Community Pharmacy Software Cost Analysis - Research Paper Example

? The Pharmacy Software Project: Community Pharmacy Software Cost Analysis Your school The Pharmacy Software Project: Community Pharmacy Software Cost Analysis Introduction An organization’s future is determined by many factors which include the service/product quality, the relationship of the organization with its clients, etc. For a number of decades, technology has played a major part in determining the future progression for many companies irrespective of their size or nature. The use of modern technologies, which have been introduced to the markets for production and sale of services by replacing old and manual methods as obsolete, has greatly impacted organizations both in positive and negative ways. Although the introduction of new and modern systems to the market generally has a major effect, the distribution and absorption of the invented system takes place in a gradually manner as it might be pre-determined or influenced by the various factors considered for the implementation of the plan. Based on the above statements, the healthcare industry and its closely related organization form a major group of technology consumers. Pharmacy and pharmaceutical organizations which are considered as key and intimate players in disbursement of healthcare services and products make a large percent of technological consumers (Iwanowicz et al., 2006). These include large organizations involved in the production part, distributors as well as small retailers that sell directly to the end consumers. Therefore, the use of modern technologies in the advancement and improvement of pharmacy and pharmaceutical services/products cut across all levels of manufacture and distribution. There are several benefits associated with the use of the new technologies in delivery of services and products within the healthcare systems. Some of these advantages of using the modern system may include streamlining of management, operations and the structure of the organization. Point-of-sale has become the main portion of consideration and control for many organizations since any activity or event taking place at these points have a general direct and indirect impact to the entire organization or even system. In short, the upgrading and use of new technologies is targeted at making the organizations work more efficiently. This means that organizations would make investment in a certain technology to reap the benefits borne by it. The technology may have its benefits related with high quality management, control over the personnel, equipment and production facilities maintenance, effectiveness and efficiency on recording/documentation, etc. (Carpenter, Allen, & Sittig, 2010). Pharmacies and pharmaceutical companies have over the years competed with each other to rise to the leading position. Most of those organizations which have risen to the leading position have done so through the employment of modern computerized systems. The achievement made by such organizations that leads to their growth and progression to the top position is done through a careful assessment and evaluation of the needed systems to be installed within the organization (Blansit & Connor, 2009) Community Pharmacy software As Community Pharmacy plans to upgrade to betterment of the organization, it must evaluate the requirements of the upgradation project. The organization must therefore carry out some preliminary assessments concerning the areas which will be affected by the project. The point-of-sale is viewed to be a point that links with almost any other part of the organization. It is closely related to the clients who directly come to purchase the organization’s products. The point of sale may also act as the organization link with the authorities as the products released through this point enter the public which includes the regulatory personnel and the ordinary buyers (Blansit & Connor, 2009). Precisely, the point of sale is a significant position which links the organization departments as well the organization with the external parties. With all these in mind, there are several factors which should be considered in the course of choosing a system or its accessories for the purpose of upgrading and/or improving the performance of an organization, and the cost is among the main factors which should be considered for the selection and implementation of projects intended for point of-sale, which is a very sensitive position. This paper will use Community Pharmacy upgradation need to examine the various factors of consideration for the choosing and the proceeding implementation of a project at a point of sale while at the same time concentrating on and expounding deeply the field of the cost factor. Selection When Community Pharmacy intends to upgrade and improves its performance, it is of paramount important for the organization to carry out a preliminary evaluation of the systems already held by the organization. On performing this initial assessment, the organization stands a chance of disclosing what the organization has in its premises and what it lacks, which is an act that cushions the organization in incurring unnecessary costs for products in place. The activity is very crucial in that it reveals to the organization the things which are lacking and which are necessary for the successful initiation and implementation of the project (Iwanowicz et al., 2006). During this process the organization identified that they did need to purchase new computer hardware systems and their physical accessories since those which were held by it were in good conditions. Based on the results from the preliminary work, the organization decided to continue using the hardware as it is; however, the invisible parts of the physical computer hardware were considered as unsuitable for the upgrading work. In this way, the organization identified that there was a need to purchase new software which would be compatible with Windows installed on their computers. During the course of the preliminary work, it may seem that there is no cost that was incurred