Posts Tagged: printwerks

Unique Data Management Needs for Chain Pharmacy

Posted by & filed under Pharmacy.

The world of chain pharmacy data management is complicated. It’s much different from independent pharmacies. That’s because chain pharmacies have multiple locations, often across numerous states. They also are more likely to acquire other pharmacies, meaning they have transition needs. So, what are these unique data management needs?

They Have More Data and Require Sharing Across Locations

The sheer amount of data is one big difference for chain pharmacy. The largest chains in the country have thousands of locations. That data also must be shareable. If a patient has a prescription at one location but moves or needs a refill while away from home, they need to be able to do this at any site. It’s a lot of moving pieces that require standardization. 

More Patient Records Means Lots of Data to Store

The pharmacy management systems for chains are always expanding. However, not all this data is active. Even though it’s not active, you still have to retain it for periods of time per state laws. Instead of overburdening systems, many choose to archive pharmacy records on a cloud-based platform.

Doing so makes your software less bulky, but you can still access it. Further, anyone within your network can when you select a web-based option. So, if pharmacy A needs records for a patient from pharmacy B, it’s easy to find and doesn’t require lots of legwork. 

Chain Pharmacies Are Acquirers

The pharmacy industry experiences acquisitions and closures every year. Chain pharmacies are top acquirers. They may either keep the location but rebrand or close it and just buy the patient data. In either case, they need a variety of pharmacy transition services, including:

  • Data conversions from the existing pharmacy system to their system.
  • Data archiving of older patient records that they don’t want to migrate but still must keep to adhere to record retention requirements.
  • Print and mail services to inform patients of the change, rebrand locations, or provide signage announcing the pharmacy moved. 

Custom Data Needs Are Common

This subset of pharmacy can also have specialized data needs. Those look different for every pharmacy but could include analytics, reporting, PHI data transfers, data cleaning, data aggregation, and data warehousing.

For these customized processes, you may look to firms that have deep experience working with pharmacy data. Your internal IT teams may not have the capacity or expertise, and that’s where a partner like InfoWerks makes achieving data-related goals pain-free. 

The Chain Pharmacy Data Experts

InfoWerks has over two decades of pharmacy data experience. We’ve completed tens of thousands of projects and archived billions of records. We are the partner of choice for the biggest chains in the country, and we’re always adapting to changing needs of the industry. To learn more about our solutions, contact our pharmacy experts today. 

Pharmacy Transition Services: Buying, Selling, and Closing

Posted by & filed under Pharmacy.

pharmacy transition services

Pharmacy is a large enterprise in the U.S. In such a market, hundreds change ownership each year or completely close. The buying, selling, and closing of pharmacies prompt the need for specific services. We define them as pharmacy transition services and include data conversions, analytics, archiving, and print and mail solutions. 

Learn about the solutions we offer for pharmacies in transition.

Acquisition Analytics: Valuate with a Third-Party Report

Before you make a pharmacy purchase, you’ll certainly want to evaluate the operations and profitability. However, sometimes, this view isn’t as transparent as you’d like. Seeing this was a challenge in the industry, we developed Acquisition Analytics. 

We take the selling pharmacy’s data, and create a non-biased report, redacted to follow HIPAA guidelines. The report offers greater visibility around revenue and volume. With this, you can make a better determination of future profitability and the ability to retain patients. 

Data Conversions: Migrating Data to New Platforms

If you’re buying a pharmacy, whether just the patients or the complete location, you’ll likely need a data conversion. Pharmacy data conversions are very common and consist of moving data from one software platform to another. We make them as pain-free as possible with a thorough process that ensures accuracy, security, and compliance.   

Data Archiving: Store Healthcare Records Compliantly

If you’re buying, selling, or closing a pharmacy, you should understand your data archiving options. Patient record retention requirements require you to maintain files for at least seven years, even if they are no longer active. 

If you are buying a pharmacy, you should consider only migrating current records to your software platform. You can archive the rest with a web-based solution that offers easy access and robust security, including encryption and backup. 

If you’re the seller or closing a pharmacy, you may be responsible for maintaining the records as a custodian. It’s too expensive and complicated to keep them on legacy systems. The decision to archive satisfies regulations and is very low-cost.

