This case study was written by Bruce Kneeland and initially published on LinkedIn Pulse in September 2019. Click here to view it there.
Like retail pharmacies all across the country John Pugh, PharmD. and owner of Prosperity Drug in Prosperity, South Carolina feels the impact of ever shrinking margins. He also understands that finding ways to overcome this loss of income means he needs to increase efficiencies, improve the customer experience and provide his employees with good working conditions.
To help accomplish all three of these goals he purchased the scripClip™ pick-to-light automated will-call system in June 2018. And, now, more than a year later he says it has delivered on all three counts.
First, efficiency: Pugh says that since scripClip activates an LED in the handle of his hanging prescription bags they no longer need to alphabetize the bags. This saves them 10-20 seconds on each prescription they put in will-call.
The benefits are even more pronounced on pick-up. When they type the patients name into the scripClip system the bag (or multiple bags) for that patient light-up and the team member simply retrieves the bag, scans them for accuracy and hands them to the patient. And, he adds, perhaps even more important, the never fumble around looking for a misplaced bag. “Not looking stupid in front of a patient is a real benefit of scripClip.”
“Just think,” he says, “10-20 seconds for put away and a slightly larger time savings for pick-up, multiplied by 200 or more transactions per day adds up to a meaningful savings of time.” That means we can take time to talk with patients and explain our enhanced care services. Push says, “scripClip has been a real contributor to the growth of our pharmacy.”
Second, as for improving the customer experience, scripClip sits right up front near the cash register and everyone can see the flashing lights. “It just makes our pharmacy look modern and up to date.” Patients comment on it all the time, he says.
Pugh says that at times he views the scripClip system as more of a workflow enhancement tool than a will call system. He says all the pieces aren’t in place yet but that even now he can use the system to find prescriptions as they move through the filling process. “This really helps when for some reason a prescription needs to be reviewed or put aside while handling a problem.” All we do, Pugh says, is activate the scripClip LED light and we know exactly where the prescription is in the pharmacy.
Finally, the staff loves scripClip. The company’s proprietary software and flashing LED’s mean no script is ever misplaced. Even more importantly, the process of scanning the script when it is put in the bag and again when handing it to patients insures the pharmacy never gives the wrong Mrs. Smith, the other Mrs. Smith’s prescriptions.
Pugh says that if he ever took the system out he is sure some of his employees would be upset and give him a serious “talking to.” “They love the system,” he says. And then he says, “As for me, saving time, impressing patients and pleasing my staff makes scripClip a sound investment.”