Debunking 5 Major Myths About Pharmacy POS

There are many established reasons why you would purchase a new Pharmacy POS system – increased efficiency, higher profit margins, and improved customer service, just to name a few.  But does it go the other way? What drives those who choose not to make a change or move forward with new technology purchases in their pharmacy? 

While a change may not always be the right choice for your pharmacy, it’s important to make choices based on the right reasons and not misperceptions about what point-of-sale does (or doesn’t) do for your pharmacy. Here are few myths about pharmacy point-of-sale that we’d like to take out of circulation.

My pharmacy isn’t busy enough – A majority of pharmacies can benefit from pharmacy point-of-sale.  We’ve found that a pharmacy filling as few as 100 prescriptions a day can see improved staff efficiency and workflow completion by implementing a POS system.   

My pharmacy doesn’t have a large front end – Sure, POS can help you manage a large front end.  It’s a great tool for retail oriented pharmacies.  And it’s also a great tool for apothecary style pharmacies with limited front end product.  Even if you only have a few shelves worth of products or a couple of rounders, it’s important that you be able to easily sell that product at the correct price and track what you’re selling.  For these small apothecaries, accurate workflow completion and easy customer checkout are always essential. 

Purchasing from one vendor sounds like a better idea – Remember when VCR’s were still enough of a big deal that you could by DVD/VCR player combos?  Seemed like a great idea.  You got a DVD player for the new stuff and could still enjoy old favorites.  Until one of the two components broke, or you stopped watching those old VHS tapes all together.  Then you either had to have a useless piece of technology lying around taking up unnecessary space or you had to start all over again.  It’s kind of like that.  When your pharmacy grows and your needs begin to evolve, you may need to make a change.  Is it better to start from scratch or just replace the piece that isn’t working for you?  It may seem more complicated to have two different systems at first glance, but going with a provider dedicated to pharmacy POS gives you more robust functionality tailored to your needs. 

New technology is more trouble than it’s worth – Some pharmacy owners worry about the learning curve associated with purchasing a new pharmacy point-of-sale system.   It can seem daunting, especially if the system has robust functionality.  But point-of-sale should be user friendly in its nature.  Running a transaction needs to be intuitive and straightforward and you should be able to see this from the very first demo of the product.  Combine that with thorough training at implementation and even those staff members who fear change the most won’t be able to say that a new system is too difficult to use.

POS costs too much – I could tell you that you have to spend money to make money.  And I suppose even though that statement is a cliché, it’s true.  But it’s a good deal more involved than that.  Pharmacy point-of-sale should also save you money by exponentially increasing your efficiency and helping you to identify problem areas where you are wasting time and resources.  RMS’ new subscription based pricing makes POS more affordable than ever, decreasing your up-front investment in favor of an easy to manage monthly payments. 

If any of these justifications have been holding you back from investing in pharmacy point-of-sale, it’s time to adjust your perspective and rethink your needs.