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How to design patient relationship management as a primary care pharmacy using EMOROCO CRM Lite for pharmacies and dispensing pharmacies.

Hello, this is Matsubara, CRM Evangelist.

"We want to become your family pharmacy, but we have to check each patient's information from scratch every time they come in."

"When the pharmacist changes, the conversation with the patient is reset."

"A patient who used to come regularly suddenly stopped coming."

These are words I hear from pharmacists and managers at dispensing pharmacies and drugstores.

Since the revised Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Act came into effect in April 2024, the role of "family pharmacists and pharmacies" has become even more important.
Centralized management of patients' medications, continuous medication follow-up, and lifestyle advice—these cannot be achieved without record-keeping and ongoing relationships.

Why Pharmacies Need CRM 4.0

[The relationship structure between pharmacies and patients]

First visit (bring your prescription)
　↓
Medication guidance and verification of medication record book
　↓
Ongoing prescription (monthly/regular visits to the pharmacy)
　↓ ← Risk of customers going to other pharmacies here
As your primary care pharmacy, we aim to build long-term relationships.
　↓
Early detection of side effects and drug interactions
Development as a family pharmacy
Developing through referrals and word-of-mouth

To become a trusted community pharmacy, it's essential to "continuously record the patient's condition and design a system to utilize that information for their next visit."

Field Design – 11 Fields Specialized for Pharmacies

field name Types Message
emotional temperature Selection Red = Hot / Orange = Warm / Blue = Cool / Light Blue = Cold
Last visit date Date The starting point of the entire workflow
Visit cycle Selection 2 weeks / 1 month / 2 months / 3 months / Irregular
Main diseases and prescription departments text Hypertension, diabetes, psychiatry, etc. (memo level)
Medication adherence Selection Good / Occasionally forgets to take / Discontinued treatment on one's own / Caution advised
Pharmacist in charge text Name of the primary pharmacist
Communication preferences Selection I would like a detailed explanation / Just the main points are fine / I prefer written documents / I have many questions
Family members' visits to the clinic text "Family members have also come to the pharmacy," etc.
Lifestyle Notes text Information such as "My work is busy and my meals are irregular" and "I recently started exercising."
Next scheduled visit Date Next prescription due date
Narrative text "They prefer an atmosphere where they feel comfortable discussing side effects," "They appreciate it when you write down the medication's explanation on a memo and give it to them," etc.

Workflow Design – 5 Tips for Your Family Pharmacy

Workflow ①: Visit cycle exceeded alert

Trigger: Last visit date + number of days in the visit cycle + 7 days elapsed

Action: Create a task for the assigned pharmacist.
"Patient Name" is more than one week overdue for their scheduled visit.
　
　Visit cycle: {Visit cycle}
　Medication adherence: {medication adherence}
　
　If medication adherence is "discontinued on one's own initiative":
　Please contact us immediately to check the situation (possibility of discontinuing medication).
　
　In normal circumstances:
　"We will ask you to explain the reason for your late arrival in a natural way during your next visit."

Workflow ②: Medication guidance follow-up (when introducing or changing medications)

Trigger: "New prescription" or "Medication change" is recorded in the narrative.
　　　　　7 days after the visit

Action: Create a task for the assigned pharmacist.
"It has been one week since the new prescription/medication change for {Patient Name}."
　Follow up to check for side effects and effectiveness.
　
　Next time you visit or call:
　Have you noticed any changes in your physical condition?
　• Presence or absence of side effects
　Are there any difficulties or concerns about drinking it?
　
　This one-week follow-up directly contributes to improving medication adherence."

Workflow ③: Handover when the assigned pharmacist changes.

Trigger: The assigned pharmacist's field has changed.

Action: Create a task for the new pharmacist.
"Patient's assigned doctor has changed."
　Please be sure to check this before your next visit.
　
　Communication preferences: {Communication preferences}
　Medication adherence: {medication adherence}
　Lifestyle Notes: {Lifestyle Notes}
　Narrative: {narrative}
　
　First words: I'll be taking over from the previous person in charge.
　　　　　　　Please convey it naturally."

Workflow ④: Promoting seasonal health consultations (before influenza and hay fever season)

Trigger: First week of September and first week of January each year (set period)

Action: Create a task for the assigned pharmacist.
"It's the start of the flu and hay fever season."
　For patients who visited the pharmacy this month
　Please consider providing information on prevention and countermeasures.
　
　Providing proactive information as your primary care pharmacy
　We will deepen our relationship of trust.

Workflow 5: Long-term future patient follow-up

Trigger: More than twice the number of visit cycles have passed since the last visit.
　　　　　× Emotional temperature is below cool.

Action: Create a task for the assigned pharmacist.
"Patient's arrival is significantly delayed."
　It may be necessary to check your medication adherence.
　
　Emotional temperature: {emotional temperature}
　Medication adherence: {medication adherence}
　
　Possibility of switching to another pharmacy or discontinuing medication
　Please keep this in mind when considering how to respond."

Designing a relationship that continues even when the pharmacist changes.

One of the most common reasons for customer loss at pharmacies is a change in the assigned pharmacist.
The experience of "I liked that pharmacist" is a major motivation for patients to switch to another pharmacy.

If the narrative records information such as "the patient is happy when given a written explanation of the medication," "they often come in the evening after work," and "they prefer that technical terms be avoided," then a new pharmacist can provide the patient with the experience of "receiving the same level of care as the previous pharmacist," even on their first visit.

Summary

To become a trusted community pharmacy, you need not only "knowledge of medications" but also "a record of your ongoing relationship with patients."
By systematizing these three things—managing the patient's visit cycle, following up on medication adherence, and handing over information when the pharmacy staff changes—we create an experience where patients continue to feel, "I'm glad I came to this pharmacy."

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Person who wrote this article
Shinsuke Matsubara

Arcus Japan Representative Director / CRM Consultant
Click here for detailed profile
He has worked as a system engineer, architect, and consultant at Accenture and other companies, an evangelist at Infragistics (Microsoft MVP for Dynamics CRM (now Microsoft MVP for Business Solutions)), and a solutions specialist at Microsoft (in charge of Dynamics CRM products).He currently leads a service team specializing in CRM, supporting CRM implementation and business launches for companies of all sizes.At the same time, he works as a CRM evangelist, spreading the idea of "true" CRM through events and article contributions.
Having learned CRM at Accenture, and having advocated and globally popularized CRM 2.0 (platform-based CRM) at Microsoft, he is a legitimate successor to CRM and the longest-serving active CRM expert (CRM consultant/CRM doctor), having received an award at Worldwide.
Since then, as a leading expert in CRM who advocates CRM 3.0 (Personalized CRM) and CRM 4.0 (Creative CRM), he has been interviewed and received numerous awards both domestically and internationally from publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, TIME, WORLDCOM, Mainichi Shimbun (Weekly Economist), and Nippon Cultural Broadcasting. He has also been selected as a representative company of the Kansai business community by "Keizaikai" for four consecutive years.
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