CASH FLOW MANAGEMENT pharmacy thriving AGAINST ONLINE PHARMACIES
hands-on care matters
PROPER CASH FLOW MANAGEMENT
Steps to keep your pharmacy thriving COMPETING AGAINST ONLINE PHARMACIES
Why your personalized, hands-on care matters REIMAGINING YOUR PHARMACY’S SHELVING AND FIXTURES
Don’t leave money on the shelf
Don’t leave money on the shelf
A unified destination to learn about eligibility, find an appointment, and book respiratory vaccinations from multiple manufacturers – in just a few minutes.
• Patients can check their eligibility for vaccines against certain respiratory illnesses
• Browse provider locations for respiratory vaccines from several manufacturers
• Book vaccination appointments directly with participating providers
• Available for COVID-19, pneumococcal pneumonia, flu, and RSV vaccines
Share location details on the vaccine finder (e.g., location address, hours, and vaccines available)
Share appointment availability and opt into direct booking to enable scheduling for the Fall 2025 season
Pharmacy address and contact information
Stocking of COVID-19, Flu, RSV, or Pneumococcal Pneumonia vaccines
FEATURE | Reimagining Your Pharmacy’s Shelving and Fixtures
Don’t leave money on the shelf
NEWS | Mental Health in Your Pharmacy
How to help yourself and struggling staff members
TRENDS | Your Pharmacy’s Social Media Policy
The necessity you don’t want to be without
RETAIL | Stand Out from the Competition
How to draw people into your pharmacy
SOLUTIONS | Conducting a Market Analysis
Gain valuable insights into your competition
SPOTLIGHT | Competing Against Online Pharmacies
Why your personalized, hands-on care matters
MONEY | Proper Cash Flow Management
Steps to keep your pharmacy thriving
OUTLOOK | Your Quality-Related Events (QREs)
Why improving them is crucial in your pharmacy
VOLUME 14, ISSUE 2
JUNE 2025
PUBLISHER & EDITORIAL DIRECTOR
Matthew Shamet
EDITOR Gina Klein
GRAPHIC DESIGNER
Logan Whetzal
CONTRIBUTING WRITER
Cecilia Vigliaturo
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elements@pbahealth.com
ON THE WEB
AI-Powered Patient Counseling
One in 5 adults in the U.S. experience mental illness each year, and 1 in 6 children between the ages of 6-17 face mental health challenges. Yet finding effective care is quite a challenge.
Secondary Stress
While most independent community pharmacies are under contract with a primary wholesaler, most also develop strong relationships with secondary suppliers. Whether it’s to supplement existing inventory, save a bit of money, or make it through shortages or outages, a good secondary pharmaceutical supplier is a vital piece of successful business.
Sight-Loss Support
Sight loss can affect anyone, no matter their age, ethnicity, gender, or clinical condition. Low vision is not a normal symptom of aging. Therefore, it’s important that your patients who have trouble with their sight can use and take their medication safely.
MENTAL HEALTH IN YOUR PHARMACY
How to help yourself and struggling staff members
In today’s world, there has been a noticeable increase in awareness surrounding mental health. It can’t be ignored, as it influences all aspects of our lives. Heightened awareness of mental health has grown into various domains, including the healthcare profession.
Pharmacists face unique stressors, such as long work hours and high expectations with many responsibilities. According to insights from a 2025 survey, this has led to mental health challenges, such as:
Burnout and Psychological Strain. A significant portion of pharmacists, often between 50% and 70%, reported feelings associated with burnout, including fatigue, emotional exhaustion, and a sense of depersonalization. Major contributors like high patient volumes and administrative burdens were frequently cited.
Anxiety and Depression. Over 40% of community pharmacists reported symptoms of anxiety and around one-third described experiencing depressive symptoms. Many pharmacists attributed these feelings to the constant pressure to perform amid staffing shortages and rapidly changing healthcare policies.
Work Environment Factors. Pharmacists who work in larger chain pharmacies often feel less supported compared to those in independent pharmacies, where there might be more personal autonomy but also less institutional mental health support.
Impact on Patient Care. Participants were strongly concerned that stress and mental strain could have downstream effects on patient care. Pharmacists were concerned that burnout might lead to increased errors, decreased empathy, and ultimately, compromised quality of care.
Luckily, pharmacy employees who are seeking support for their mental health can find resources like professional counseling, peer support, and specialized programs designed to address the unique challenges they face in the pharmacy profession.
Implementing strategies to nurture mental well-being is important for fostering a resilient pharmacy community. Self-care practices are important in ensuring a balanced and healthy lifestyle. Implementing stress management techniques is vital for maintaining mental well-being. As you know, the pharmacy profession is extremely stressful, so it’s imperative that you and your staff develop healthy ways to cope. Prioritize personal time and relaxation, and learn to say no when necessary to protect your mental health.
SIGNS OF SUBSTANCE ABUSE IN PHARMACISTS
Pharmacy practitioners who misuse prescription drugs—especially controlled substances—may take them to relieve stress, self-medicate, to improve their alertness at work, or something else. It’s important for colleagues to be aware of signs and symptoms of substance abuse among pharmacists, including:
• Absenteeism from work
• Disappearing inexplicably for extended periods during a shift
• A decline in work performance, such as making mistakes or keeping poor records
• Having difficulty concentrating or recalling instructions
• Having conflicts with coworkers, staff, and patients
• Experiencing hand tremors or impaired coordination
• Creating inappropriate prescriptions
• Exhibiting a progressive decline in personal appearance and hygiene
• Experiencing personality changes, like mood swings, anxiety, depression, or lack of impulse control
• Increasingly isolating themselves personally and professionally
• Coming to work on off days to “help out”
YOUR PHARMACY’S SOCIAL MEDIA
POLICY
The necessity you don’t want to be without
Once upon a time, you were considered lavish if your pharmacy had a strong social media presence. But today, it’s no longer a luxury for pharmacists, it’s a necessity.
