Mount Horeb Pharmacy has been supporting the community of Mount Horeb, Wisconsin, for over a hundred years. The Health Mart pharmacy was bought by Karen and Dave Roby in 2004 and now offers medication reviews and diabetes products along with brand name and generic prescriptions.
In December 2019, the Digital Pharmacist team reached out to Mount Horeb about our secure 2-way messaging solution, something they hadn’t even realized was a product we offered. The pharmacy already had automated pick up reminders set up through their PMS but hadn’t been happy with the results. After seeing a demo of secure 2-way messaging, they decided to make the switch.
Eight months later, they’ve noticed a big difference in the quality of their patient communication.
Since December, Mount Horeb Pharmacy has seen:
4,205
pharmacist messages sent
272
patient messages sent
1,109
unique patient conversations
“Our staff really likes it. Our pharmacy management software had automated calls to notify patients their prescription was ready, but it was really unreliable. We like being able to message them better.”
Adding secure 2-way messaging turned out to be a really important move for Mount Horeb Pharmacy, especially when COVID-19 hit just two months after launch.
“Messaging was really helpful during the lockdown,” said staff pharmacist Matt McGowan, PharmD. “We used it to let patients know that our doors were locked and they needed to ring the doorbell.”
So far, the pharmacy has sent over 4,200 pharmacist messages and received over 270 patient messages, totaling more than 1,100 patient conversations in eight months.
According to McGowan, secure 2-way messaging solved a lot of the issues they ran into with previous automated reminders.
Many of their patients told them they weren’t receiving any phone calls, or that reminders would go straight to voicemail and get cut off in the middle. Mount Horeb staff tried to fix the problem by looping the message but realized it wasn’t creating a great experience for their patients.
They hoped investing in a messaging platform would simplify the process by allowing patients to see and respond to messages without calling in. Based on the numbers, it’s really paid off.
“Another great thing is that we are able to customize the templates that get sent out. The automated systems always have the same message. We like being able to tweak the language for different situations,” McGowan said.
With Digital Pharmacist’s secure messaging solution, Mount Horeb can send personalized messages, share patient health or insurance information, and see when patients read their messages.
“Feedback from patients has been positive. Patients enjoy getting a message letting them know their prescription is ready,” McGowan said.
Digital Pharmacist is proud to support pharmacies with digital engagement solutions during COVID-19. Since launching our HIPAA-compliant 2-way messaging product in September 2019, we have helped 880 pharmacies communicate with patients in the midst of social distancing.
To learn more about how messaging can simplify your patient communication during COVID-19, get in touch with us today.
