IAPOTHECA

It’s a matter of convenience, sure, but prescription delivery is so much more than that for people with limited mobility, the elderly and persons with serious chronic illnesses, says Smerhy. Having the pharmacy deliver medications can be of critical importance to a person’s health. “Delivery has been directly linked to medication adherence,” she says. In other words, it helps ensure people get the meds they need, when they need them.

With EconoRoute, a pharmacy can optimize their routes, saving a driver on delivery time and fuel, and they can track their packages in real time and take payments at the door using Square integration. “Not all pharmacists are tech-savvy,” says Smerhy. “So, we’ve built the software to be very user-friendly — it’s simple to use.” That ease-of-use extends to creating an accurate audit trail, too, to help maintain compliance with narcotics regulations as well.

But EconoRoute is just one component of iApotheca’s offerings. Another part of software, the iApotheca Narcotics Reconciliation Module, allows pharmacists to make the job of reconciling their narcotics inventory easier. The software can reduce this time-consuming task by as much as 80 per cent. Pharmacists can schedule quick weekly counts, and prep for inspections by receiving notifications about which narcotics are due to be reconciled and by creating a schedule to meet the frequency required by local regulations. Likewise, the iApotheca Smart Temperature Monitoring System comes with email and text alerts, recording fridge storage temperatures for temperature-sensitive medications. This has the potential to save countless hours and thousands of dollars in the event of a fridge failure. These types of software tools can be game-changing, especially in a small, independent pharmacy.

The big drugstore chains already have access to numerous tech solutions, says Smerhy. The idea here is to give an edge to the independent pharmacies across the country. For example, having a delivery option can increase a pharmacy’s revenue as it offers the best inpatient care.