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7 Reasons Why Independent Pharmacies Switch to Datascan

7 Reasons Why Independent Pharmacies Switch to Datascan

With so many software options available to independent pharmacy owners, it is important for pharmacy software vendors to take the absolute best care of their clients. While new customers are essential for growth, it is equally important to value your existing clientele, something Datascan Pharmacy Software has focused on for the last 40 years. According to pharmacy owners who have converted to new pharmacy management software, here are 7 major reasons why they decided to switch.

1. Price

Price has always been at the top of the list for pharmacy owners. As reimbursements continue to shrink and the PBMs find new ways to dip into profits, finding alternative ways to save money is a top priority. Pharmacy management software remains one of the most important tools within a pharmacy, but it can also be expensive. Although seeking out a system based solely on price or choosing the “cheapest” vendor is not recommended, you should also never pay more than you need to. One of the biggest complaints from customers converting to Datascan is that they are sick of paying more and more year after year. Many pharmacy software vendors charge add-on fees for new features, system upgrades, and integrations. These add-on fees can quickly become exorbitant and take what once was an affordable system and make it overpriced. Datascan, on the other hand, offers a competitively priced pharmacy software solution that includes all of the features to meet your everyday needs.

2. Speed of Service

In the world of retail pharmacy, patients choose an independent pharmacy over a chain pharmacy for many reasons. Above all is the quality and speed of service over your competition. Patients expect rapid and reliable service, exactly what pharmacy owners expect from their software vendors. Long wait and hold times, uninformed support technicians, and subpar services just won’t cut it for independent pharmacies looking to thrive in today’s competitive economy. While patients may routinely come into the pharmacy for their monthly maintenance medications, often times they’re stopping in because they or a family member are sick and need their prescriptions quickly. Your ability to not only get them their prescriptions quickly, but efficiently, is what helps build customer loyalty and long-term relationships. When it comes time to support the needs of our pharmacy clients, Datascan Pharmacy Software outdoes the competition. By offering immediate response times and avoiding hold queues, independent pharmacy owners are able to continue servicing their patients faster than the chains.

3. Reliability

One of the main reasons your patients choose your pharmacy is because they can rely on you for their medications and everyday needs. As one of the most trusted professions nationwide, pharmacists are often seen as a first line of defense for patients. Pharmacy owners in turn rely on their software vendors to provide them with systems that work. A common complaint from customers is that they feel they’re constantly “waiting on their software,” or feel neglected by the support team and their ability to rectify system-related issues. Datascan offers the most reliable system with near zero downtime. The setup of our software systems enables our pharmacies to always be live and able to access their data.

4. Quality of Customer Support

Another common frustration from pharmacies looking to change their software vendor is customer support, something in which Datascan takes immense pride. Our ability to serve our pharmacies is unmatched—our response times are immediate and our support team is comprised of well-trained IT specialists, pharmacy technicians, and programmers. Just like your patients depend on you, our clients depend on us. Reinvesting in our employees and offering continued training helps avoid employee turnover and ensures they are able to support your business, answer your questions, and provide valuable resolutions to any issues that may arise. Happy employees help to make happy customers—something Datascan values.

5. Mergers & Acquisitions

Over the last few years, the software side of the pharmacy industry has consolidated and changed immensely. Between mergers and acquisitions, it has become difficult for independent pharmacy owners to even know who owns the software they are using. Private equity ownership has swallowed up well-known vendors like RX30, Computer RX, QS1, Pioneer RX, Opus, HCC, and HBS, leaving only a handful of independently owned pharmacy software vendors like Datascan left. While vendors always try to assure customers that an acquisition has no direct effect on them, that couldn’t be further from the truth. There are many things that happen during a merger and your vendor will ultimately lose control. Even if the management remains, they no longer have control over their products or new features, ultimately affecting the ability for customers to get what they need. Remember, private equity firms are typically not industry professionals and have little to no experience in pharmacy. This often leads to customers feeling neglected. Customers no longer feel like individuals, but like just another number. No longer are their voices heard or ideas considered because for huge corporations, if it’s not good for the masses, it is not even considered. And what happens to customer service when technicians are now supporting the needs of multiple platforms? Mergers almost always result in dissatisfied customers who look to leave.

6. Ownership

The independent pharmacy business is a niche industry with very specific needs and demands, and those demands could potentially be difficult to justify by novice leadership. Customers often notice a drastic change to their products as most pharmacy software companies, either by unnatural growth or mergers & acquisitions, they end up being bought out by big corporations or private equity firms, who all have one goal—to make more money. Often lucrative financial decisions negatively impact the needs of the end-user, which in this case is you, the independent pharmacy owner. Decisions are no longer being made based on the needs of the independent pharmacy owner, but on the investors, who are simply looking to increase their profits and bottom line. This is why ownership is so important when looking into pharmacy management software vendors, and very often why we have customers converting to Datascan. As an independently owned pharmacy software vendor, our values align directly with those we service. We focus on the needs of our pharmacies, not on the size of our company.

There is a very common trend when converting to Datascan from another vendor. Our goal is to alleviate frustrations by offering superior service and affordable technology. Choosing a pharmacy software system is a big decision and one we encourage independent pharmacy owners to put a lot of time and thought into before investing.

Hundreds of independent pharmacies have converted to Datascan, and the frustrations among all customers are similar. Pharmacy owners do not want to feel neglected, taken advantage of, or unhappy. At Datascan, we offer better quality products and service, coupled with independent ownership.

Datascan Pharmacy Software since 1981