Introduction

Entity
City Drug Store is a small, locally owned pharmacy in West Memphis, AR. The business currently
has 14 employees and accounts for almost one-third of all prescriptions filled in West Memphis. It has
been open since the early 1950s. As the only locally owned drug store in West Memphis, City Drug Store
has to keep up with the speed and accuracy of several other retail chain drug stores. To be able to
compete with these other stores, City Drug Store must increase their efficiency and quality of the
pharmaceutical services they provide. One way to do this is to be better organized and in turn increase
work flow through technological improvements. The owner has seen many technological based changes
in his time; some were better than others.

Rationale
A strategic plan is necessary for City Drug Store to help move from the planning phase to the
action phase. The idea of making changes has been discussed at length for over a year, but nothing has
come from the discussions. The business needs the technological improvement to increase the
efficiency of locating filed prescriptions. Work flow and customer satisfaction are directly impacted by
this deficiency. Providing a strategic plan will help those involved make informed decisions and be less
reluctant about moving forward. City Drug Store has a significant need for a strategic plan.

There are many technological needs at City Drug Store such as: better quality and longer lasting
computer processors, larger hard drives, better internet services, phone answering system and a digital
stock and inventory program. The software that is currently being used is required by the federal and
state governments and cannot be changed. Pharmacists and pharmacist technicians should be able to
quickly locate scanned images of filled prescriptions. They should be able to search computer records
for prescriptions by name, date, and/or date of birth. All filled prescriptions must be easy to locate
within the drug store by pharmacists and technicians. These prescriptions are periodically reviewed by
pharmacy managers, pharmacists, and the Arkansas Pharmacy Board. Random prescriptions will be
reviewed against weekly drug reports. All prescriptions must match information submitted to the
pharmacy board. This strategic plan is being developed to increase the efficiency of locating these filed
prescriptions.

Technology Vision
Stakeholders
There are currently fourteen employees at City Drug Store, each with their own tasks and
opinions about implementing a new filing system. Bill Slaughter Sr. is the owner, CEO, and full time
pharmacist. He is the most liable stakeholder in this process. Mr. Slaughter is not only financially
responsible, but will also be required to utilize the new filing system. If any errors or hardships occur
due to this change, he will be impacted the most. The next two stakeholders are Bill Slaughter Jr. and
Teresa Burroughs. They are both managers and pharmacist technicians. They have a lot of influence on
this planning process. Teresa spends the most amount of time of all employees looking for filed
prescriptions. Being the daytime manager requires that she pulls prescriptions to answer questions and
to update drug reports. Bill Slaughter Jr. has the most influence on Bill Slaughter Sr. If Bill Jr sees a need
for change he can convince Bill Sr. to support it. Randall Chandler, Jan Irby, Kimmie Stewart, and Sandy
Goff are all part-time pharmacists. They each have equal concern about improvements to the filing
process and the strategic plan. Having dependable technology directly impacts their job performance. A
delay in their work flow impacts the efficiency of their job. Marilyn Turner and Zach Jones are part-time
pharmacist technicians that occasionally use the terminals. They will be directly influenced by the new
filing system, because they will have to scan prescriptions as they are filled. This new system will add to
their workload. Rita Callan, Shirley Jackson, Carolyn Billings, and Jackie Shackleford are cashiers. They
rarely have to use the computer terminals, but do have to keep customers happy. When customers have
complaints or compliments these ladies are on the receiving end. Any improvements in efficiency will
make their workday more pleasant. Katherine Slaughter is in charge of human resources. Her job is
behind the scenes. She will not be directly impacted by changes in the filing system. She does assist in
making financial decisions, but doesn’t have strong opinions either way.

Overview of Vision
City Drug Store strives to have the fastest turnaround time on filling prescriptions in West
Memphis by increasing efficiency and improving the quality of their pharmaceutical services through
technological improvements. This vision statement was created through several hours of group
discussion, reviewing examples, and envisioning what City Drug Store would look like in five years. Bill
Slaughter Sr, Bill Slaughter Jr, Teresa Burroughs, Kimmie Stewart, Jan Irby, and Katherine Slaughter
participated in a meeting to discuss the technology vision plan. After talking about the parameters of a
technology vision statement, a group discussion began of what should be included in the statement.
Several examples from other organizations were analyzed and used to inspire new ideas. To keep things
organized, everyone was provided a stack of large sticky notes where they could write down a vision
statement or ideas that should be discussed. The sticky notes were then shared with the entire group
and the pros and cons were discussed about each idea. Katherine Slaughter took up the sticky notes,
spent a few days reviewing them, and wrote the new technology vision statement. City Drug Store
strives to have the fastest turnaround time on filling prescriptions in West Memphis by increasing
efficiency and improving quality of their pharmaceutical services through technological improvements.
The majority of the meeting participants were pleased with the technology vision she wrote.

