Data is raw information that tells you a story. Learning to understand what the data is telling you can help innovate and empower you to take action in order to make smarter and more informed decisions. Peak Strategies and Strongroom AI are both passionate about data and we are excited to introduce to you a new series where we will be providing you with insights and strategies into how data can help you and your pharmacy. To begin this series off, we thought we would showcase how data can help you build stronger relationships with your patients.
In the evolving landscape of pharmacy, understanding your patients on a deeper level is crucial for building stronger, more meaningful relationships. Data analytics provides an invaluable tool to achieve this, offering insights that go far beyond the traditional methods of patient interaction. By leveraging data, pharmacists can gain a comprehensive understanding of their target demographics, which ultimately enhances their patient care.
Visualising Patient Demographics
The first step in using data effectively is visualising patient demographics. By using software such as StrongPro, it will allow you to examine data such as gender, age group, and geographical location, so pharmacists can paint a clearer picture of who their patients are. This demographic information allows for a more targeted approach to provide optimal patient care and provides an understanding of who you need to reach with your communications.
Example:
Data: The chart shows that a significant portion of your patient base who frequent your pharmacy are elderly and live within close proximity to your store.
Strategy and Action: This can then lead to informed decisions about the types of products and services you offer in your pharmacy (i.e. mobility aids or home delivery services).
StrongPro Software data provided by StrongRoom AI
Understanding Patient Behaviours
Data analytics not only helps you understand who your patients are but also how they behave. This understanding can lead to new questions and insights that can significantly impact your business strategy.
Some questions you can ask yourself when reviewing patient demographics and how much revenue you receive from them:
How does a patient’s economic status affect their spending habits in-store?
Are patients who live closer to your pharmacy more loyal?
Do they adhere better to health instructions?
These are just a few of the questions that understanding your data and connecting the “why” can help answer and allow you to tailor your services to meet the specific needs of your community.
Identifying Revenue Sources
Another key benefit of data analytics is the ability to pinpoint where your revenue is coming from. By analysing the data, you can identify which age groups contribute the most to your pharmacy’s revenue, even if they spend the least per patient. Take the case study below:
Example:
Data: This pharmacy discovered that the 70 to 74-year-old age group visiting their store generates the most revenue.
Strategy and Action: Their individual spending is relatively low. This insight can inform decisions about how to better serve this group or identify opportunities to increase their spending and ultimately your profit.
StrongPro Software data provided by StrongRoom AI
Identifying Health-Conscious Patients
Through these categorisations of gender, age group, or patient type, data allows you to analyse these categories in combination for a more detailed understanding of your patient base. This deeper understanding helps identify health-conscious segments within your customers. Examples for each of these categories include:
Gender: You may discover that women in a specific age group are more likely to purchase health-related products, or that factors such as the proximity to your pharmacy influence their spending habits in different ways. With the recent introduction of UTI prescribing, you can also assess how many women in your database may benefit from this service.
Age Group: Similarly, if your patient base includes young families with newborns or young children, your focus may shift to offering baby clinics or baby health services. This could include providing baby weight measurements, consultations with lactation specialists, or essential health advice for new parents, all being crucial elements of your communications.
Patient Type: If you notice that many of your patients are prescribed diabetes medication, you could introduce related services like blood pressure testing, diabetes specialist consultations, or educational workshops within the pharmacy.
This approach helps you deliver more personalised healthcare solutions and enhance your customer engagement.
Creating Socio-Economic Profiles
Finally, data allows you to build detailed socio-economic profiles of your patients. By tracking factors such as employment status, concessions, and income brackets, you can offer more personalised care and tailor your communications to better serve your community. These profiles provide insights into the unique needs and challenges faced by different patient groups, enabling you to deliver more relevant and effective services.
This approach differentiates you from competitors in the pharmacy space. While some pharmacies may focus solely on pricing, patients looking for personalised care will choose a pharmacy that understands their specific needs. Yes, competitive pricing is important, but relying solely on price as a strategy limits your potential. By developing services and offerings that resonate with the socio-economic realities of your local community, you open the door to stronger patient relationships and increased loyalty.
For example, you could identify partnerships with local health professionals, such as physiotherapists, nutritionists, or community clinics, to offer additional services that enhance patient care. Collaborations like these make healthcare more accessible and establish your pharmacy as a central point for health support. Offering services such as affordable health consultations can significantly impact patient care in areas of lower-income, while premium offerings such as in-house specialists and personalised wellness programs may benefit those in higher-income areas. Establishing your pharmacy as a trusted healthcare provider encourages your patients to seek your support.
Building stronger relationships through data goes beyond simply collecting information—it’s about transforming that data into meaningful insights to better understand and serve your patients. By utilising this knowledge, pharmacists can offer more personalised and effective care throughout various stages of their practice, fostering trust and loyalty within their communities. In today’s competitive healthcare landscape, effectively leveraging data is not just beneficial—it’s essential for establishing lasting patient relationships and driving business success.
If you liked this insight into data usage for identifying your target audience, let us know! Keep your eyes out for some more articles soon 😊.
Illustration Credit: StrongPro Software data provided by StrongRoom AI