Today, people are increasingly turning to social media for health information and to connect with healthcare providers. Likewise, social media platforms offer a wonderful way for independent pharmacies like yours to connect with your patients, both old and new, and familiarize them with your brand, products, and services. This is a great opportunity to step up and be that valuable resource. In fact, it’s a two-way street for communication from here on out.
So, what should you include in your pharmacy’s social media policy? Here are some important tips:
IDENTIFY EMPLOYEES’ ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
First, you’ll need to make it clear who can post content on your pharmacy’s social media accounts and who will
engage with followers. Put in writing the employee who can access login information, along with who will oversee social media strategies. Also, be clear on who will be responsible for replying to comments and messages on social media on behalf of your pharmacy. They need to know what your pharmacy’s voice and tone should be, and they need to use that voice consistently so it can help your business engage and keep customers.
SET UP EMPLOYEE TRAINING
Employee training is a very important component of social media policy. Your staff members need to understand the rules regarding online interactions. This includes avoiding any conduct that could damage the pharmacy’s image or violate advertising regulations. By designating someone to oversee social media activities, you’ll need to ensure consistency and compliance with the policy. It’s important to have regular audits of posts and engagement to help identify areas for improvement and address any issues right away.
KEEP PROFILES SEPARATE
All personal and professional profiles must be separate. Do not “follow” patients on their personal profiles and never post messages that are unrelated to pharmacy on your public page.
KEEP PATIENTS OUT OF YOUR POSTS
Avoid HIPAA violations by avoiding discussions of your patients. This goes beyond omitting a name or other obvious identifiers. Information that may seem irrelevant can potentially identify the patient. So, be sure your content is appropriate.
DELINEATE CONTENT GUIDELINES
Define acceptable types of content, such as education posts, health tips, and pharmacy updates. Specify what is prohibited, such as negative comments, unapproved promotions, or false claims. Your pharmacy’s posts need to be accurate, ethical, and free of misleading information. Prioritizing the separation of personal and professional accounts is also very important. Keep all personal content away from professional channels to uphold the pharmacy’s reputation.
SECURE YOUR ACCOUNT
It’s important to outline measures for securing social media accounts, such as limiting access to authorized personnel, using strong passwords, and enabling twofactor authentication.
MANAGING ONLINE CRISES
You need to establish procedures for how to handle negative
feedback, complaints, or any online crises to protect your pharmacy’s reputation.
SET UP GROUND RULES FOR APPROPRIATE BEHAVIOR
Spell out what inappropriate behavior on social media entails. Prohibit profanity, hate speech, and confidential information about your pharmacy. It’s also a good idea to ask your employees to use proper spelling and grammar and fact check posts from other accounts before sharing them.
SCHEDULE REGULAR TRAINING AND AWARENESS
Make regular training a requirement so that employees are familiar with the policy and any updates to relevant laws and regulations.
HANDLE MISINFORMATION WITH TACT
If you find rumors or confidential information on social media regarding your business, figure out who will set the record straight, if need be, and how they should do it.
What type of content should your pharmacy post on your social media pages? Think back to all the questions your patients have asked you and your team on their visits. Here are just a few to get you started:
• Share informative content that touches on common health conditions, medication uses, and tips for a healthy life.
• Highlight the importance of preventative care, such as vaccines, screenings, and overall healthy habits.
• Celebrate National Health Awareness days by taking part in relevant awareness days (i.e. American Heart Month, National Diabetes Month, etc.) with informative posts.
• Show your expertise by featuring your pharmacists answering frequently asked medication questions on live Q&A sessions or short videos.
• You’re a human like everyone else, so share behind-thescenes glimpses of your team, introduce pharmacists and technicians, and show the human aspect of your pharmacy.
• Generate excitement with health and wellness contests and giveaways. Be sure to adhere to platform guidelines.
• Be a partner with local influencers, such as health and wellness bloggers or community leaders. This is a great way to reach a broader audience.
Once you know how to engage with your patients, you’ll be able to do so much more. For instance, you’ll be able to:
• Promptly respond to their comments and messages. Address their questions and concerns directly and professionally.
• Encourage your followers to interact with quizzes, polls, or open-ended questions about health topics.
• Set up a live Q&A session either with pharmacists or partner with a local healthcare provider for online wellness events.
• Use hashtags. They’re important, so be sure they’re relevant. Try researching popular #healthcare or #pharmacy hashtags to increase your reach and discoverability. It will make all the difference.
• Try paid advertising on social media platforms. It’s definitely something to consider, because it can be a great way to promote specific services or target your message to relevant demographics in the U.S.
• Track your results. Be sure to keep an eye on key metrics. For instance, engagement, reach, and website traffic to analyze what content resonates with your audience. Then, perfect your strategy accordingly.
Last but not least, be sure you maintain HIPAA compliance. Make sure that all social media communication adheres to the patient privacy regulations. Do not share any personal identifiable information with anyone. Stay up to date with the latest social media trends, and don’t hesitate to change your strategy to use new features and platforms.
RETAIL
STAND OUT FROM THE COMPETITION
How to draw people into your pharmacy
Running an independent pharmacy isn’t easy, especially when you want to stand out from the competition and attract new customers. While you understand how important it is to advertise your pharmacy, knowing what will work best without breaking the bank can be a struggle.
Believe it or not, most customers today look for a seamless digital experience. At the same time, they prefer to connect personally with the companies they’re interested in online. If you want to draw in digital customers, here are a few tips:
• Keep a human connection and respond to any questions and inquiries
• Share photos of your pharmacy’s staff and the store
• Post new content regularly to engage customers
• Finding you online shouldn’t be difficult, so make it easy
Begin advertising the traditional way. It may seem oldfashioned, but it still retains the power to meet and influence many potential customers. Plus, almost all of them offer digital ad opportunities. Here are some advertising ideas to help build your patient base:
GOOGLE BUSINESS PROFILE
This is a powerful tool that offers pharmacies like yours a free online profile. With it, you’ll get more visibility, and
potential customers will easily find your pharmacy. It will also provide your pharmacy’s address, phone number, business hours, and website.