Needs
City Drug Store is seeking a way to improve efficiency and quality of service to their customers.
Currently, after new prescriptions are filled the paper copy is given to an outside contractor to sort and
file numerically. Once filed, the prescriptions are then brought back to the store for storage. It generally
takes two to three weeks to get the prescriptions back. In the meantime, if the prescription needs to be
referenced, the pharmacist has to call the contractor and have the prescription pulled and returned.
This takes anywhere from hours to days. This process causes unnecessary delays and frustrations. Hard
copies of prescriptions must be quickly and easily located to answer questions from prescribing doctors,
patients, and for audit checks from the state pharmacy board. Managers also need to access these
prescriptions to update weekly drug reports. This becomes a chaotic endeavor every Friday evening
when the reports are rejected due to inaccurate information on a prescription that was filled earlier in
the week. Providing a digital format to store and access prescriptions will alleviate these delays and
frustrations. Prescriptions will be easily and quickly located on the pharmacist’s terminal causing
minimal delays. Drug reports will be easier to complete and store managers will be able to spend more
time filling prescriptions rather than searching for them.
Technology Evaluation
Questions
To successfully evaluate City Drug Store’s needs data must be gathered and analyzed. Before
data is gathered, the type of information needed must be determined. One way to do this was by asking
the right questions to the right people. The first piece of data was calculating how much the current
filing process cost. This question was directed to Katherine Slaughter in human resources. She provided
a weekly total that is billed to the drug store. The second piece of data was directed towards the
managers and pharmacist technicians. These staff members were asked a series of questions and were
asked to keep a log to provide quantitative and qualitative support. The questions asked were: how
many prescriptions must be retrieved during one work week, how much time is devoted to this process,
how many people are involved, and how work flow is affected. Cashiers were asked to keep a record of
how work flow impacts customer satisfaction. The third piece of data was to determine if the company’s
current prescription filling software supports digital prescription image storage. This information was
provided by the manager, Bill Slaughter Jr. The fourth piece of data needed was the number of written,
faxed, and called-in prescriptions that were received each week. The fifth piece of data was to
determine how long it takes to scan, store, and locate a digital prescription image. This information was
also gathered by Bill Slaughter Jr.

A variety of employees were responsible for gathering different pieces of data. Katherine
Slaughter, in human resources, provided all financial information. This was done through an individual
interview where detailed information was recorded about the number of hours and the amount of
money billed. The managers and pharmacist technicians, Teresa Burroughs, Bill Slaughter Jr, Zach Jones,
and Marilyn Presley, provided quantitative results of the number of prescriptions that must be
retrieved, the amount of time this took, the number of people involved, and how this impacted
workflow. This data was gathered through SWOT analysis. Data tables and questions were provided to
assist in recording this information. The cashiers, Rita Callan, Jackie Shackleford, and Shirley Jackson
recorded qualitative results on delay times and customer satisfaction. SWOT analysis was also be used
to gather data from cashiers. They were also be provided data tables and questions. Observation was
used to determine the ease of use and effectiveness of digitally stored prescriptions. Bill Slaughter Jr
had to practice using a digital scanner, by scanning a prescription, saving it, and then retrieving it.

Instrumentation
Individual interview Katherine Slaughter

Dates: (week of) # of hours billed Amount billed $

Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Totals:
Average:
Bill Slaughter Jr
- Does the current prescription filling software allow for image storage?
- If so, can the image be attached to a specific prescription number?
- If not, is it possible to add this feature to the existing program?
- If this feature cannot be added, are there any suggested software programs and
hardware that are compatible with the existing program?
-How much data storage will be needed for a set amount of prescriptions?
Gather existing records and record findings Teresa Burroughs
2. Printout log of written, called-in, and faxed prescriptions per week and calculate totals
- The dates for the logs should match the dates that the business was billed for.

Dates: (week of) # of written rxs # of faxed rxs # of called-in rxs

Week 1
Week 2
Week 3
Week 4
Totals:
Average:

SWOT analysis Bill Slaughter Jr, Teresa Burroughs, Zach Jones, Marilyn Presley
Ask staff for an average of how many prescriptions must be retrieved during one work week,
how much time is devoted to this process, how work flow is effected and how many people are
involved
-Provide a chart for employees to fill in to assist in keeping count of prescriptions.

