketing isn’t flash or showy, and that’s generally why it’s underused. It’s private, so it never really gets the publicity of a popular social media post, or a glamorous TV ad. Out of sight, out of mind. But here’s why it should be on your mind and on your to-do list…

Inexpensive

Even if you value time and have us do it, our admin fee and your email software are the only costs. There’s no additional budget necessary. Compared to paid marketing, another fantastic customer acquisition tool, email marketing is inexpensive and generally performs better than any other form of marketing for the investment.

Targeted

Splitting your customer base up to personalise and tailor your emails.

For instance, customers who come in for clinical services may not have prescriptions. If you’re sending them emails about prescriptions, they may unsubscribe. The same is true for any irrelevant communications. There’s only so much attention people pay to things that aren’t relevant to their interests.

Trackable

With most email software, you can track the number of opens, link clicks, and unsubscribes. All these help analyse the effectiveness of the emails. So if something isn’t working, you know about it and adapt. And if it is working, you continue doing what works. Combine this with Google Analytics on your website, and you can track where your website traffic comes from. Since marketing effectiveness varies for a whole host of reasons, tracking and analysis are massive.

Convenient for mobile and desktop users

Your market consists of both older and younger generations, each with their own preference for devices and software. Almost everyone has an email address and when people check their emails, they often have more time on their hands. (Checking emails replaces the time that less mail through the door has saved, which people only did when they have time to read full letters.)

Regular + Relevant = Revenue

For memory’s sake, you can break down the three key things you want from an email campaign into 3 R’s. Here’s why.

regular add relevant equals revenue

Regular

This doesn’t mean every day. Regular means predictable, and as you’d expect. I might expect to hear from a pharmacy once every two weeks. But if I signed up for a holiday deals bulletin, I expect a daily roundup of any deals. The right amount of emails for one person might be too many for another. Like anything in marketing, it’s worth testing to see where the sweet spot is in your audience.

Of course, you could have a great one-off email you send out and then not send another one all year. This isn’t a failure, but it’s not maximising success.

Relevant

In other words, not spam. Spam targets everyone and hopes it’s relevant for some people. You want your marketing lists as relevant as possible. You can segment your mailing list to maximise relevance. People engage more when they feel an email is really speaking to them as an individual. Targeting women for a period delay service? If you segment your mailing list, you can talk in a way women respond to, but men wouldn’t.

Revenue

If you’re not getting revenue, you might as well not show up. It’s last because you need the first two before you get it. But ultimately, revenue is the main reason you’re marketing in any form. Using call-to-actions is key here. Fortunately, people are familiar with taking action after reading an email, so you’re playing into an already existing mindset.

As with all aspects of your marketing, you want to be proactively pushing the right services at the right time. It’s no good promoting flu jabs in July. We have a Pharmacy Marketing Calendar which we use to develop strategies for your pharmacy if you need help structuring your campaigns.

Online Payments

If you’re not already set up to take online payments – you should be. Not accepting payments online nowadays is the equivalent of not having a card machine. You lose out on so much customer spend because you can’t take their money the way they want to give it.

 

Ready to adopt email marketing for your pharmacy?

 

Get in touch! We can help with everything you need to get started, including which software works best for pharmacies.

We don’t just preach this stuff, we practice it! Subscribe to our newsletter for regular updates, including articles like this one and see how we run our own emails. Be sure to check your email for confirmation and always check our Privacy Policy before signing up. 

 

 

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Clinical Pharmacy Apps
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The Best (FREE) Clinical Pharmacy Apps of 2019

As technology and artificial intelligence has evolved significantly over the past decade, so has the way we consume information in our daily lives whether it’s at work or at home.

As professionals and as patient’s we are using technology more and more intuitively to help support us in all aspects of life.

I firmly believe to provide the best service to your patients, you need to have the most up-to-date knowledge base and there are many apps that can help you with this.

The best clinical pharmacy apps I feel that you should be using in 2019 to ensure you have the latest and most relevant information to deliver the best possible care are:

 

The BNF

 

The BNF App

 

This is a must-have app as a pharmacist. Admittedly the old version was pretty poor. It was slow, required you to pay and login via open Athens. However, this new version is a lot more refined and responsive. It is logically presented, with hyperlinks in the text to help guide you through the content. The interaction checker is really helpful and is a quick way to check drug interaction without having to flick through the pages from the book.

Available on: Apple and Google Play

 

Micromedex Free Drug Reference

 

Micromedex Free Drug Reference

 

Micromedex Drug Reference is a great drug information app. It includes useful information on IV compatibility, drug interactions, and off-label indications.

Available on: Apple and Google Play

 

SIGN Guidelines

 

SIGN Guidelines Clinical Pharmacy Apps

 

Contains all the latest guidelines for you on the move. It also allows you to send the guidelines to yourself as a PDF document. The iPad version even has the split screen feature, really useful if you need type and read. NICE too had an app however, they have recently withdrawn it from the app store.

