Automated Prescription Machines (APMs)
Only parents know how quickly, and at the same time slowly, a two week vacation with kids goes. Today I’m back on the regular posting schedule.
A funny news article caught my attention (well done!), so I had to look into that: Fast-Food-Pharmazie
The idea of scanning a plastic chip card to get your prescription medicine in a random location seem strange, but it certainly isn’t a foreign concept. Think no further than ATMs and where we get our cash from. Automated Teller Machines (ATM) aimed to enable people’s access to cash when banks were closed, which was on evenings, weekends and holidays. They also lowered the operational costs and allowed for banks to develop a wider network of branches. And today in our increasingly digital society, instead of fading away, ATMs have become increasingly the primary physical touch point for consumers for a number of tasks. Indeed, it is the office branches that fade away as ATMs take on that role.
How is prescription medication different? It’s not. As a chronic patient that just left a doctor’s office with my new prescription - or even better, just went off the phone with him, as in my experience some medicines can be requested by phone! -, I decide to go to the nearest drug store to redeem it, as my favourite one is 15 mins away and I just can’t spare the time. I already know the drug I need, as I’ve been using it for the past 3 years, so I’m already aware how to use it. But as I walk out the door I see an automated prescription machine (APM) - and as luck would have it, it’s from my favourite drug store! I slip my card, select the prescription and by default the drug is delivered to my address few hours later. In 3 screens and 30 seconds I'm done.
The majority of people buying from a pharmacy are repeat, chronic patients that need repeat, chronic medications. This makes for a perfect customer - repeat, multiple purchases, quick to process, long life-time value. It’s 7 times more expensive to find one such customer than it is to retain them, so the smart move is to try your best and keep them. This means making the experience as easy and streamlined as possible, and that starts with being available where those customers need you. And an APM is making this task that much easier and cheaper.
Sure, but why not just use an app on my phone to redeem that prescription? Companies are already making steps in that direction. It remains to be seen how user friendly the experience actually is - I have my doubts - and how comfortable the patients are with a purely digital service, given their typical age. What is for certain is ATMs and ATM-like devices such as payment terminals at parkings are everywhere and not going away anytime soon. Introducing that technology for the healthcare market is in many ways long overdue.