Why Your Veterinary Practice Needs an Online Pharmacy
Veterinary clients expect convenience and accessibility for their pet’s care. In a world where ordering goods online takes only a few clicks, veterinary practices must find a way to compete. A digital pharmacy can help meet client expectations while reducing inventory burdens and maintaining pharmacy revenue. Here are six benefits of hosting an online pharmacy with simplified management.
1. Client convenience
Clients want to not only order medications, supplements, and parasite preventives from the comfort of home, but they also want to support your practice. An easy-to-use online platform caters to clients' needs and encourages them to purchase from their trusted veterinarian.
2. Better compliance
With online reorders and home delivery, clients can more easily stick to prescribed treatment plans. An online platform can also send refill reminders, so pet owners never run out of critical medications or skip parasiticide doses.
3. More choices
Physical space limitations in your clinic’s pharmacy can dictate the amount and variety of products you stock. An online pharmacy allows broad access to medications, diets, and wellness products that benefit individual patients but aren’t so universal that they warrant shelf space.
4. Simpler inventory
Keeping the pharmacy stocked with the right amount of each medication can be challenging for inventory managers, especially with multiple veterinarians relying on a variable set of favorite meds. A digital pharmacy reduces medication stocking to only the essentials, simplifying the process.
5. Additional revenue
A hospital-branded online pharmacy can generate income by capturing sales that may otherwise go to online competitors. Your clients will buy medications online for convenience and cheaper prices, so they might as well buy from you. Plus, you are able to set appropriately competitive prices.
6. Fraud protection
Not every online pet pharmacy is authorized to sell products directly from the manufacturer, which means clients working risk their products being counterfeit or diverted. Products sold through these back channels may not work as expected and are not backed by manufacturer guarantees. However, clients purchasing through your online pharmacy can feel confident about product origins.
Tips for starting an online pharmacy
Adopting an online pharmacy is an adjustment. Consider these tips when shopping for and transitioning to a new pharmacy provider:
- Do your research — You don’t have to build or maintain your own pharmacy—you can partner with a platform that does most of the heavy lifting. Research pharmacy platforms specializing in veterinary products to determine the best fit for your practice.
- Investigate software needs — Some pharmacy platforms integrate with newer veterinary software systems. If your system is outdated, consider switching to something more modern to complement your new technology.
- Train your team — Team training ensures staff members understand prescription filling and approval protocols. When team members are familiar with the new offerings, they can enhance efficiency and assist with signing up clients who are struggling or with troubleshooting pharmacy platform issues.
- Communicate with clients — Market the pharmacy’s benefits through email newsletters, social media posts, and exam room signs that highlight the benefits and direct clients to place orders on the pharmacy website.
Modern veterinary software, particularly cloud-based systems, can integrate a digital pharmacy with your practice management system to ensure records and prescriptions sync. Technology platforms that work together in this way can reduce errors and eliminate extra steps. Team members don’t have to transcribe information from one system to another, and clients benefit from automation and reminders.
Integrating a digital pharmacy platform into your practice can help you elevate the care and convenience you offer clients and help you compete with other online prescription retailers. Consider pairing your online pharmacy with veterinary software that allows pharmacy integration for added convenience and functionality. By meeting client expectations with easy online fills and refills, you can cement their loyalty for years to come.
