Network Manager Provides Prescription for Success for

Lincoln Co-op Chemists are saving their customers money and providing them with the most up-to-date medical data with Network Manager from Cegedim Rx, a pharmacy system which automatically delivers the latest industry pricing and product news.

Lincoln Co-op Chemists Ltd is a well-established pharmacy chain operating throughout Lincolnshire. The group has enjoyed strong growth over recent years, with the number of pharmacies it operates rising from 5 to 30 and new stores planned for the future.

The group has used Cegedim Rx’s flagship Pharmacy Manager system for around 10 years, and has since installed a range of additional, complementary solutions to meet the evolving requirements of the pharmacy and provide the latest support, medical and drug information to customers, pharmacists and management.

Cegedim Rx’s Network Manager was installed on a number of Lincoln Co-op Chemist systems as a pilot scheme two and a half years ago, and the benefits that the solution brought led to a total roll-out of Network Manager across the whole group one year later.

Network Manager is Cegedim Rx’s Virtual Private Network (VPN) solution, offering secure and reliable data and information transport. The pharmacy computer dials in automatically to the Cegedim Rx system, securely collecting the latest product information, pricing details and program updates.

Lincoln Co-op say that Network Manager has brought with it a host of advantages not only at management level but also to pharmacy staff and the customer. Pharmacies have access to the latest product information and all program upgrades are carried out automatically, saving them time.

Network Manager provides the data transport mechanism for the Cegedim Rx suite of head office programs, Branch Manager and Information Manager. These products have the ability to monitor and help to control where stock is being bought from by the individual pharmacy branches.

Lincoln Co-op Pharmacy Projects Manager John McKerracher said: "By ensuring pharmacies buy from the most competitively priced suppliers, we are able to save more money - savings which we pass directly on to our customers and which are also ploughed directly back into the community we work in, through sponsorship and support of local events and initiatives."

"The Knowledge Base updates are a great addition to the system – the information contained on it is very comprehensive, and is constantly being added to. The information on malaria prophylaxis for example is excellent, indicating to pharmacists the best medicine to take depending on where the customer is travelling. Other such databases may only be updated every six months, but Knowledge Base enables us to deliver up-to-the-minute advice," he added.


About Cegedim Rx
Cegedim Rx is a leading provider of dispensary management systems to pharmacies across the UK. Pharmacy Manager, the company’s core product, is the UK’s leading dispensary management system for Windows, deployed at over 2,100 independent and regional chain pharmacies nationwide, with a market share of around 20%.

Cegedim Rx is part of the Cegedim Group, a worldwide leader in data production and distribution. The group has operations in 50 countries spanning five continents and enjoys an annual turnover of over 400m Euros.