The Role of Mobile Checkout in Helping Pharmacies Maximize Profitability

At the Summer 2024 Total Pharmacy Solutions Summit, held virtually on July 13, Jon Minkin, enterprise account executive at NimbleRx, led a discussion focused on pharmacy revenue and how his company’s mobile checkout tool can improve profitability.

“When it comes down to speed of transaction, decreased phone calls, if you have a drive-through, [it’s] extremely effective through drive-through. Some of our higher-volume pharmacies, let’s say anything over 400 scripts a day, are physically creating additional prepaid Nimble checkout lines where patients come in and they go right to the prepaid line. They’re in and out of the pharmacy in no time,” explained Minkin.

Jon Minkin, enterprise account executive at NimbleRx, led a discussion on how his company’s mobile checkout tool can improve profitability. | image credit: Gorodenkoff / stock.adobe.com

Read on for some key takeaways from Minkin’s presentation:

• What is the extent of pharmacies’ return on investment when using the mobile checkout tool? Minkin went into detail about the ability of his company’s resource to drive revenue, and he included the current state of pharmacy reimbursements. He explained how mobile checkout can be the first step to turning profits around, even when independent and retail pharmacies are shutting down across the country.
• “From a demographic perspective, we’re seeing anybody over 18…[people] all the way up to about 87 years old are on their phones constantly and using them for purchases. And then we’re spending 41/2 hours a day on our phone. It’s really unbelievable, and a little bit scary,” said Minkin. Furthermore, he explained, global e-commerce is set to surpass $700 billion in 2025.
• Minkin delved into the ins and outs of the mobile checkout tool and how it is used from a patient’s perspective. Once a prescription comes into the pharmacy’s mobile checkout platform, it is adjudicated and sent to will call. When the prescription is sent to will call, the patient will immediately receive a text notification that their medication is ready, and it is time to pay for it. While paying, they will have the option to schedule their prescription for pickup or delivery.
• The mobile checkout also does an excellent job of gathering patient data and organizing and highlighting products within the technology’s online platform. Minkin explained how utilizing NimbleRx’s mobile checkout tool can both highlight key products pharmacies are looking to move as well as create overall brand recognition for participating pharmacies and their patients.
• After analyzing data from NimbleRx’s demo of the mobile checkout tool, Minkin and his team found that 15% of Nimble orders included an OTC product at checkout and they also saw a 41% increase in refills for patients using Nimble. The company also makes an effort to give pharmacies using Nimble a monetary kick-back every time a patient uses Nimble at a pharmacy. “Every time you click [in the mobile checkout tool], you’re going to be making money,” he told pharmacists in attendance.
• When asked by a session attendee about onboarding participating pharmacies for the mobile checkout tool, Minkin explained the step-by-step process, which has been sustainably streamlined within the past year. “Essentially, you enroll into Nimble as a no-cost solution to the pharmacy. First call is a welcome call. We actually identify some information from the pharmacy that we don’t already have. And then the second call is a data poll and it’s a test script, and you get to meet your client partner. You’re seeing the entire process run through. We have you put a script in with your name, it comes through Nimble, you check out, it comes through the dashboard, [and] we show you exactly how to process the order,” said Minkin.

In a world where independent pharmacies are struggling to make ends meet, tools such as NimbleRx’s mobile checkout resource can make all the difference when it comes to giving pharmacists time and money back to focus on other areas of their business. While the mobile checkout tool is not a cure-all for declining revenue within the industry, it’s certainly a useful first step to gradually reclaiming profitability for independent pharmacies.

Read more articles from the Total Pharmacy October 2024 issue and visit drugtopics.com/TPSSSummer2024 to watch all the Total Pharmacy Solutions Summit sessions on demand.

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