Week of
Day 1 2 3 4 5 6 Totals
# rxns
retrieved
Time (h:m)
# people
needed
In the area below explain how normal work flow was impacted (example: delay in prescription
fill time, effects on all customers that were impacted).
List ways that the current system is useful or beneficial:

List ways that the current system can be improved:

Explain how these improvements will effect day to day work flow.

What challenges will you face with these improvements?

Rita Callan, Shirley Jackson, and Jackie Shackleford
Ask cashiers how wait time of retrieving prescriptions affects customer wait time and
satisfaction

Observation Bill Slaughter Jr.

Using a small desktop scanner, scan one week’s worth of written, called-in, and faxed
prescriptions to determine the amount of time it takes to file and label digitally scanned
prescriptions.
- Choose the week with a total of prescriptions that is closest to the average
- Record the amount of time it takes to scan and label a week’s worth of each type of
prescription

Type: Time (hrs:min)

Written
Called-in
Faxed
Total:

7. Practice retrieving digitally scanned prescriptions and compare this to the current method.
- Record the number of steps involved to retrieve 1 prescription to determine
complexity.
 Trial: Time to retrieve # steps to
1 rxn (min:sec) retrieve each rxn
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

Data Gathered
The data from Katherine Slaughter states that an average of thirty hours and three hundred dollars per
week was needed for an outside contractor to sort and organize all prescriptions. Approximately
thirteen hundred prescriptions were filled and filed each week. Teresa Burroughs calculated an average
of forty prescriptions that must be pulled for reference each week and this took about five hours per
week to complete. Wait time increased by an average of twenty minutes per customer when a
technician had to stop filling prescriptions to go pull a filed prescription. After reviewing the cashiers’
customer satisfaction report, many customers did not want to wait. They left the store and returned
later. The business’ current software has the capability to store and attach images to each prescription
profile.

Evaluation Findings
According to the data collected, a significant amount of time and money was spent filing
prescriptions and trying to find specific prescriptions within the current filing system. The current
process of retrieving archived prescriptions is interrupting work flow and negatively influence customer
satisfaction. When a pharmacist technician is forced to stop working to go find a paper prescription, it
causes the customer wait time to increase by an average of twenty minutes. The overall lack of
organization is causing more money spent in overtime for payroll, longer wait times for prescriptions,
and dissatisfied customers.

Technology Needs
Questions
To determine the needs of any company, or entity, the right questions must be asked. It is
necessary to have thought provoking questions to get the company where it needs to be. There are
three main questions that need to be answered to help City Drug Store achieve their vision. The
questions are: would hiring someone to file prescriptions at the store be feasible, what technology can
be used to increase work flow, and what technology that is already established in the store can be used.
For any company to make progress, the needs of the company must be addressed. Multiple data
gathering techniques must be used to achieve this. Using the acquired data will in turn help the
company decide how to achieve their vision. City Drug Store has several areas of need. The main
improvements should be focused on work flow, work efficiency, and customer satisfaction.
Data Gathered
There are many methods that can be used to get useful information about the needs of a
company. The techniques to answer needs questions for City Drug Store are nominal group technique,
surveys, and observations.

To answer the question, would hiring someone to file prescriptions at the store be feasible,
nominal group technique was used. Participants were able to write down their thoughts and ideas.
These ideas were then shared with the group. A discussion was held about the pros and cons of each of
the ideas. After all the ideas were discussed, a group consensus was made. It was decided that there is
currently no available space in the store that can be used to support this idea.

Surveys were used to answer questions about what type of technology can be used to increase
work flow. Surveys were given to each employee. Answers were based on opinions, perceptions, and
observations. Employees that have different tasks have different opinions about the overall needs and
expectations for the company. Increasing work flow through technology will be done by implementing
desktop scanners and imaging storage. By implementing technology many barriers can be overcome.
These barriers include reduced amount of overtime, fewer errors on state board of pharmacy audits
(which will reduce the amount of fines paid), and improved customer service when questions arise
about their prescription

Observations were conducted to determine what technology is currently available. Each

pharmacist terminal, drug ordering station, check-out counter, and human relations office were
observed. Lists were created for each area that included what and how many of each item were being
used. This observation was also supported by surveys that were completed by each employee. The list is
sorted by hardware and software. These items include: Hardware: (1) Dell PowerEdge T130 Tower
server, (6) Dell Inspiron 8GB processor, (3) Zebra GK 420t prescription label printers, (6) 20” Dell LCD
widescreen monitors, (1) WD Easystore 2TB external hard drive, (1) Canon Pixma All-in-one printer, (1)
Brother FAX575 fax machine, (1) Xerox WorkCentre Monochrome laser copier, scanner, and fax;
Software: RxMaster pharmacy systems.

