Custom Pharmacy Portal

At this stage, business analysts work with pharmacy managers and admins to identify features the portal should offer so that users can refill prescriptions and purchase self-care products conveniently and administrators can manage the portal efficiently.

Additionally, business analysts and UX designers interview potential users to identify their needs and take those needs into account when designing features and user journeys. For example, if the patients’ main concern are sudden changes in the price or availability of prescription drugs, an ability to set relevant alerts can be added to the feature scope.

At the same time, architects review the software the pharmacy already has in use and external systems and then suggest optimal integration methods. The discovery phase results are documented in the requirement specification, which becomes the basis for the project roadmap outlining milestones, deadlines, budgets, potential risks, and mitigation plans.

Compliance consultants identify the features needed to ensure the solution meets applicable regulatory requirements. Generally, a pharmacy portal has to support compliance with the patient data privacy regulations (HIPAA, HITECH, GDPR), and payment security standards (PCI DSS) to ensure secure handling of patient information and transactions.

To comply with regulatory requirements, a custom pharmacy portal must include such features as data access controls (RBAC and multi-factor authentication), encryption of all patient data both at rest and in transit, record traceability controls (timestamps and audit logs for tracking all data access and actions performed), data integrity verification mechanisms, use secure channels like HTTPS for all data exchanges, secure data backup, and regular security audits.

Based on the user journeys mapped out by UX designers, UI designers create user-friendly interfaces. They pay special attention to ensuring usability of the features that are the most important for portal users. For example, in ScienceSoft’s experience, one of key pharmacy portal features is submitting, viewing, transferring, and sharing electronic prescriptions via mobile devices, so UI designers prioritize the portal’s mobile responsiveness.

Another example is the intuitive drug search capabilities in the product catalog and easy-to-navigate drug knowledge base. Users often can't recall the precise drug name, so the search process should be simplified with such features, as search bar suggestions, autocorrection, and offering alternative drugs if the drug wasn’t found.

Designers also take into account accessibility requirements outlined in the ADA Standards for Accessible Design, the Web Accessibility Directive, WCAG, and related standards to make the portal accessible to people with disabilities. This might require features like multi-language support, contrast and font customization, keyboard navigation, etc.

To release features in stages and gather early feedback from users and portal administrators, ScienceSoft typically recommends an iterative approach to development. That way, the development team can adjust or refine the feature set to better meet the needs of the users.

For example, if patients mention that the checkout process in the portal is too lengthy, the development team may consider simplifying it by introducing features like a one-click checkout option and saving payment and delivery preferences for future use.

ScienceSoft’s QAs typically run functional, integration, compatibility, usability, and security tests in parallel with the development process. That helps to detect arising issues early on. Once the portal is set live, it is necessary to establish user support to let both patients and admins report any remaining bugs and request assistance.