Your profile will also allow customers to leave reviews and share their experiences. Reviews are powerful marketing tools that attract new customers while developing loyalty among the long timers. It’s a good idea to respond to your pharmacy reviews. Doing so shows your commitment to satisfied customers.
Once your profile is completed, keep up by collecting and responding to reviews, and be sure to track your Google Business Profile interactions.
CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
This is a wonderful place to advertise your pharmacy because it allows you to reach new people in your community on a limited budget. It’s also great for building relationships with other business owners. The Chamber’s website is frequented by many locals, so this will put you in front of possible new customers.
INFLUENCER MARKETING
If you want to build your brand’s reputation, an influencer can help. They can also generate leads at a lower cost than traditional advertising. One thing you’ll want to be aware of is that FTA regulations require disclosure of paid testimonials and endorsements. You can also check out
Wondering how to set up a Google Business Profile for your pharmacy or looking to perfect the profile you already have? The comprehensive checklist below will make sure your profile is complete.
• Create a Google account. Use a professional email address that’s associated with your pharmacy.
• Visit the Google Business Profile site. Sign in with your Google account.
• Add your business. Click on the “Manage Now” button. Type the name of your pharmacy in the search bar. If it doesn’t appear, click on “Add Your Business to Google.”
• Provide your business information. Fill in the information about your pharmacy. Include name, address, phone, and website.
• Select a business category. Choose the most relevant category for your pharmacy (i.e. pharmacy or drugstore).
• Verify your business. Google may require verification to ensure the accuracy of the information provided.
• Perfect the description of your pharmacy. Write a business description that’s concise and informative. Include important information such as hours of operation, clinical services, and so on.
• Add quality photos. Upload high-quality photos of the interior and exterior of your pharmacy, as well as photos of your staff, fully stocked shelves, and any other relevant images that showcase your pharmacy.
• Add your business hours. Provide opening and closing times for each day of the week and update it regularly (especially during holidays or special events).
• Add your pharmacy’s attributes. If your pharmacy has wheelchair accessibility or drive-thru services, add that to your profile.
• Showcase your services. You should add at least 5 services your pharmacy offers. Be as specific as possible.
• Don’t forget to link to your social media channels. You can link to Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), and/or YouTube.
the Better Business Bureau Code of Advertising (#30), as it provides helpful guidelines about ethical ways to use testimonials and endorsements.
BETTER BUSINESS BUREAU (BBB)
The Better Business Bureau is an excellent resource for your independent pharmacy. When you become accredited with the BBB, it allows you to list your business on the BBB’s website. This is a great way to build your brand’s reputation and to bring in new customers. You’ll also be able to take advantage of the BBB’s resources and tools to help you run your business.
MONITORING YOUR SWEET SUCCESS
Want to measure the success of your advertising strategies? You can track specific metrics that align with your business goals. For instance, track customer acquisition by monitoring how many new customers visit your pharmacy after launching your campaigns. Don’t be afraid to ask new customers how they heard about your pharmacy.
Are you curious about your social media engagement? Assess the likes, comments, shares, and follower growth. If there’s high engagement, that means your content is resonating with your audience. You can also use tools like Google Analytics to measure how much traffic your ads drive to your website.
Do you want to know how well you’re retaining customers? A good indicator is an increase in repeat visits or loyalty program participation. Evaluate any uptick in sales that is directly tied to your campaigns. Compare revenue during the campaign period to previous months or years to assess growth.
You might also want to check your ROI (Return on Investment). Simply calculate the financial return of your advertising efforts, then subtract your advertising costs from the revenue generated. Divide by your total investment to find your ROI percentage.
One of the best ways to find out how successful your pharmacy’s advertising strategies have been is by paying close attention to the feedback from your community. You can do this by reading customer reviews, testimonials, and informal feedback. Every positive response you receive will reflect the effectiveness of your outreach and branding efforts.
CONDUCTING A MARKET ANALYSIS
Gain valuable insights into your competition
Have you ever thought about conducting a market analysis for your independent pharmacy? If not, here are some reasons why you might want to reconsider.
A thorough market analysis is a process of gathering and interpreting information about your pharmacy business that can give you valuable insights into your competition, customer needs, and industry trends. Here’s a guide to conducting a market analysis that is tailored to your independent pharmacy:
• Understanding local demands and trends. Conducting a market analysis can help you understand the unique characteristics of your community. When you analyze demographic data, consumer behavior, and emerging healthcare trends, you’ll be able to identify what products and services are needed most.
• Gaining an advantage. A detailed market analysis provides insights into your competitors’ strengths, weaknesses, service models, and pricing strategies. This information can set you apart from others so you can develop such services as personalized care or community health initiatives. This is crucial in capturing and keeping a loyal customer base.
• Making informed decisions. Don’t rely on intuition alone. It can be risky. With a market analysis, you’ll be equipped with data to make informed decisions regarding inventory, staffing, marketing, and service expansion. Understanding seasonal trends in prescription demands or local health concerns, you can perfect your inventory management, minimize waste, and improve cash flow.
• Identifying opportunities for growth. You can uncover unmet needs or service gaps in your area through market analysis. By recognizing these opportunities, you’re able to create and expand your offerings.
• Enhancing financial planning and risk management. Understanding market trends and the behavior of consumers can help you project revenues, plan your budgets, and figure out the financial viability of new ideas. This is critical for risk management. When you anticipate market shifts and prepare for potential downturns, you’ll be in a better place to weather economic fluctuations and your own stability.