List of Needs
To prioritize the needs of City Drug Store, a meeting was held where nominal group technique
was used. The participants of the meeting were Bill Slaughter Sr, Bill Slaughter Jr., Teresa Burroughs, Jan
Irby, Zach Jones, and Marilyn Turner. The job titles for this group are owner, managers, pharmacist, and
pharmacist technicians respectively. The objective of the meeting was to determine the priority of needs
for City Drug Store. Each participant received some index cards to write down their technological
expectations; one idea per card. These were all anonymous. When everyone was finished the cards
were collected. Each card was read aloud and clarification of the statement was discussed. The
statement was then written on the whiteboard. Each person ranked the ideas and listed their preferred
ranking on an index card. The rankings were totaled and listed on the whiteboard. Ties were further
discussed and final selections were made about the potential use of new or improved use of technology
at City Drug Store.

Priority 3 is to hire an onsite contractor to file prescriptions in the store.

Priority 2 is to use RXMasters software to store prescription images.

Priority 1 is implementing desktop scanners and imaging storage

Action Plan
Gap
Many steps were taken to determine the overall needs of City Drug Store. Employees were
interviewed multiple times, quantitative and qualitative data was logged, budgets were reviewed, and
prescription archives were analyzed. An average of thirteen hundred prescriptions are filled weekly,
approximately forty filed prescriptions per week must be accessed and re-evaluated, and an average of
five hours per week is being used to accomplish this. The excess time needed to search through filed
prescriptions hinders work flow, increases customer wait time, and increases the amount of work
overtime. It has been determined that the most prevalent need is a desktop scanner and digital image
backup storage to help keep up with prescription filing. To do this a new filing system will be
implemented.

Implementing desktop scanners and an external hard drive would simplify the prescription filing
process and would result in less time spent searching for needed paper prescriptions. The pharmacist
technicians would be able to help fill more prescriptions which would reduce customer wait time,
improve customer satisfaction, and would also save money in overtime.

Hardware
The most significant change of implementing a new filing system is using a desktop scanner to
scan new prescriptions as they are filled. New prescriptions are scanned front and back, the images are
then attached to the prescription profile, and stored on a hard drive. Providing a digital format to store
and access prescriptions will alleviate confusion and frustrations, and will increase work flow and
efficiency. Prescriptions will be easily and quickly located on the pharmacist’s terminal causing minimal
delays. Drug reports will be easier to complete and employees will be able to spend more time filling
prescriptions rather than searching for them. These changes will increase work flow, reduce customer
wait time, and improve customer satisfaction.

Staff Development
Teresa Burroughs and Bill Slaughter Jr., the day and night managers respectively, have been
placed in charge of employee training. The managers will be trained by the free tech support provided
by RXMasters. This is the company that designs and updates the current prescription software. Each
manager will stay after their respective shifts to teach employees how to utilize the scanner, attach the
image, save the image, retrieve the image, and what to do with the actual paper prescription. They will
be expected to work with employees as needed for approximately one month. They will each be
compensated for their efforts. By training the pharmacy staff on how to scan, file, and retrieve
prescriptions efficiently; work flow will increase, wait times will be shorter, and customers will be more
satisfied.

Facilities/Maintenance
Due to the current layout of each pharmacist’s station, no facility changes will be necessary.
Each station currently contains a computer monitor, keyboard, printer, a shelf to hold miscellaneous
items, and several feet of work space for the technicians to count pills. The digital scanners are small
enough to fit on the counter or shelf at each pharmacist station. Electrical outlets and wiring
connections at each computer terminal are already accessible as well. No facility changes will be made.

Finances
Once a decision was made about the need for digital scanners and storage, the next step was
finding the best type and size of scanner. The Fujitsu Fi 7180 fit all of the criteria necessary. It scans
front and back of a piece of paper, up to letter size, and it has the capability to connect to multiple
devices simultaneously. This scanner is approximately $1500.00. Because images require more storage
space, a Seagate 2 TB hard drive will be needed. This specific drive is $69.99. The remaining cost is
allocated for staff training. Training will be provided over a 1 month period. Each store manager will
assist in training all other employees of scanning and storing prescription images. No money has been
assigned to upgrade the facilities, because financial means will not be necessary. A total budget of
$1770.00. If necessary, payroll funds may be transferred to this account. One full time salary position
has not been filled this year, so there is an excess total in the payroll account.

