Pharmacy Economics
Pharmacies serve as critical foundations of community health, offering a range of healthcare services. However, pharmacies' economic sustainability is a growing concern for many pharmacy owners. Increased competition from non-traditional healthcare providers, increased expectations from patients, a challenging economy and a dwindling number of insured patients have forced pharmacies to seriously review their business model.
Allegra recognizes these challenges and has been providing software solutions that not only support operational efficiencies but also include the functionality required for day-to-day activities in a pharmacy. We realize that technology alone will not change the economics within a pharmacy. The new modules, VirtualCare, HealthFindr and PathPro, which we have added to our platform, are strongly supported by Allegra’s relationships within the healthcare ecosystem.
HealthFindr is Allegra's online appointment booking platform. Through a thorough understanding of the operations within a pharmacy, we knew that pharmacies often worked on a “walk-in” system for their clinics. Looking at the turnover of pharmacy clinics with an online diary versus pharmacies without, the evidence to support HealthFindr is overwhelming. Patients value the fact that they can manage their time through appointments and have a preference to support a pharmacy that offers an online appointment scheduling process.
Understanding what patients want, we went a step further and ensured that HealthFindr was available to patients as well as other third parties. Ensuring that pharmacies that are available on HealthFindr will receive patients through our partnerships. Pharmacies with HealthFindr now see patients booked at their clinics for Health Risk Assessments, and prescription renewals as well as for primary healthcare consultations where a physical assessment by a nurse is required.
The convenience and affordability of VirtualCare consultations make this module a favourite with patients and pharmacies. This service has exceeded expectations and continues to grow in both urban as well as outlying areas. HealthFindr supports the VirtualCare service in pharmacies as patients and other stakeholders easily identify pharmacies that offer VirtualCare consultations. VirtualCare consultations are widely recognised as affordable consultations providing quality healthcare to insured as well as uninsured patients.
Our data from thousands of VirtualCare consultations has shown that a big benefit of VirtualCare is the fact that the patient can receive a prescription for treatment and get it dispensed at the same time. On the other hand, several consultations required bloodwork before a prescription could be issued, so patients would be sent to a traditional pathology lab to have their blood drawn before they could receive their prescription. This was inconvenient and inefficient. Allegra identified the gap, and this is why PathPro was created.
A first for pharmacies and a module that brings blood work and pathology into a pharmacy clinic. Using one platform nurses can complete lab request forms with the tests required as indicated by the VirtualCare doctor or use it for patients wanting to have certain blood tests done, irrespective of having a VirtualCare consultation.
This was the first in South Africa, where pathology software was integrated into a pharmacy practice management software solution. The new integration has many benefits in a primary healthcare environment, combining the PathPro module with the multiple other clinical services that AllegraCare already supports, strengthening our partnerships in the industry and creating a new stream of referred patients to the more than 600 pharmacies and clinics in the network connected through Allegra’s software.
Allegra's dedication to transformative healthcare through software solutions that are designed for our challenging healthcare environment underscores our commitment to driving economic viability, sustainability, and growth in South Africa's primary healthcare sector.
Allegra's comprehensive approach to pharmacy optimization with software solutions that are ahead of their time, and through our strategic partnerships, we support pharmacies to adapt to market dynamics and thrive in an increasingly competitive environment.
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