• Adapting to change. A market analysis not only considers customer trends but also examines policy shifts and emerging technologies affecting pharmacy practice. Adapting to regulatory and technological changes will keep you alert to new laws and innovations and then integrating that awareness into your business strategy. This will not only keep your pharmacy legal and safe but also helps you offer excellent and efficient service.
If you’re thinking about conducting a market analysis for your pharmacy business, you’re in the right headspace. With a market analysis, you just need to ask the right questions, dig deep into the data, and turn insights into strategy. Here’s how:
• Define your purpose. Why are you conducting the analysis? If you don’t have a clear purpose, you will easily get lost in all the data. It’s best to meet with your team and come up with key questions you want answered. A defined purpose guarantees you focus on what matters.
• Find out the state of the industry. Gain a broad understanding of the pharmaceutical industry. Include its current state, direction, and key players. What is its market size? Is the growth rate expanding, shrinking, or staying flat? And don’t forget the external factors, such as regulations, economic shifts, or cultural changes that may be shaping the market.
• Recognize your target customer. Define your ideal customer based on demographics, health concerns, and location. It’s important that you know who they are, what they care about, and how they behave. Focus on who they are (age, gender, income, education, and location), what motivates them, and how they engage with products like yours, and their behavior.
• Analyze your competitors. Find your direct and indirect competitors and determine their strengths and weaknesses in areas like service offerings, pricing, marketing, and customer service. A competitor analysis can help you. You should be assessing such things as products they offer; how much of the market they control; what their pricing, promotional, and positioning tactics are; and how they’re perceived by their audience.
• Evaluate the market trends. Keep up with emerging healthcare trends, such as the growth of telemedicine, personalized medicine, and the increasing demand for specialty services.
• Determine your current customers. Review your existing customer base to understand their preferences, buying habits, and satisfaction levels.
• Update your marketing materials. Are your current marketing materials effective? This includes your website, social media presence, and local advertising campaigns. If they’re not working how you had hoped, make some changes.
• Put together a sales forecast. Set up a realistic sales forecast based on your research and analysis. Start with historical data that tells you about trends. Be sure to factor in external influences, such as the season, economic conditions, and conservative outcomes.
By conducting a market analysis, you can gain a holistic understanding of your market environment. This can be empowering. If you approach it as a continuous process, it will align your approach to shifting trends, keeping your teams focused, and influencing change.
REIMAGINING YOUR PHARMACY’S SHELVING AND FIXTURES
Don’t leave money on the shelf
As a busy independent community pharmacist, you probably don’t think much about your fixtures and shelves that tirelessly hold your merchandise day in and day out. And why would you when you have so many other things to focus on?
Like any other aspect of running a good business, ensuring that the resources, assets, and environment are aligning with business goals is imperative. When considering fixtures, pharmacies should evaluate their condition, their use, and their flexibility. Recent advances in technology and design have certainly led to some exciting options.
Your shelving and fixtures do a lot to support your business’ success, such as holding your front-end sales and organizing your back-end workflow. Yet, they’re quite often forgotten.
When was the last time your front-end fixtures were updated? If it’s been a while, there are a few revealing signs that they’ll need to be upgraded. It’s important to note that not all parts of a fixture will wear evenly. If yours have become old, broken in any way, or warped, they will reflect poorly on your pharmacy.
“Overall impressions of a pharmacy are often formed by how it looks to customers,” said Dave Wendland, Vice President Strategic Relations at HRG. “Retail store fixtures should be evaluated quarterly, if possible, with more frequent checks for high-traffic areas or during major store changes.”
The shelves will most likely need replacement much sooner than the base or back of the fixture. If your shelves show signs of rust, are bending, have sharp edges, are worn out, or are no longer able to hold merchandise safely, customers will notice. In fact, some patients may associate your pharmacy’s appearance with its level of care.
By conducting a quick in-store audit, it’ll provide the opportunity to gain accurate and complete data on fixture needs and will significantly improve the time spent on execution. Be sure to verify that the store’s floor plan matches the current store layout, and confirm department and wall sizes, fixtures already in use and/or in storage, and the physical attributes of the location (including door and aisle widths, electrical availability, etc.). These are among the essential data elements. Capture details of each fixture element, such as its dimensions and physical characteristics (possibly including images) in a master database.
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Reimagine your shelving and fi xtures as strategic assets rather than just storage solutions. But instead of static storage, envision them as design elements that will support your workflow and enhance its visual appeal.
Ensure that staff can locate medications and replenish stock easily by arranging and labeling shelving. Modify different areas for the front-of-house patient interactions versus those in the back-of-house operations. It’s a good idea to enhance visual appeal, as well, by updating displays. Select up-to-date, attractive materials and finishes. Make it a wellorganized and aesthetically pleasing space that can build trust and confidence.
There are financial benefi ts when you strategically plan your pharmacy’s major fi xture updates. In fact, it’s important that you conduct major fi xture updates every eight to 10 years. That way, you can take advantage of the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) depreciation schedule. And if you time it just right, it can help off set the costs of this major investment. Conducting regular upkeep will help fi xtures last longer.
It's a large investment to update or replace your pharmacy’s fi xtures. For a typical pharmacy with approximately 3,500 square feet, purchasing new front-end fi xtures can run up to $40,000 or more. The primary purpose of fi xtures
and shelving is that they can house products and allow consumers to select those products themselves. The second big thing is that it forms an impression.
YOUR OPTIONS IN FIXTURES AND SHELVING
In 2025, pharmacy fi xtures and shelving are evolving to enhance efficiency, sustainability, and customer experience. Today’s pharmacies are increasingly opting for modular fi xtures that can be reconfigured to adapt to changing needs and inventory requirements. The flexibility allows for costeffective updates and renovations without major layout changes. Staying flexible is important because you want the fi xtures to meet your needs today as well as years to come.
