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.
Gives Prescription (Rx)
to Pharmacy Employee
Fills Out
Patient Profile
Arrive at
Pharmacy
Greets
Customer
(RPh/Tech)
Receives &
Checks Rx
(RPh/Tech)
Computer
Entry (Tech)
Fill Rx
(Tech)
Okd byRPh
Pharmacy
Exterior
Parking
Appearance
of Non-pharmacy
Departments
Employee
Dress
Non-prescription
Merchandising
Waiting Area
Patient Information
Brochures
Signs
Line of Interaction
Line of Internal Interaction
Line of Visibility
Clarification Needed?
Yes No
Calls MDs
Office(RPh)
Drug Interaction or
DUR Notification?
Do not fill
Insurance DUR
Notification
Check Rx
(RPh)
Clarification or Change
Made with Rx
Profile Reviewed
(RPh)
Picks Up
& Pays for Rx
Is Counseled
About Rx
Appearance
of Rx Labels
Appearance of
Drug
Bill
Drug Information
Insert
Presents Bill
for Rx and
Merchandise
(RPh/Tech)
Counsels
Patient
(RPh)
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?