POS
Creating an Outstanding Customer Experience Through Point-of-Sale
For every facet of the customer experience, there are multiple ways to make it amazing, one being point-of-sale. Here’s how.
Your pharmacy POS system is a key tool for elevating the patient experience, from safety to overall satisfaction. Here's how to utilize it.
A focus on patient outcomes, safety and overall customer satisfaction dominates the world of pharmacies. Big or small, retail or outpatient, these are key factors that concern every pharmacist we talk with here at RMS.
While all these factors are related, they require different approaches, and checking all the boxes for every transaction isn't always easy. No matter how knowledgeable and well trained your staff is, leaving it up to a human factor leaves for a margin for error.
So how do you deal with these concerns? How can you verify that every transaction gets safety checks, make sure that customers have everything they need, and that they are satisfied when they leave the store? The answer rests with your pharmacy point-of-sale system. It's the last point of contact you'll have with each customer before they walk out the door. Here's how you can make the most of it.
Patient Safety - Checks at the point-of-sale are important to make sure the customers walk out the door with the right prescriptions. When a clerk rings prescriptions for two different patients in the same transaction, they should be notified of the discrepancy. That way a patient doesn't receive someone else's medications. Another great safety feature that's brand new to RMS is a workflow that will require clerks to verify the patient's date of birth. This is so the POS system can check that the patient date of birth provide by the pharmacy system matches the patient standing at the register.
Patient Outcomes - Patient wellness goes beyond prescription. And if they don't have a good outcome or experience with a new prescription, you may lose a return customer. Or in the case of outpatient pharmacies, they could end up with a patient that's back in the hospital. There are many ways that point-of-sale can help you focus on patient outcomes. Additional prescriptions for pickup notifications will help you to make sure that customers have all the prescriptions they need when they complete their transaction. Patient counselling prompts make sure that customers have the opportunity to ask questions and receive the advice they need to understand their medications. Additionally, another great feature is supplement recommendation. The RMS integration with Ortho Molecular Products will provide supplement recommendations based on nutrient depletion caused by specific medications.
Customer Satisfaction - The thing about customer satisfaction is that everyone has a different definition. Some customers care about a quick and easy transaction. Others look for friendly and knowledgeable staff. Point-of-sale technology is important because it gives you the flexibility to help customers in whatever way best meets their needs. Whether that be at the front counter, in the drive-thru, curbside, or at the patient bedside. Maybe it's even through home delivery. But the very best thing about point-of-sale technology might just be that you don't have to worry about all the little check-boxes. Your point-of-sale system does the work for you, allowing you to focus on the customer in front of you.
One till application might seem like another when you're checking out a patient. And at the very briefest glance, that's probably the case. Any system can track cash drawer balances and calculate change. But it's all the little things that make a point-of-sale system a valuable and necessary tool for a successful pharmacy. These types of integrations and options that allow you to know that every transaction was completed correctly will result in every customer having the best possible experience and outcome.