Available on: Apple and Google Play

 

Medscape

 

Medscape Clinical Pharmacy Appa

 

Amazing app! Definitely one of my personal favourite of all the clinical pharmacy apps out there! It is a great app for all healthcare professionals. It offers the latest medical news, expert-opinions, point-of-care drug and disease information and relevant professional education. It also has many more reference materials, online calculators, formularies, etc. Plenty of CPD’s can be done from this app alone!

Available on: Apple and Google Play

 

MD Calc

 

MD Calc Clinical Pharmacy App

 

Ever been stuck looking for medical calculator? It contains all the calculator/scoring tool that you will ever need! A really useful app for Independent Prescribers!

Available on: Apple and Google Play

 

Patient Access

 

Patient Access

 

One stop shop for patients and professionals! Patients can use this app to make appointments with their GP’s and repeat prescription service. For professionals, there are featured articles, medical tools, and resources available for their development.

Available on: Apple and Google Play

 

RightBreathe

 

Rightbreathe

 

Have you felt confused by the number of inhalers that are now available in the market? Gone are the days of just a ‘blue’ and a ‘brown’ inhaler. So many combinations of molecules and devices are now available, it’s difficult to know where to begin from. This is a fantastic
app to supplement your counselling on inhalers. It has information for all the inhalers available in the market and video tutorials for each of them. For healthcare professionals, they have made available treatment pathways for Asthma and COPD recommended by BTS, SIGN and NICE.

Available on: Apple and Google Play

 

So there you have it. The best free clinical pharmacy apps of 2019. I hope you find these apps as useful as I do in my daily life as a hospital pharmacist and as a locum community pharmacist. Technology is here to make your life easier, so harness it at work and deliver better care to your patients.

 

Mikin Patel – MPharmS, PG Clin Dip

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mikin is currently a Lead Pharmacist in Gastroenterology at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. His daily life as a hospital pharmacist entails of providing clinical pharmacy services, optimising medicines management, policy & guideline writing, financial reporting and liaising with local commissioners in producing commissioning pathways for high-cost drugs (e.g. biologics). He also locums in community pharmacies on weekends to ensure his practice is up-to-date in both sectors.

Mikin is a contributing writer for Pharmacy Mentor with a keen interest in digital health. If you’re a healthcare professional passionate about how the digital revolution is transforming pharmacy and healthcare and would like to write for us, please get in touch!

 

 

Pharmacy Mentor is a marketing agency specialising in the pharmacy sector but we also help pharmacists understand what and how to use technology to improve business, practice and patient care. You can access more CPD modules here.

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Automate your Pharmacy Training with Mediapharm
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Automate your Pharmacy Training with Mediapharm

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Innovative pharmacy training

There are many important factors in the running of a safe and profitable pharmacy business but the one that remains top priority are the people that work for you. Investing in your staff is investing in your business, and much of this investment has to come in the form of training.

 

The problem in pharmacy today is that once staff members complete the mandatory training required to do their job, continued training gets neglected through the day-to-day running of the business. This results in stagnant performance and demotivated staff which ultimately affects business profitability. Not ideal in the current economic climate.

 

However, we, as pharmacists, also understand the complications in organising and completing training in the pharmacy. Time is never on our side and keeping track of who has done what can be a frustrating experience.

 

That’s why Mediapharm exists.

 

The all-in-one Pharmacy Training Provider

 

MediaPharm is a complete all in one training solution for pharmacy businesses. Unlike other training suppliers, MediaPharm not only provides professional and certified GPhC training for your pharmacy staff, but their state-of-the-art software also allows you to automate the entire process.

 

With a MediaPharm subscription, you’ll have access to your own customisable and professional training dashboard, where you’ll find a load of cool features. Alerts are sent out automatically to those colleagues who are falling behind their training and managers can view real-time reporting that makes compliance a walk in the park.

 

Colleagues have unlimited access to a huge library of e-learning modules that are fun, engaging and quick to complete. They’re rewarded with digital badges to keep them motivated and we’re releasing new courses all the time meaning they will always be in the know. 

 

And as new colleagues join the business, the volume of training doesn’t need to be overwhelming. Everything is organised, in one place and courses are unlocked at their own pace. No more course fees and costly delays waiting for enrollment – everything is included in your subscription and happens automatically.

 

Furthermore, you’ll have expert and continued support from their pharmacist-led team who are always there to make sure things are running smoothly.

 

A trusted pharmacy training provider

 

Mediapharm is a pharmacy training solution you can trust. They have courses accredited by the General Pharmaceutical Council and the  Royal Society for Public Health. They’ve been around since 2001 and proud to have hundreds of happy businesses using our platform. With our service, you can be sure that your staff will get the continued training they need and your pharmacy remains safe, effective and profitable.

 

The Mediapharm team have recently released the most effective and easy mandatory training modules for pharmacy teams. Check them out!

 

The Medicines Counter Assistants (MCA) Course

The Dispensing Assistant (DA) Course

 

 

If you would like Pharmacy Mentor to create a CPD Module showcasing your product and service, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.

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