What’s the Real Cost?

Cost vs. value is a tricky thing. How do you decide whether something is really worth the money you’ll spend on it? It’s a question we talk about often here at RMS, as pharmacy-point-of-sale isn’t just an application and a bunch of new hardware. Point-of-sale is an investment in your pharmacy. And if you invest in the right POS system, your returns can be pretty big.

But where do those returns actually come from? How does money out of pocket for new technology in your pharmacy end up becoming a positive on your bottom line?

Time- The old phrase “time is money” may seem cliche, but like so many worn out sayings, it’s so well worn because it’s true. Your time is worth something. And every extra minute it takes you or a member of your pharmacy team to complete a given tasks adds up. This means that every process you can streamline leads to a pharmacy that not not only runs smoother but is more profitable. For example, how long do you take to manually update prices, or process OTC orders? Or how much time is wasted looking for buried metrics that should really be readily available? I bet you can think of several examples off the top of your head too. Now think about the time (and money) you could save if any one of those manual tasks was automated, or even just a little bit easier. How about all of them? 

Reduction of errors- We all make mistakes. But there are definitely avoidable mistakes. And it’s those that cost your pharmacy money. If a price in your system doesn’t match the price on your shelf and you have to discount a product below cost. Or if costs increase without automated price updates and your target margin slips? How about an employee manually keying in prices and accidentally entering the wrong amount. All of these errors cost your pharmacy money. And those are just the ones that don’t impact patient safety and satisfaction. One of our newest features allows you to verify a patient date of birth with prescription sale, making sure that the right customer goes home with the right prescription. 

Data – This should be one of the biggest drivers behind decisions you make in your pharmacy. Data tells you whether product is selling, what you need to re-order, if you have shrinkage. It tells you whether you’re hitting target margins and whether your pharmacy business is actually growing. If you’ve lost customers this month or gained them. If you don’t have access to all of this information and more, then you can’t make informed decisions about your business.

Increased sales- Going beyond the basics of point-of-sale is where you can really see exponential growth. If you haven’t looked into Ortho Molecular Products yet, we can’t recommend it highly enough. Our integration with their Digital Replete solution allows you to counsel customers on supplements based on nutrient depletion. Not only does this drive sales, it increases patient adherence, wellness and satisfaction. Beyond your pharmacy counter, you can also drive sales by expanding your service area with point of sale solutions for curbside pickup, meds-to-beds, drive thru, and home delivery.

When you calculate how much a lack of point-of-sale is costing, the return on investment starts to make sense. When you take the next steps and go beyond the basics, we think you’ll see the value in pharmacy point-of-sale. It shouldn’t be a cost center. Instead, it should be a tool used to grow your pharmacy in ways you never thought possible.