Like any other aspect of running a good business, ensuring that the resources, assets, and environment are aligning with business goals is imperative. When considering fi xtures, you should evaluate their condition, their use, and their flexibility.
Choosing the right shelving and storage solutions is an important decision for your pharmacy. It can impact the efficiency of your operations, the safety of medication handling, and overall customer experience. When choosing the best pharmacy shelving and fi xtures, consider some of these key factors and tips:
Effi ciency of Space: Study the entirety of space available in your pharmacy. Select shelving solutions that will fill the vertical space without cluttering the area. Efficient use of space helps in organizing your products much better and creates a more welcoming environment.
Convenience and Workfl ow: How will the shelving affect your workflow? Arrange shelves in a way that will allow easy access to commonly used medications and/or supplies. A logical flow from one task to another will reduce the time spent looking for items.
Agreement with Regulations: Be sure your storage solutions abide by all health and safety regulations. This includes secure storage for controlled substances and proper conditions for sensitive medications.
Flexibility: Choose flexible shelving and storage solutions that you can easily adjust or expand as your inventory or business needs change.
Quality and Durability: Purchase high-quality materials that will last a long time. Be aware that durable shelving will be more cost-effective since it will require less frequent replacement or repair.
FOLLOWING THE TRENDS
In 2025, pharmacy fixtures and shelving are moving more toward a mix of advanced technology, flexible design, and sustainable materials that will improve such things as workflow efficiency, safety, and overall customer experience. Here are the top 10 trends this year:
Smart Shelves
Today’s pharmacies are using smart shelving that integrates sensors, RFID tagging, and real-time inventory systems. This allows for automated stock tracking, fewer errors, and saving time during inventory management. These systems let staff know when supplies are low, which enhances operational efficiency. They also help keep patients safe through careful medication management.
Multi-Functional Shelving Designs
It’s time to say goodbye to the fixed, one-size-fits-all shelving. Instead, modular fixtures allow you to quickly reconfigure layouts to keep up with seasonal promotions or evolving inventory. These designs are flexible and promote rapid adaptation and a flow that supports efficient workflow.
Digital Integration and Interactive Displays
You’ll notice that fixtures are increasingly adding digital components, such as touchscreens, dynamic signage, and QRcode-enabled tags. These help guide customers to products, offer them real-time health tips, and can even integrate with patient management systems for personalized promotions.
loT-Enabled Smart Shelving
It’s becoming quite common nowadays to add sensors into shelving systems. Smart fixtures that monitor inventory levels in real time, trigger automatic reordering and provide usage data, not only streamline operations, but also reduce waste and improve customer service.
Ergonomic and Safety-Conscious Designs
Today’s fixtures are being built with ergonomics in mind, such as adjustable shelving heights, accessible designs for those with disabilities, and safer load-bearing structures.
Versatile Displays
Fixtures will soon have two roles. So, don’t be surprised to see displays that double as efficient storage solutions. They’ll allow pharmacies like yours to create dedicated areas for both high-turnover products and select wellness items, adjusting configuration based on customer needs and seasonal trends.
Sustainable and Eco-Conscious Materials
This is a major focus in 2025 fixtures and shelving. Recycled and renewable materials are what pharmacies are turning to, and manufacturers are using materials that align with sustainability goals while keeping the durability and functionality. This not only supports green practices but also appeals to customers that value environmental responsibility.
Lighting Solutions Combined
In today’s pharmacy, lighting is merging with fixtures to improve both product visibility and ambiance. The adjustable LED systems can highlight key areas or create a comfortable atmosphere. The integrated lighting solutions help improve energy efficiency while also perfecting the customer experience.
Automated Dispensing and Integrated Robots
The new modern shelving systems now often feature integrated compartments compatible with robotic dispensing systems. This minimizes human error, speeds up medication retrieval, and leads to faster prescription fulfillment. This improves patient satisfaction in highvolume settings.
Improved Security and Compliance Features
Enhanced security is a priority with the strict regulations surrounding controlled substances. So, new shelving systems now come with biometric access controls, lockable compartments, and integrated sensor-based alarms. With these features, pharmacies can now meet regulatory standards while protecting their most critical medications.
THE BACK END
The back end of your pharmacy has its own purpose than your pharmacy’s front end. Therefore, they require different styles of fi xtures.
It’s all about productivity, efficiency, and workflow in the back of the pharmacy where the prescription area is located. It should include a combination of high-density shelving to maximize your space. Here are some options to consider:
Modular, adjustable shelving: Modular shelving units that have adjustable heights and configurations allow you to reconfigure storage as your needs change. The metal construction, which is often stainless steel or powdercoated steel, is common because of its durability, ease of sanitization, and resistance to corrosion.
Lockable storage options: Having secure shelving options is important for controlled substances and sensitive medications. Having lockable cabinets or shelves with access control help guarantee only authorized personnel can access high-risk inventory. This minimizes risks and helps maintain compliance with regulatory standards.
Technology-integrated shelving: Nowadays, integrating smart technology into shelving is becoming the norm. Shelves that are fi tted with loT sensors, RFID readers, and digital inventory displays can automate stock tracking, alert staff to low stock or impending expiration, and even assist in analytics for optimal replenishment schedules.
FIFO/FEFO-enabled shelving: Shelves in your back end should incorporate the principles of FIFO (First In, First Out) and FEFO (First Expired, First Out). You can achieve this by designing shelves with a slight angle or with gravity-fed systems that will naturally push older stock to the front. You can also use adjustable dividers or acrylic bin fronts to help segregate different batches. Acrylic bin fronts keep stored products on the pull-out shelves while maintaining visibility, and you can label the bin fronts for improved organization and accuracy. This makes it easier and safer to manage the medications.
