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3 Innovative ways to upscale your pharmacy

If you’re an independent or community pharmacy owner, you may feel you’re in direct competition with online services and larger pharmacy chains. And you wouldn’t be entirely wrong.

New distance selling services such as Pharmacy 2 U are. offering free prescription deliveries and cutting out the need for face-to-face pharmacy interactions.

Of course, there’s no replacement for the in-person advice of a trusted community pharmacist. But nonetheless, you’re probably looking for further innovative ways to upscale your pharmacy and general service offering in order to compete.

Here are 3 ways you can do exactly that.

Increase your online presence

The more people that can find your pharmacy online, the more potential customers you can draw in to use your services and increase revenue. So listen carefully to this one!

If your pharmacy is regularly searched for online, Google will automatically create a business listing, summary page. This is called a Google My Business account. The listing shows information such as your address, opening hours and contact details.

When patients search for your pharmacy, Google will display this listing, as well as the most relevant information it has on your practice.

You can claim an existing business listing or set one up yourself if an automatic one hasn’t been generated, by creating a free Google Business Account.

What are the benefits?

Three benefits of using your Google My Business listing:

  • Easily update your opening hours so people know when they can visit
  • Ask people to leave reviews that promote your pharmacy
  • Promote your service offering such as a MedPoint machine or additional consultation services so people know how you can support them.

When patients search for your pharmacy, they’ll immediately see all the relevant, up to date information they need.

How do I claim a Google My Business listing?

To claim an existing business listing you need to go to the listing and find the part where it states, “Own this business?”. Follow the steps, input your business address and have google send you a unique security code via letter, alternatively you can start the process here.

Once you have the code, you can claim and verify an existing listing and create an account, so you can continue to log-in and provide updates with ease.

Offer contactless payment

Whilst many may still prefer to pay with cash or chip and pin, the global pandemic has led to a huge increase in contactless and mobile payments.

Contactless payments have dramatically risen in popularity year after year, and data from Barclaycard revealed that 88.6% of all its eligible payments in the UK were contactless in 2020.

Of course, many retailers made the decision to temporarily pause cash payments in 2020 for health and safety reasons which meant that customers’ eyes were opened to the overall ease of use and access that contactless payments bring.

How does offering contactless payment help me upscale?

  • Contactless payments are expected to continue increasing in popularity as in March this year the FCA increased the contactless limit from £45 to £100
  • Many patients still want to minimise unnecessary contact with handheld terminals or cash for health and safety reasons
  • It’s more convenient for people! It’s what people expect when they pay for something – and it’s quicker and safer than cash

There’s no excuse not to offer contactless and mobile payment solutions at your pharmacy.

There are many card reading terminals out there which offer the ability to accept contactless payments. And many are available on monthly payment plans or staggered payment agreements so you can manage the cost.

Offer 24-hour prescription collection

You may not want to hire additional staff or increase your pharmacy’s opening hours to bring in more revenue, and you might not need to. A MedPoint machine could be exactly what your pharmacy needs to help you support more patients without additional resources.

Of course we would say this, so here are a few pointers on how a MedPoint machine gives your patients more convenience and flexibility!

  • Allowing patients to collect prescriptions 24/7 – without the need for changes to opening hours.
  • Reducing your queues at peak times
  • Allowing you to focus on meeting your face-to-face patient needs Improving the overall patient experience

Automating prescription collections allows pharmacy staff to spend less time retrieving dispensed prescriptions, whilst reducing patient waiting times.

A MedPoint machine enables your staff to:

  • Spend more time with the patients needing face-to-face care, something that online pharmacies simply cannot offer.
  • Spend time on other activities which add more value to your business.

We offer a selection of sizes which can be incorporated into your existing shop fronts as well as a free-standing solution, the first of its kind, the MedPoint SOLO.

For further advice on upscaling your pharmacy with the introduction of a MedPoint machine please feel free to drop us a line today! We have a free chat service which displays when we’re online, alternatively you can email us on: Info@medpoint.co.uk.

Save time and resource

Automating prescription collections allows pharmacy staff to spend less time retrieving dispensed prescriptions and reduce patient waiting times.

Increase your market share

Get ahead of the curve and attract new patients by being the first in your area to offer 24/7 prescription collection