Retail Drug Store:
A retail drug store primarily interacts directly with the end consumer or patient.
The organization and structure of a typical retail pharmacy would involve:
1. Front End:
Reception/Checkout Counter: Where customers pay for their medications or other store items. Often equipped with a computer system to manage sales and inventory.
Over-The-Counter (OTC) Section: Display shelves housing non-prescription medications, health and wellness products, personal care items, and often convenience products.
2. Pharmacy Section:
Dispensing Counter: Where prescriptions are received and dispensed.
Pharmacist Work Area: Contains computers for accessing patient medication records, drug information resources, and for processing insurance claims. There's also a workspace for verifying and dispensing medications.
Inventory Shelves: Organized storage of prescription drugs, typically behind or adjacent to the dispensing counter.
3. Consultation Area:
A private or semi-private area where the pharmacist can discuss medications or health concerns with patients without violating privacy concerns.
4. Compounding Area:
A separate space equipped with the necessary tools and ingredients to customize medication formulations.
Wholesale Drug Store:
Wholesale drug stores or pharmaceutical wholesalers act as intermediaries between drug manufacturers and healthcare providers (like pharmacies, hospitals).
Their main objective is to ensure the efficient distribution of medications and related products.
The organization and structure of a typical wholesale drug store would involve:
1. Reception and Order Processing:
Order Receiving Area: Where purchase orders from clients (pharmacies, hospitals, clinics) are received and processed.
Customer Service and Sales: Addresses queries from customers and may actively promote specific products or deals.
2. Warehouse/Storage:
Controlled Environment Storage: Areas with specific temperature and humidity controls to store medications that have special storage requirements.
General Storage: Shelving and racks for bulk storage of medications and other products.
Controlled Substance Storage: Secure areas with additional safety measures for storing controlled drugs due to their potential for abuse and legal restrictions.
3. Picking and Packing Area:
Where employees gather products based on the order and prepare them for shipment.
4. Shipping and Receiving Docks:
Where goods are received from manufacturers and loaded for shipment to customers.
5. Quality Control and Returns:
Area dedicated to inspecting returned or damaged goods and managing recalls if necessary.
6. Inventory Management:
A sophisticated system to track inventory, predict demand, manage expiry dates, and reorder products as necessary.
7. Administrative Offices:
Spaces for management staff, accounting, human resources, and other back-end operations.