Why Flexibility in Your Pharmacy Technology is Severely Underrated

My microwave drives me crazy. Of course, it beeps as expected when it’s finished its cooking cycle.  But then it beeps again, loudly and repetitively 30 seconds later, and then 30 seconds after that, and so on until I open the microwave door or press the cancel button.  

I get that some people might like this repetitive reminder feature.  I really do. “Hey, you forgot about something, come check it!”  I’m sure for some it’s much appreciated.  But in my household, there’s a good chance that I won’t be able to open the microwave immediately because I’ve been derailed from my plans to make a quick cup of tea to dole out snacks to my toddlers or intervene in the latest toy dispute.  I simply can’t get back to the microwave immediately. So I get to listen to a very loud “beep beep beeeeeep!” on repeat until my routine returns to normal.  

What I’d really like is for there to be a setting on my microwave that allowed me to turn off the reminder feature.  After all, it’s not like an oven. It’s off when it’s done cooking. What’s the worst that can happen if I ignore whatever’s in there? With all of the other countless buttons and settings, it would have been a feature that made all the difference.  

Okay, rant over, and on to the point for independent pharmacies. Flexibility is important. We are all different and every pharmacy is different. One size fits all just doesn’t do the trick because no one will be able to tell you exactly how to run your business.  Sure, we can make recommendations. And there are rules, regulations, and procedures that always have to be followed.  But if you try to fit your pharmacy into someone else’s mold with a POS system that isn’t robust enough to offer you flexibility, you’re likely going to find something that drives you crazy and makes your work day more difficult.  And that’s definitely not the point of Pharmacy POS.  

If you’re looking for pharmacy point-of-sale, be sure to keep flexibility in mind.  Can you tailor the system to your preferences or are you expected to fall in line with someone else’s idea of what makes your pharmacy run smoothly?