Chapter 5
Designing Pharmacy
Services
Chapter 5 slides for
Marketing
for Pharmacists,
2nd Edition
Learning Objectives
 Compare and contrast the production line
approach and the empowerment approach to
designing and managing pharmacy services.
 Explain the concept of service scripts and their
value in providing excellent pharmacy services.
 List the steps involved in service recovery.
 Discuss the purpose of a service blueprint.
Identify the key components and the steps
involved in building the blueprint.
 Discuss the main elements of a service audit.
Give examples of questions associated with each
element.
Think about your last job.
How would you characterize
the service provided?
World-class?
Distinctive?
Journeyman?
Available for
service?
Approaches to Design and
Management of Services
Production line
approach
Empowerment
approach
Production line
Top-down design
Standardize, simplify, clear division
of labor, substitute technology for
employees, minimize independent
decisions by employees, use
employees as interchangeable parts
Increase efficiency and speed;
lower cost/unit
Empowerment
Bottom-up design
Give employees power, flexibility,
and responsibility in their jobs.
Give discretion and tools with
minimal policies and rules.
Empowerment
Benefits
Adaptable
Spontaneous
Ability to cope
Recovery
Costs
Harder to manage
Less efficient and
more expensive
Potentially more
bad decisions
Better approach depends on
Basic business strategy
Nature of transaction
Need of patients
Type of employees and managers
(see situational leadership)
Trade-off between managerial control
and employee involvement
Planning for Service
Performance
TIP
Good service comes from
good planning.
Service script
Describes a service performance in a
written list of actions
Service Script Example
Service scripts
Establish expected actions and
responsibilities
Standardize procedures
Are based upon best methods available
Can be used for both production line
and empowerment approaches
Indian Health Service
counseling guidelines
1. What did the doctor tell you the
medicine is for?
2. How did the doctor tell you to take
the medicine?
3. What did the doctor tell you to
expect?
Examples of script situations
 Dispensing error
 Situation that requires a
physician to change a
prescribed therapy
 Nonformulary
prescription
 Prior authorization
 Nursing administration
error
 Patient complaint about
the price of a
prescription
 Hostile customer
 Drug incompatibility
(e.g., intravenous)
 Physician prescribing
error
 Drug allergy
 Drug interaction
 Service mistake
(e.g.,overcharge)
 Negotiation with
co-workers
 Difficult counseling
situation
 Patient with renal/hepatic
insufficiency
Service recovery
(example of a script)
Mistakes are inevitable.
Mistakes present an opportunity to save
or even strengthen a relationship with a
customer.
Dissatisfied customers will tell between 9 and
16 people about a poor service experience.
Repurchase intentions increase from 19% to
54% when complaints are satisfactorily
addressed.
Steps to service recovery
Search out potential for service
failures and dissatisfaction.
If a failure occurs
Apologize.
Offer a remedy.
Solve the problem immediately.
If possible or necessary, offer
compensation to customers for their
trouble.
Service blueprints
Service blueprints are flowcharts used to
design service operations.
They are maps of service processes that
permit pharmacists to better see and
understand them.
They simultaneously depict the process,
customer roles, service providers, and
supporting services.
They break down the service into components
and arrange them according to their purpose.
Pharmacy
Exterior
Parking
Appearance
of Non-pharmacy
Departments
Arrive at
Pharmacy
Employee
Dress
Non-prescription
Merchandising
Waiting Area
Patient Information
Brochures
Signs
Gives Prescription (Rx)
to Pharmacy Employee
Fills Out
Patient Profile
Appearance
of Rx Labels
Appearance of
Drug
Bill
Drug Information
Insert
Picks Up
& Pays for Rx
Is Counseled
About Rx
Presents Bill
for Rx and
Merchandise
(RPh/Tech)
Counsels
Patient
(RPh)
Fill Rx
(Tech)
Check Rx
(RPh)
Line of Interaction
Receives &
Checks Rx
(RPh/Tech)
Greets
Customer
(RPh/Tech)
Profile Reviewed
(RPh)
Clarification Needed?
Yes
No
Line of Visibility
Computer
Entry (Tech)
Calls MD’s
Office(RPh)
Ok’d byRPh
Drug Interaction or
DUR Notification?
Line of Internal Interaction
Clarification or Change
Made with Rx
Do not fill
Insurance DUR
Notification
Service Blueprint for Dispensing Services
Blueprint advantages
Includes patient view
Makes process visually explicit
Permits cost-benefit trade-offs
Service audit
(see Table 5-2)
Systematic, critical review of the way
services are marketed by
organizations, examining
Marketing orientation
New customer marketing
Existing customer marketing
Internal marketing
Service quality
Conclusion
Design can make the difference between
poor and excellent services.
Production line and empowerment
approaches both can be useful
frameworks for providing pharmaceutical
services.
Service scripts, blueprints, and audits
can each help improve the design of
pharmacist services.
Questions?