Do you have a pharmacy? Find out about the digital tools you need

In recent years, the pharmaceutical sector has been boosted by technological developments, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, which forced the digitisation of many processes, such as e-prescribing.

In fact, a study by AIO Health Pro shows the effect that the pandemic had on the adoption of digital tools in pharmacies. These results show that a large proportion of respondents (33.5%), started implementing these technologies in the last 5 years, while 11.8% incorporated them in the last year. It is important to note that all the respondents answered that digitalisation is among their future plans.

The survey also shows that 29.4% of pharmacies have not yet implemented any digitalisation measures, but it is among their plans in the near future.

If you are one of those people who want to start digitising your pharmacy or you are looking for new techniques to transform your business, we are going to show you the keys to achieve it. Keep reading!

Challenges and benefits of digitisation in the pharmaceutical sector

There are many benefits that technology offers pharmacies. And you will soon be able to discover them. But first, it is important to note that, when implementing new digital tools, you must take into account these challenges:

1. Regulation and compliance that affect the pharmaceutical sector to ensure patient safety may result in slower technological development.
2. Integrating data systems can be a very complex task if the right tools are not in place.
3. Data security and data protection are key issues to protect the large amount of confidential information.
4. The associated costs that require a high initial investment, both to acquire the necessary technology and to hire and train specialised personnel.

However, as we have seen above, it is worth the time and effort to overcome these challenges because of the many benefits that digitisation can bring to pharmacies. From improved operational efficiency to greater recognition on the internet, we tell you all about them!

1. Improvements in research and development: thanks to advances in treatment definition or laboratory practices, you will be able to allocate your research resources more efficiently.
2. Stock management support: Receiving and shipping goods can be tedious, especially when dealing with large quantities of supplies. With advanced technologies such as IoT or ERP, you can keep better track and control of your orders.
3. Increased operational efficiency: automating everyday, repetitive tasks can be particularly useful for freeing up staff to focus on other, more important tasks. For example, you can implement a CRM.
4. Increased recognition: if you want to stand out from your competition, it is essential to have a good online presence. You can start by creating your own social networks and, later on, open your own online shop.

Tools that will help you in your digital transformation

Now that you've delved into the world of digitalisation and the keys that it can mean for a pharmacy, here are some of the tools that you can use to improve your SME's processes:

• PharmaDate: a software that will allow you to contact your laboratory and carry out all the procedures digitally and automatically. It will also help you to carry out commercial campaigns and make your advertisements profitable.
• PharmaMe: an ERP solution that integrates Microsoft Azure and facilitates control over all your business processes, such as product manufacturing, logistics, expense management, e-commerce and many other options.
• Farmatic: a tool focused on making all the processes that make up the management of your pharmacy more agile and simple. You can manage your sales, customers, cash and purchases.
• Nixfarma: a programme that will help you evaluate all aspects of your pharmacy so that you can manage them correctly and make business decisions adapted to your situation.
• Win-Unycop: a management and optimisation system that allows you to keep track of the main indicators of your pharmacy and make evaluations with respect to the rest of the sector. It also allows you to manage your products or carry out marketing campaigns.

Remember that there are other tools such as Excel that can be of great help in managing your business, so that nothing escapes you!

As you have seen, technology has a great influence on the pharmaceutical sector and, despite the challenges that may arise for small companies, it is a trend that will bring great advantages to your business and will continue to grow in the future.

If you want to know more tips on digitisation, we invite you to visit our news section, where you can find out the latest news and trends on digital transformation in SMEs and freelancers. We look forward to seeing you!