Case Study: TerryWhite transforms convenience into care

TerryWhite Chemmart has launched a secure self-service, 24/7 collection point for prescriptions and other pharmacy products as part of its efforts to build out its customer service offerings.

Tony Yan, Pharmacist at TerryWhite Chemmart told Digital Nation about the journey of turning convenience into care and the first pharmacy to introduce this new innovation, located at Upper Kedron in Brisbane.

“Before we opened our store, we did a little bit of homework and found out that there is a high percentage of working parents and commuters in this area.

“Most of them would work a busy nine-to-five schedule and therefore might not be able to make it to our store during the opening hours and this sparked the discussion within our partners about finding a solution to address this challenge.”

According to Yan, the Australian pharmacy chain could either open extra hours or find an alternate solution, leading to the decision of the self-serve prescription collection.

He said the work has been a joint venture to ensure customer needs are met.

“The Pharmaself24 is a prescription collection machine or a kiosk, that's located on the outside wall of the pharmacy. Our pharmacists would load the medication into the machine on the pharmacy side and the patient can come collect the medication at their convenience using a secure one-time code.

With Pharmaself24, developed by Omnicell, patients can use the ‘myTWC’ app or drop off their prescriptions in-store, selecting the 24-hour collection option “and use a one-time secure code sent by SMS to pick up their medications.”

Patients must pre-pay for their medication in order to collect and medications can only accessed via the unique pin, which is provided to them upon the successful payment of their order.

“It's a collaborative effort involving our pharmacy team and also Omnicell company, with the ultimate goal of better serving our customers and meeting their needs more effectively.”

Yan added the new feature is also cost and time-effective and can help simplify processes.

“It's a brand-new technology and the immediate benefit to our business is that we found a way to best serve, better serve our clientele without incurring costs, any added expenses and staff implications,” Yan said.

“It's really a long-term investment for us as well, especially during busy periods and peak flu and Covid-19 vaccine seasons the machine allows us to have a more streamlined procedure in terms of preparing medications for customers and it also gives us the opportunity to really prepare for those orders.”

Yan said customer response has also been positive from consumers, with full uptake of the new service still underway.

“I remember the first time when the customers were using it, they expressed their appreciation for this added convenience and the flexibility that it offers, especially those with busy schedules.

He explained a wider rollout is still underway across the franchises as each pharmacy is individually owned.

“I do know that the TerryWhite head office has been talking with the OmniCell team in terms of integrations in the app.

“With the app and medications, when the patient orders the medications through the app, unfortunately, currently there are no options to choose to use the machine at the moment.

“They have to personally message us to say ‘I want to use the 24 /7 collection machine’. But in the future, in terms of rollout, they will have the option to use that machine.

The service itself will not take away from interactions between pharmacists and customers, Yan added.

“The machine does not replace the need for pharmacist counselling and interaction between pharmacists and customers,

“I would like to see in the future more people who have busy schedules [and] are unable to come into the pharmacy to use the machine but for people who actually need that counselling to still come into the pharmacy and see us,” Yan said.