The Benefits of FIFO Shelving
More storage capacity
The FIFO pharmacy shelving design is efficient in that it maximizes a pharmacy’s storage capacity and reduces costs associated with storage space. The modern pharmacy shelving’s divider systems ensure that as many products as possible can fi t along a shelf while remaining organized and easy to reach.
Less waste
Since the modern pharmacy shelves promote FIFO inventory management, they reduce the unnecessary waste of expired medication. It’s much easier to load the shelves and can be done from the front or back of the shelving units.
Increased effi ciency
Pharmacy FIFO shelving makes it easier for pharmacy employees to stock shelves and fill medications more efficiently and with less time and effort.
More organized
It’s easier than ever to organize your pharmacy shelves with FIFO shelving. With pharmacy FIFO shelving, adjustable dividers keep each medication in its distinct slot. This makes it easy to locate and see how much is in stock, and the acrylic bin labeling system saves time and improves accuracy when restocking or filling a medication. The traditional open shelving easily mixed up products and they were crowded together. This made it challenging to find medicine or know when to restock a product.
You can also have pharmacy FIFO shelving custom designed to meet your pharmacy’s unique needs.
Quality, Reliability, and Value in Every Package, for Every Dose
When it comes to your patients, every dose matters. Making sure you have the right product is critical to your success, and making sure you have the right package is equally critical to ours. When packaging matters, choose Berry.
Contact us to learn more, request samples, and order your Friendly & Safe® and PERFECTPak™ vials, liquid medication bottles, jars, and other packaging products. Also, ask us about our complimentary custom imprinting on vial closures.
COMPETING AGAINST ONLINE PHARMACIES
Why your personalized, hands-on care matters
Your independent community pharmacy is encountering undeniable changes these days. But it’s not all bad. In fact, there are ways you can approach the situation with some services that can be used to flourish amongst competitors from other online options.
In today’s digital world, your independent pharmacy needs to stay up to date while finding ways to implement new technologies and offerings to compete with online pharmacies. This, however, can be a struggle. And with a constrained budget, it’s even tougher. You have several challenges to overcome deriving from increased competition, operational costs, impacts in revenue, workforce issues, and managerial pressures.
The rise of online pharmacies has been reshaping the pharmaceutical industry. Customers have been gravitating towards convenience and competitive pricing, thus opting for online platforms. This has led to a significant decrease in visits to their physical pharmacy locations. Sadly, community pharmacists have been seeing fewer in-store purchases, which is detrimental to their revenue streams.
Your pharmacy also faces substantial operational costs that online pharmacies don’t have to worry about. You, on the other hand, have costs like maintaining physical storefronts, staffing, and utilities. You also have to invest in and adapt to new digital technologies to keep up with the competition. All of this can be extremely time-consuming and quite costly.
Then, there are the regulatory and compliance pressures to deal with, along with all the other workforce challenges.
Knowing that many of your customers are looking for convenience, not necessarily low prices, means your pharmacy needs to step it up to keep them from wandering into the competitive, online abyss. Here’s how:
MAKE IT EASY-PEASY
No matter how long your customers have frequented your pharmacy over the years, times have changed. Sooner or later, they’re going to join the world of convenience. Nowadays, if someone has to call to request their prescriptions, it’s almost inevitable that they’ll leave and join an option that allows online ordering.
As a pharmacist, it’s time to embrace technology. It can make requesting prescriptions much more convenient and straightforward. Find a company that can set you up with an app, such as RxLocal and NimbleRx.
• RxLocal offers a mobile app that connects patients with their local independent pharmacy. It provides features like direct messaging with pharmacists, prescription management, refill requests, and medication reminders.
• NimbleRx is another option that enables independent pharmacy patients to track orders, set refill reminders, add OTC items, and even opt for discreet medication delivery.
Both apps can help your pharmacy compete with the larger chains by offering digital convenience while keeping up with personalized care.
PERSONALIZED INTERACTIONS
You can build strong relationships with your customers simply by providing tailored medication counseling, adherence programs, and specialized services such as compounding. Be attentive to your patients’ concerns and provide comprehensive care.
TECHNOLOGY FOR EFFICIENCY AND CONVENIENCE
You can enhance operational efficiency along with added convenience for patients by embedding online prescription refills, mobile apps for medication reminders, and telehealth consultations. All of these can cater to modern consumers’ preferences and busy lives. The use of these technologies can allow pharmacists like you to operate more efficiently and competitively.
INSTANT ACCESS TO MEDICATION
You want your patients to be able to start their treatments without delay, so being able to dispense their medications immediately after consultations will improve your customers’ satisfaction and health outcomes.
Your engagement in the community is vital to establishing your pharmacy as a trusted health resource. You have so much more that online pharmacies can’t offer, such as:
• Community Engagement. Participate in community activities, health fairs, and educational workshops. Build referral networks by collaborating with local healthcare
providers. Showing your genuine commitment to community well-being shows trust and loyalty among patients.
• Health Screenings. Invite your community in by offering free or low-cost health screenings for conditions such as blood pressure, cholesterol, and diabetes. This can bring in more traffic and can provide valuable health insights to your community.
• Partner with Local Organizations. Collaborate and partner with local schools, healthcare providers, and community groups. This can help provide comprehensive care services and promote health awareness.
• One-on-One Medication Reviews. When you provide oneon-one medication review sessions, you’re helping patients understand their prescriptions and educating them on managing their medication effectively to improve adherence.
• Counseling and Support Groups. Set up support groups and counseling sessions for your patients who are managing chronic conditions. This offers a safe place for sharing their experiences and receiving professional advice.
• Seasonal Health Campaigns. Flu vaccination drives and allergy awareness programs are great seasonal health campaigns your pharmacy can launch. These types of campaigns address timely health concerns and can increase community engagement.
• Personalized Care. You can build strong relationships with customers by providing tailored medication counseling, adherence programs, and specialized services, such as compounding.