Print and Mail Services: Tell Patients the News

The previous pharmacy transition services have been data-focused, but you still need communication solutions, too. Our pharmacy print and mail services can take care of spreading the news. We’ll send first-class letters to patients, based on the data in the pharmacy system, notifying them of the pharmacy change. These letters can inform patients no matter the situation. As a buyer, let them know you’ll still be able to serve them. If closing, thank them for their business and direct them to a new provider. They are completely customizable with your branding, maps, and more. 

Further, we have large format and exterior signage capabilities. If you’re closing the purchased location, purchase signage for the old site to point them to the new one. If you’re taking over the store, we can develop a turnkey rebrand package for every signage need.  

Buying, Selling, or Closing in 2021? Let Us Help with the Transition

Is a pharmacy transition in your future? If so, you can trust our pharmacy experts to support you through the journey. Get started by downloading our transition services spec sheet.

Pharmacy Customer Satisfaction: 2020 Rankings and Tips for Improvement

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pharmacy customer satisfaction

Every business wants to delight its customers and deliver excellent service. That can be challenging, especially in healthcare. Pharmacy customer satisfaction involves many layers, something further complicated by the pandemic. There have also been major shifts into the industry where retail pharmacies do much more than just dispense prescriptions.

However, pharmacies do have insights into if their customers are satisfied. The J.D. Power 2020 U.S. Pharmacy StudySM released its rankings of the pharmacies with the highest customer satisfaction. The study surveyed 13,378 customers that filled a prescription within the last 90 days. We’re breaking down the insights from the survey and offering some tips to boost pharmacy customer satisfaction.

About the Study

The study includes several categories, rating both brick-and-mortar and mail order pharmacies. For brick-and-mortar, they further divided the category into three segments: chain pharmacy, mass merchandisers (i.e., Walmart, Costco), and grocery stores. The top chain pharmacy was Good Neighbor Pharmacy. Leading mass merchandisers was Sam’s Club and Wegmans for grocery. Humana had the highest score for mail order.

Key Insights: What Drives Pharmacy Customer Satisfaction?

The survey looks at various metrics around customer satisfaction, including those related to costs, billing, and service. Additionally, the survey sought to define what drives satisfaction, and these are some of the findings.

Health and wellness services correlate to higher satisfaction and higher spend. 

  • 48% of retail pharmacy customers used at least one of these services, a 5% growth from 2019. 
  • Those who take advantage of services spend at least $11 more. This number rises to $34 more when they engage in two or more services. 
  • Users of services are also more satisfied than those that are not. 
  • Takeaway: Your customers will stay loyal and spend more the more they engage with your pharmacy. Awareness is key to increase participation in services. Retail pharmacies that offer services need to ensure their patients know about them! These awareness strategies need to cross channels, including digital, mail, and in-store signage. 

Digital ordering leads to satisfaction, but adoption is low.

  • Only 9% of brick-and-mortar customers order prescriptions online.
  • 32% of mail order customers order through digital channels.
  • Customers that do use these channels report higher satisfaction.
  • Takeaways: First, it will be interesting to see if adoption levels rose in 2020 because of the pandemic. It’s possible they did for convenience. Second, the low adoption again probably is due to the lack of knowledge of options. Pharmacies can step up communication efforts around this, but health plans should, especially Medicare Advantage, should also make sure their members know about the options. 

Patients welcome physician recommendations, but few make them.

  • 8% of respondents said they received a recommendation from their physician for pharmacy or wellness services. Of those that did, 80% went with the recommendation. 
  • Takeaways: Providers are a critical part of the prescription ecosystem and can influence patient actions. Pharmacies can seek to build relationships with providers, not only to gain new customers but manage the continuum of care. For example, working with providers on medication adherence could be a great way to avoid adverse situations and reduce healthcare costs. 

How We Support Pharmacies with Customer Engagement

As pharmacy data management experts, we do more than convert and archive behind the scenes. We also have turnkey solutions for pharmacy print and mail services through our Printwerks brand. If you want to engage your customers, then we can help. From in-store signage to promote wellness services to direct mail letters to reengage patients, we’ve got solutions!

Check out our pharmacy print and mail services today.