during the accomplishment of all these tasks. The reasons or argument may be that there was no product or service purchased during this time. However, we realize that this is a falsified statement based on the reasoning that the work must have been carried out by experts either sourced externally to do the work, or permanently and regular personnel employed by the organization. Whether based on external or regular labor, the fact remains that company had to pay for the services of doing the preliminary investigations. This preliminary work must to be performed no matter which kind of project is to be done later, and therefore, based on the assumption that the upgradation project needed was clearly pre-described in scope, we tend to assume that the cost for these tasks did not vary depending on the scope. This implies that whether the project’s further activities take a different course or not, the initial cost that will be borne by the organization will all be equally the same (Blansit & Connor, 2009). Tailored and commercial systems/software Following the results from the initial work of the project, the technology system and software production markets offer several options for the upgradation of POS. One of the options which the organization may take to upgrade the point of sale services is to decide to purchase a CATAPULT or the CAM. The CATAPULT is common, widely and commercially produced software. The CAM will be developed in a manner that fits their needs. Simply, what it means for the CAM software is that the client’s software will start with the initial ideas disbursed by the consumer himself, and no any other person is legally authorized to use the software product without the permission or consent of client who first pioneered it. Further, after the approval of the final product by the consumer, it may be said that the producer of the software has no authority to make any changes without consulting and consenting with the CAM clients (Iwanowicz et al., 2006). It is further clear that there are certain costs which are occurred in the choosing of the type of software needed. In both cases for the CATAPULT and CAM software, the consumers should make research before purchasing it. However, the costs which will be incurred by the organization in the options will vary due to varying scope of labor and time. For the CATAPULT software, there will be no labor needed from Community Pharmacy to make initiation and development of software for it to be ready for use. This task will have been done by the legal registered producers of the software depending on his/her researches which led to its invention (Carpenter, Allen, & Sittig, 2010). On the other hand, Community Pharmacy will have to incur extra costs for initiation researches, documentation and registration of the CAM software. It can be viewed that the CAM software will, therefore, need Community Pharmacy to provide its own labor in terms of personnel to carry out the initial research work which will disclose the details required by the software developer. Additional costs will be added to Community Pharmacy in terms of material thing since documentation and recording of details obviously requires use of writing papers and filling materials cabinets together with other accessories. It is important that the organization registers the software, even though this is not a must as the product is not commercialized but based on individual organization use. The necessity for the registration arises under the consideration that the producer or any other person may take the advantage of improving or altering a few things on it, thus commercializing it for its own benefits. The registration of CAM software may not be possible since the process takes a long time and even if it is quickened, the fee is always high (Blansit & Connor, 2009). Installation and maintenance cost After the software is ready for use, Community Pharmacy has to install the software, thereby integrating it into its hardware. The cost for the installation and training for both kinds of software are the same since they have both automated installation ability. Looking at the maintenance costs, the CATAPULT software will be less costly despite the fact the CAM software is consumer tailored, meaning the initial development will be quite exhaustively detailed to meet of the organization’s needs. Community will incur storage and documentation costs, cost for records updates and other regulatory fees for the CAM software. On the part of CATAPULT, the above mentioned costs will be avoided except when charges for sold additional accessories are required. While the CATAPULT will be set at automatic updating, the CAM software will need Community Pharmacy to keep tracking its processes to make the update which should be paid for (Carpenter, Allen, & Sittig, 2010). Benefits of Automation Installation and full implementation of automated POS software will bring a number of benefits to Community Pharmacy. The software automation system will help the organization in its management. The final results of automation are intended to enable management to produce customized reports in a timely manner. This real time production of reports will provide the organization with necessary crucial information necessary for the improvement of managerial work. Free in-built training program will relieve management from its loaded work, thus augmenting effectiveness in service delivery. Tracking of business information will generally reduce costs and, in return, increase the organization profitability. References Blansit, B., & Connor, E. (2009). Making sense of the electronic resource marketplace: Trends in health-related electronic resources. Bull Med Library Assoc. 87(3), 243-250. Carpenter, D., Allen, O., & Sittig, F. (2010). The state of the art in clinical knowledge management: An inventory of tools and techniques. International Journal Medical Information, 79(1), 44-57. Iwanowicz, L., Macary W., & Zeolla, M. (2006). Obtaining and providing health information in the Community Pharmacy setting. American Journal Pharmacy Education 70(3), 57. Read More