• Expand Delivery and Curbside Pickup. Provide same-day delivery or easy curbside pickup options. This can match the convenience of online pharmacies.
You can’t escape the fact that the upsurge in online pharmacies presents challenges to your community pharmacy. But it’s important not to lose sight of the personal touch and trusted relationships, along with the immediate accessibility of a community pharmacy. When you implement the above strategies, you’ll improve in-store experiences to create a smooth and integrated healthcare service for today’s consumers.
PROPER CASH FLOW MANAGEMENT
Steps to keep your pharmacy thriving
Your cash flow is the flow of money in and out of your pharmacy. It represents the money you use to pay your bills, invest in growth, and keep operations running. This includes revenue from sales of medications, services, healthcare products, as well as expenses such as payroll, inventory purchases, and utilities.
More pharmacies close down because of a lack of cash flow, not profit. If there isn’t enough cash flow, you won’t have money to pay your pharmacy employees, purchase inventory, or stay in business.
You can avoid the worries of money altogether by taking the proper steps to manage and improve it.
REDUCE YOUR INVENTORY
Count the bottles on your pharmacy shelves. Each bottle represents money that isn’t helping you pay your bills. An overstocked pharmacy will create low cash flow and most likely stress you out. Here are some tips that can help you get started:
• Don’t order as much. Instead, decrease your inventory slowly and order less.
• Return soon-to-expire drugs for credit. Be sure you know your wholesaler’s return policy and regularly identify items that should be returned.
• Sell your stock that can’t be returned. You can use platforms like Match RX, RxPlace, or InStockRx to sell nonreturnable items and convert them back into cash.
EXTEND PAYMENT DATES
Your pharmacy’s cash flow depends upon timing. So, if you can hold onto your cash a little longer before you pay the bills, your cash flow will be much better.
If you want to get longer payment terms, here’s how to do it:
• Don’t be afraid to ask vendors to extend their due dates. You might be surprised how many are willing to help you out.
• Take advantage of grace periods. Don’t pay a bill if it isn’t yet due.
• Consider using secondary wholesalers. This can give you more flexibility and a large boost to your cash flow.
REVAMP YOUR DEBT
If your cash flow is drained by high-interest loans or giant payments, maybe you should do a little restructuring of what you owe. Refinancing or consolidating loans can lessen your payments each month and free up cash. Here’s how:
• Take a look at SBA loans. Oftentimes, these loans have lower interest rates and fees.
• Consider alternative lenders. Some offer unsecured loans with fast approvals.
COVID-19 Vaccine, mRNA by
INDICATION
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
Contraindications
PRODUCT OVERVIEW*
*Spikevax (2025–2026 Formula) has not been FDA authorized or approved and will require authorization or approval prior to sale. Information is subject to change.
SPIKEVAX (COVID-19 Vaccine, mRNA) is a vaccine indicated for active immunization to prevent coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in individuals 12 years of age and older.
Do not administer SPIKEVAX to individuals with a known history of severe allergic reaction (e.g., anaphylaxis) to any component of SPIKEVAX or to individuals who had a severe allergic reaction (e.g., anaphylaxis) following a previous dose of a Moderna COVID-19 vaccine.
Please see continued IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION throughout, and scan or click the QR code on page 4 for Spikevax Full Prescribing Information.
CUT DOWN EXPENSES
Getting rid of unnecessary expenses will definitely impact your pharmacy cash flow in a good way. Here’s how:
• Review operational costs regularly. Identify unnecessary expenses and get rid of them.
• Automate where possible. Use pharmacy management software to reduce labor costs and errors.
• Outsource non-core tasks. For instance, consider outsourcing payroll, bookkeeping, or marketing.
• Staff effectively. Believe it or not, cash flow can get tied up in how you staff your pharmacy. Staff your pharmacy more heavily during peak times and reduce staff during the slower times. You might notice some cost savings and improved cash flow.
• Reconcile third-party claims. Be sure to catch any and all missed payments or discrepancies and audit regularly.
• Say no to credit card fees. Instead, consider charging customers for credit card transaction fees.
USE STRONG ACCOUNTING PRACTICES
If you want to increase cash flow, it’s important to stay on top of your numbers. If you haven’t thought about investing in a bookkeeper, it’s time. A bookkeeper can show you how to keep your books in good order and how to keep them updated monthly or quarterly, at a minimum.
Investing in an accountant is also vital, as they can do much more than dispensing medication. They can:
• Help you understand the financial aspects of your pharmacy and where it’s headed.
• Provide advice and strategies that will help you grow the profi tability of your store and minimize taxes.
• Work with you to create a budget and set targets for revenue, expenses, and profi t.
• Act as your Chief Financial Officer by helping you set targets and holding you accountable to reach those targets.
• Help you track key metrics, explain what the numbers are telling you, and create a plan of action.
USE OTHER PEOPLE’S MONEY
Here are two tools to consider:
• Lines of credit: Before you actually need it, secure a line of credit to ensure funds are available for any emergencies.
• Credit cards: Find credit cards that offer continuous 0% interest for 60 days. This provides extra time to pay bills without interest charges.
TRACK YOUR KPI s
Do you track your Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)? If not, you need to start. It’s crucial for managing your cash flow and profi tability. When you’re ready to get started, set your focus on these three things:
• Inventory Turns: To keep your cash flowing, aim for at least 24 turns per year.
• Payroll Ratio: Your payroll costs shouldn’t be over 13% of revenue. A good goal is 11% or lower.
• Expense Ratio: Your total expenses and payroll combined should not exceed 19% of revenue.
Improving your cash flow isn’t as bad as it seems. It’s good to start small, so select one or two strategies and implement them this month. When your cash flow is finally under control, it’ll be much easier to focus on the growth of your pharmacy.
The most common cash flow challenges seen in pharmacies include:
• High Inventory Costs
When you overstock shelves with a wide range of products, it can lead to high inventory costs and can tie up capital. At the same time, understocking may lead to lost sales.