Documentation

Timeline
2018

1st Quarter: Search for technology sales vendor for desktop scanner. (Bill Slaughter Jr)
2nd Quarter: Order and install new scanner and order and install external hard drive. (Bill Slaughter Jr)
3rd Quarter: Contact RXMasters and set up appointment for manager training. (Bill Slaughter Jr)
4th Quarter: Managers complete training and perform test trials (Bill Jr. and Teresa Burroughs)

2019

1st Quarter: Arrange hands-on training for pharmacists and pharmacist technicians (Bill Jr. and Teresa
Burroughs)
2nd Quarter: All managers, pharmacists, and pharmacist technicians will complete training.
3rd Quarter: Managers will create a step by step instruction guide to keep in a central location for
employees to reference (Bill Jr. and Teresa Burroughs).
4th Quarter: The most current status report data will be compared to data collected for the needs
assessment. Stakeholders will meet to evaluate if any changes or modifications to be made.
Evaluation
Methods of Evaluation
One method that will be used to evaluate the strategic plan for City Drug Store is benchmarking. A
suggested list of benchmarks will be created at a stakeholder meeting. These benchmarks will have
measureable objectives that will help determine how effective the new filing system is. The benchmarks
are subject to changes or modifications throughout the strategic planning process. The completion or
success of each benchmark will be discussed during monthly meetings. A list of suggested benchmarks
is provided below.

A second method that will be used is status reports. These are used to show progress, address concerns,
and provide information to all stakeholders. Managers will be expected to fill out a status report at the
end of every month. These reports will be shared with all stakeholders in bi-monthly meetings. These
meetings will allow stakeholders to discuss any issues, praise any successes, and thoroughly evaluate the
progress of the strategic plan. Status report questions and a sample meeting agenda are provided
below.

Instruments
Suggested Benchmarks

1. Order and install Fujitsu Fi 7180 scanner

2. Order and install Seagate 2TB external hard drive
3. Manager will contact RXMaster tech support and schedule training for the two managers
4. Managers will complete training and perform several test trials.
5. Managers will complete a monthly status report of all success and failures of the
implementation, training, and day to day use of the new filing system. This will include
effectiveness and difficulty of use.
6. Managers will evaluate the number of scanned pictures and file size to the amount of available
storage space on the external hard drive.
7. Hands-on training will be provided to all pharmacists and technicians.
8. Managers will create a step by step guide of how to use the scanners and how to locate images.
This will be kept in a central location for all employees to access.
9. All stakeholders will meet on a bi-monthly basis (every 2 months) to address successes or
failures while using the new filing system.

Status Report Questions

1. Provide an overview of all activity related to scanning, storing, and retrieving digital
prescriptions.
2. List any problems or concerns that have arisen in the past month.
3. List any success that have arisen in the past month.
4. List tips or suggested improvements, changes, or modifications.

Meeting Agenda
 1. Welcome and thank all stakeholders present
2. Review old business/last meetings minutes
3. Managers share information from status reports
4. All other stakeholders share their own success or failures that were not already addressed
5. Discuss any changes or modifications that need to be made and evaluate current benchmarks.
6. End meeting with closing address

Implementation
2018
1st Quarter: Search for technology sales vendor for desktop scanner. One stakeholder meeting, 3 status
reports (Bill Jr.)
2nd Quarter: Order and install new scanner and order and install external hard drive. Two stakeholder
meetings, 3 status reports (Bill Jr.)
3rd Quarter: Contact RXMasters and set up appointment for manager training. One stakeholder meeting,
3 status reports (Bill Jr.)
4th Quarter: Managers complete training and perform test trials (Bill Jr. and Teresa Burroughs) Two
stakeholder meetings, 3 status reports (Bill Jr.)

2019
1st Quarter: Arrange hands-on training for pharmacists and pharmacist technicians (Bill Jr. and Teresa
Burroughs) One stakeholder meeting, 3 status reports. (Bill Jr.)
2nd Quarter: All managers, pharmacists, and pharmacist technicians will complete training. Two
stakeholder meetings, 3 status reports (Bill Jr.)
3rd Quarter: Managers will create a step by step instruction guide to keep in a central location for
employees to reference (Bill Jr. and Teresa Burroughs). One stakeholder meeting, 3 status reports. (Bill
Jr.)
4th Quarter: The most current status report data will be compared to data collected for the needs
assessment. Stakeholders will meet to evaluate if any changes or modifications to be made now that the
plan is fully implemented. Two stakeholder meetings, 3 status reports (Bill Jr.)

Each quarter will have 1-2 stakeholder meetings where all monthly status reports will be shared and the
evaluation of each benchmark will be discussed. Bill Slaughter Jr. and Teresa Burroughs will be in charge
of these meetings as well as the monthly status reports.