SHELF OBSESSED

Building your own pharmacy is an exciting and daunting process. As you forge ahead, you must inevitably cut through some red tape to comply with the necessary laws and regulations governing the industry. These include:

As an independent pharmacist, it can be exciting to realize the dream of opening your own pharmacy. It's a time of meeting with designers and even architects as you plan the layout and choose everything from pharmacy shelving and fixtures to flooring and lights.

Alternatively, you may already be in business and simply want a fresh new look, complete with new pharmacy shelving and fixtures.

Before you build or remodel, however, make sure you become familiar with building regulations associated with starting a pharmacy, especially related to new HIPAA laws concerning patient privacy.

Having to undertake a pharmacy shelving facelift may seem financially daunting on the surface. However, even a small budget can suffice if you plan ahead. You can even do the facelift in stages if necessary.

Need to do a remodel of your pharmacy, but worried about how this will affect business? Don't be. Most pharmacy shelving design projects can be structured so that even major renovations can be done without much if any business interruption.

The work is done; bland, beige or gray institutional and out of date pharmacy shelving and fixtures have been swapped out for new pharmacy shelving and fixtures that showcase your merchandise in a more aesthetically pleasing way. The redesign improves the layout so that it's easier for customers to shop. Perhaps you've also refreshed your store's interior in general with new carpeting or other floor coverings, fresh new paint or wallpaper, and replaced glaring fluorescent overhead lights with more diffuse lighting that is easier on customers' eyes.

Whether you're starting from scratch or completely redesigning your existing pharmacy, these potential pitfalls can be avoided with some careful planning:

Has it been a few years since you've changed your pharmacy's layout? If so, it's probably time to do so. When you change the layout, you can give your store a whole new look very inexpensively; changing the layout and implementing new displays can improve profits, too, because it can make your merchandise more visible and customers more likely to buy.

A pharmacy remodel is always stressful, both for you and your customers. In addition to the extra responsibility, expense, and headaches that come with any remodeling project for you, it's also no picnic for your customers. Some may have difficulty navigating the changes because of physical impairment or poor health, and they may be confused at the inevitable disorganization remodeling can bring, however short term it is.

If your pharmacy layout hasn't been changed for years, it's time to redesign and update it; doing so will improve customers' shopping experience by focusing on convenience and aesthetic appeal. More importantly, you'll need to make sure your pharmacy design complies with the new, stronger HIPAA patient information privacy and access requirements that went into effect on September 23, 2013.

As an independent pharmacist, you know that serving your customers is your number one priority. However, you must also keep in mind that many of your customers will want to serve themselves when they visit your store. That is, you must arrange your store so that they can find what they need easily on their own. You do that by using the proper pharmacy shelving and display options to keep products neat and organized. Customers will see what they need easily as they make their way through your store. How?