• Delayed Payments from Insurance Companies
Insurance reimbursements can take weeks or even months to process. This creates a gap between sales and actual cash inflow.
• Seasonal Fluctuations
Pharmacies may experience seasonal variations in demand, such as higher sales during the flu season, leading to inconsistent cash flow throughout the year.
• High Overhead Expenses
Operating a pharmacy involves significant overhead costs, including rent, utilities, salaries, and licensing fees, which can strain cash flow.
(Source: rxadvisorinc.com)
YOUR QUALITYRELATED EVENTS (QRE s)
Why improving them is crucial in your pharmacy
Quality-Related Events (QREs) are incidents that compromise or have the potential to compromise patient safety, especially during the medication use process. However, you have the power to improve QREs. You can establish a positive safety culture by implementing continuous quality improvement (CQI) programs and engaging in ongoing education and training. A CQI program entails detecting, documenting, analyzing, and preventing QREs.
The most common QREs typically reported in your independent pharmacy include:
DISPENSING ERRORS
These are among the most common and serious errors made in your pharmacy. They include:
• Dispensing the wrong drug
• Dispensing the wrong strength or dosage
• Dispensing an incorrect quantity
• Putting the wrong directions on the label
• Putting the wrong patient’s name on the label
LABELING & DOCUMENTATION ERRORS
Serious errors that lead to patient confusion or misuse, like:
• Mislabeled auxiliary labels
• Wrong or missing warning labels
• Errors in medication guides or counseling points
PRESCRIPTION INTERPRETATION ERRORS
Slip-ups when transcribing or reading the Rx, such as:
• Misreading poorly written prescriptions
• Grabbing the wrong medication due to similar names
• Miscommunication with prescribers
DRUG INTERACTIONS OR CONTRAINDICATIONS MISSED
Failing to catch interactions, allergies, or contraindications, including:
• Dispensing a drug the patient is allergic to
• Failing to catch a serious drug-drug interaction
• Disregarding age-specific or condition-specific risks
STORAGE OR INVENTORY ERRORS
These can impact drug access or purity, like:
• Outdated or expired medications dispensed
• Medication stored at incorrect temperatures
• Drugs placed in the wrong bin
NEAR MISSES
Mistakes that are caught before reaching the patient, such as:
• Incorrect medications selected but caught during verification
• Barcode alert catches mismatch
• Patient questions something that leads to an error being corrected
FAILURES IN COMMUNICATION
Trouble with prescriber, patient, or staff communication, like:
• Misunderstood verbal orders
• Failure to communicate important instructions to the patient
• Missed counseling opportunities for high-risk meds
STAFFING OR WORKFLOW ISSUES
Can lead to other errors or unsafe shortcuts, including:
• Inadequate double-checking during busy shifts
• Rushing due to understaffing
• New or untrained staff unfamiliar with local systems
As an independent pharmacist, you can improve your QREs by promoting a positive approach to safety, implementing continuous quality improvement (CQI) programs, and engaging in ongoing education and training. With a CQI program you can detect, document, analyze, and prevent QREs with an end goal of preventing medication errors. Here’s how:
Create a safety-first environment. That way, your staff can report QREs without feeling scared of blame or being punished. Make it a point to discuss QREs regularly.
Set up Quality Assurance (QA) meetings with your staff. Then you can discuss such things as reported risks, lessons that were learned, and any actions taken. Errors are an inevitable part of being human, so focus on learning from them to prevent future occurrences.
Consider a Patient Safety Organization (PSO). They can provide legal protections for quality and safety programs. They also offer strategies to improve reporting cultures and to help learn from QREs.
Start Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) Programs. Assign individuals to monitor CQI program compliance. Then, establish a system that can identify, document, and analyze QREs. You can also implement processes to minimize patient impact of QREs.
Analyze data that’s related to QREs and identify root causes and contributing factors. Then create and put forth corrective action plans that are based on the analysis of QREs. It’s also important to offer regular training to staff on CQI and processes for preventing QREs.
Keep Education and Training Ongoing. Provide regular training for your staff on CQI and processes to prevent QREs. It’s also important to stay informed on the latest guidelines and best practices for medication safety and QRE prevention.
Include Medication Adherence. Be sure to provide your patients with counseling and support to reduce the risk of QREs.
Do you know that QREs of Special Interest provide the greatest learning opportunities to reduce risk and help
improve the safety of the pharmacy’s systems? It’s true. Leaderships’ responsibility is to develop and promote policies and procedures that define QREs of Special Interest as reportable events that have one or more of the criteria in the sidebar.
Remember, every day is an opportunity to improve skills like medication reconciliation, checking for drug interactions, and patient counseling. Ask for feedback from your patients and staff. This will help you see what needs improvement in QRE reporting and learning.
QREs of Special Interest Meet at Least One of the Following Criteria:
Learning Opportunities
Incidents, unsafe conditions, or near misses as identified by the reporter
Unexpected Side Eff ects/Interactions
Effects or interactions that are not listed in the product labeling
Harm Events
Events that cause harm to patients, employees, or any individuals exposed, regardless of whether the harm was preventable
Reach the Patient
Issues related to medication or devices that directly impact the patient
Pharmacy Interventions
Instances when pharmacy interventions identified good catches or near-misses with the potential to cause harm was preventable
Unsafe Conditions
Circumstances that increase the likelihood of a QRE occurring, including workplace hazards, technology/equipment issues, product labeling/ packaging problems
Product Defects
Problems such as quality issues, contamination, and equipment/device malfunctions
HIPAA-Related QREs
Unauthorized disclosures of Protected Health Information (PHI) that reach the patient or any PHI data loss or breach
Mandatory External Reports
QREs required to be reported to state or other regulatory bodies
(Source: The Alliance for Patient Medication Safety)
