Before you buy any new product, you probably get input from other people.
You may talk to a salesperson, a trusted friend or family member, or even someone online 一 but the fact remains that, prior to making a purchase, you want to hear from others. But how do you know if a review is reliable?
Reliable reviews are few and far between, but they are worth seeking out, especially when it comes to picking your next pharmacy software system. Your software system is the single most important tool in your pharmacy, so you want to make sure you find the best one.
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Luckily, Pharmacy Software Reviews makes it easy.
We partner with Direct Opinions to provide you with real, unbiased insights from independent pharmacists just like you. We gather this information and deliver it to you in a simple, easy-to-understand way: making your software shopping experience easier than ever.
Real Input from Real Pharmacists
Direct Opinions is an independent market research firm that has been surveying customers for over 35 years. Direct Opinions asks customers to share their experiences with a particular product or company, then quantifies those answers and compares them to other companies.
In the case of software systems specifically, Direct Opinions conducts over-the-phone, double-blind surveys with independent pharmacists to determine how their software performs across multiple categories.
This year, in 2021, over 2,000 pharmacists were randomly selected from the Hayes Directory and asked to share their experience with their current software vendor. Vendors were scored and ranked according to 4 separate categories.
These categories include:
- Market Share + Customer Satisfaction
- Conversion Rates
- New Store Installations
- Competitive Gain
Over the next 4 weeks, we will be sharing the results of the new 2021 Direct Opinions survey so that you can get a complete picture of what pharmacists like you had to say.
The first category under consideration: Market Share + Customer Satisfaction.
Getting Bigger and Getting Better
This category deals with two separate but closely linked metrics, which come together to form a whole.
Market share refers to the number of pharmacies a software vendor currently serves, and customer satisfaction refers to how happy those pharmacies are with the vendor.
Generally speaking, as market share goes up, customer satisfaction goes down. However, the top vendors maintain a high market share and a high level of customer satisfaction 一 keeping current and future customers happy.
Independent pharmacies were surveyed about their overall satisfaction with their software, which was then measured alongside pre-existing market share. The intersection can be seen in the following graph:
Vendors that fall closer to the top-right side of the graph have higher market shares and higher levels of customer satisfaction. Vendors that fall on the bottom-left side have lower market shares and lower levels of customer satisfaction. In effect, vendors that sit near the top-right of the graph have happier customers.
Of all vendors, PioneerRx has the highest intersection of market share and customer satisfaction.
On the other end of the spectrum, McKesson (Enterprise Rx) has the lowest intersection. Other vendors, like Rx30, Micro Merchant Systems, Computer Rx, QS/1, Liberty, BestRx, and SRS fall somewhere in the middle.
Direct Opinions lists the top 3 reasons pharmacists either like or dislike their software vendor. The top reasons for liking a vendor are:
1. Ease of use
3. Robust features
The top reasons for disliking a software vendor are:
1. Difficulty of use
2. Poor customer support
3. Performance issues
When you are shopping for your next software system, it is important to keep each of these considerations in mind.
To learn more, read our blog, What Makes People Like Their Software?
Changes in the Rankings: 2020 to 2021
Since Direct Opinions conducted its last pharmacy software survey in 2020, market share and customer satisfaction have in some ways changed and in some ways stayed the same. These changes are important to make note of, though, as they indicate whether or not vendors are moving forward.
When it comes to market share, the 2020 survey results are shown here:
According to the graph, PioneerRx had the largest share of pharmacies in 2020. It also has the largest share in 2021, keeping it at the top spot.
Rx30, Micro Merchant Systems, and Computer Rx/QS-1 have also maintained their number 2, 3, and 4 spots from 2020 to 2021. Other vendors, however, have shifted in the rankings. Liberty and BestRx have increased their market share from 2020 to 2021. On the other hand, Pharmaserv and SRS lost enough market share to be unranked in 2021.
In terms of customer satisfaction, results can be seen here:
PioneerRx took the number 1 spot in 2020. In 2021, it shares a top spot with BestRx 一 the latter of which was unranked in 2020.
SRS has also improved in the rankings: now holding the number 3 spot, despite being unranked in 2020. Micro Merchant Systems maintains its middle spot from 2020 to 2021, with an even number of satisfied and dissatisfied customers. Liberty also holds a middle spot this year, despite being unranked last year.
And, for the lowest-ranking vendors, Rx30, Computer Rx, QS/1, and McKesson (Enterprise Rx) have dissatisfied customers in both 2020 and 2021.
For a more detailed look at 2020 rankings and contributing factors, consult our market share blog and customer satisfaction blog.
Conclusion
Purchasing a new pharmacy software system is no easy feat.
However, Direct Opinions and Pharmacy Software Reviews can give you unbiased input from real pharmacists, helping you to sort through your options and find the best pick.
As you start the process, it is important to consider a software provider who works with enough pharmacies to understand the industry (shown through a high market share) 一 but who also works to understand you (shown through customer satisfaction). When you are shopping for your next system, keep this intersection in mind.
In addition to market share and customer satisfaction, consider the other 3 categories in the Direct Opinions survey to find out what’s most important to pharmacists.
Then, after doing your research, find out what’s important to you.
