Are You Flying Your Pharmacy Blind?
We use this metaphor because over many years of providing training, coaching and consulting to pharmacy owners we’ve had to develop a consistent way to describe the importance of information (data) to plan for and to execute an excellent pharmacy business.
Let’s be candid about a few things:
- Few pharmacists choose their profession because of their passion for planning and monitoring.
- The clinical skills learned to serve patients’ needs are not enough to run a successful pharmacy.
- Owning & operating a pharmacy has many components that require different gauges.
So what do we need today to fly our pharmacy businesses with proper vision and clarity?
First, GOALS . . . because how will we know if we’ve been successful without first determining what defines our success? Consider the simple acrostic S.M.A.R.T. when setting your goals.
S = be SPECIFIC about what you’d like to achieve
M = make sure you can MEASURE if you’re reaching your goals
A = are the goals you set ATTAINABLE?
R = are the goals RELEVANT to your overall success?
T = do they set a TIME to be assessed?
Some SMART goals we set with our top performing pharmacy owners (before we begin their next fiscal year) are:
Financial Goals
Revenue by key segments – these can be set in relation to the prior years, or in relation to what other top performers have achieved to ensure a positive trend is achieved in selected key segments such as: Medication Services, Medication Reviews, Front Store etc.
Gross profit – earned on each of our selected product and service offerings. Ideally, gross profit will be determined after the cost of materials, labour and overhead allocation.
Key expenses – expenses that are necessary, but not traceable to one product or service area.
Profit – overall profit available for reinvestment, debt retirement, withdrawal by owners for other purposes.
Customer/Patient Goals
Totals – how many served, which geographic region, age metrics
Top Customers – those who use your services regularly and how much of your revenue and gross profit is provided by them.
New Patients – the number who used your service for the first time
Lost Customers – how many, why?
Customer Satisfaction – are you maintaining, or improving their satisfaction level? What other services would they like you to provide?
Second MEASURING . . . because how will you know your progress without timely feedback as to where you are at along the way, so that you can make adjustments.
Candidly, few of the off-the-shelf pharmacy systems provide an efficient, effective way to measure how you are doing toward your goals. AdhereRx has developed ways to deliver on each of the above goal measures. Simply by measuring, we often see improvement in operating results.
Thirdly ASSESSING ACTUAL RESULTS TO YOUR GOALS . . . allows you to determine how you’ve done in the key areas of your pharmacy. And then, of course, the PLANNING, MEASURING AND ASSESSING process begins again.
Next Steps
For those who choose to operate at the top of their field, like top-performing athletes, they set stretch goals and then regular assess how they are doing. It is the pharmacy-owners who self-select to achieve well above their past or their peer average that are the best candidates for The AdhereRx Program. We know that our program will guide you to operate at the top of your professional license and to achieve business success . . . while providing your customers with exceptional value and care.
What do you think about this comparison? Can you see the power of setting SMART goals, measuring and assessment? If so, please connect with us for more information on how to provide better care and as a result, better business.
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