Pharmacy Data Management 101

Data is a part of every business, and pharmacies are swimming in it. You have patient, prescription, and other data critical to your operations and profitability. But what does pharmacy data management really mean? As a company with over two decades of experience with pharmacy data, we know all about it and how to manage it in a way that makes sense. 

Pharmacy Patient Data

Within your pharmacy management system are all your patient records. In a few clicks, you can see everything about an individual and the prescriptions they take. The biggest challenge we see with patient data is moving it around when necessary.

Typically, the most important movement is when you decide to transition to a new platform. Data from your old system needs to flow into your new one. A pharmacy data conversion sounds complicated, and in a way, it is. There are many variables in these migrations. Field mapping and accuracy of the utmost importance. Compliance and security are as well. 

Luckily, we pretty much wrote the script for data conversions. Our founders were the first to do it way back in 1997! Since then, we’ve completed thousands of pharmacy data migrations, ensuring that the data is accessible and correct. 

Prescription Data

Pharmacies need clarity around prescription data for many reasons:

1. It’s valuable to know volume and sales so that you can forecast future numbers.
2. You may monitor it for drug shortage predictions, which are a concern for many pharmacies.
3. You also have to be aware of the controlled substances that patients are using to ensure there’s no misuse or possible fraud.

Pharmacy analytics are critical for prescription data.

What Happens When Your Data Becomes Too Big?

Medical record retention laws require pharmacies to keep patient data for at least 10 years. Some states have even longer intervals. However, many of those records may no longer be active, so they’re just taking up space in your pharmacy software. Other times when you decide to convert to a new system, you don’t want to bring everything over to the new platform. 

When data becomes too big, the easy solution is data archiving. We offer a web-based archiving system. It’s easy to use and meets compliance and retention mandates. It lives in the cloud so that you can access it from anywhere with credentials. Our archiving solution also accepts multiple file formats—documents, images, and data.

Having an archive takes the strain off your system. It allows you to eliminate a legacy system or on-site server completely. It saves money and time. 

Pharmacy Data Management Best Practices

As with any discipline, there are best practices to consider with pharmacy data management. Here are some tips to always keep in mind.

• Work with partners that have robust security and encryption protocols.
• Require that all vendors that access your patient data sign a HIPAA Business Associate Agreement (BAA), which is a requirement. 
• Ask about provider experience with pharmacy data—it’s a lot different than any other industry and has many caveats. 
• Look for flexible platforms or workflows that are customizable to your needs.
• Discuss concerns, challenges, and processes before you convert or archive.

We Are Pharmacy Data Management Experts

We are proud to serve the pharmacy industry, helping chain, independent, specialty, and LTC pharmacies manage their data with conversions, archiving, and analytics. Find out more about how we work by downloading our eBook, The Ultimate Guide to Pharmacy Data Conversions.