When you’re in charge of running a small pharmacy, security is naturally going to be one of your biggest concerns. When it comes to safe storage of prescription medications, to making sure that your items are disappearing because of shoplifters, and even when it comes to making sure that your retail pharmacy POS system is safe from cyberattacks — every decision you make will impact the safety and security of your store, as well as your customers.
Here are just a few simple ways that you can make sure your pharmacy POS software is as secure as it can be, along with some signs that you may be dealing with a computer virus or a POS system that’s about to see its last days:
- Protecting the information of your business is just as important as protecting the information of your customers; as a pharmacy owner, you have a lot of sensitive information that needs to be protected. When you’re looking at POS systems, it’s important to look for a manufacturer that will provide software updates and security scans on a regular basis.
- Simply adding more hardware onto your existing system isn’t always the best idea; eventually, the system will become very bogged down because of so many added features. While things like external hard drives and additional terminals may serve well for immediate problems, it’s definitely better to invest in a new system entirely when you start adding tons of additional equipment. Newer POS systems are more likely to come with faster processes, more storage space, and better protection against malware viruses — all of which are very important in the long run.
- Finally, although it’s definitely easier to keep one password and one username for all of your systems and devices — especially if you have multiple employees who need to access the system — it’s really important to update your passwords frequently and to get a little creative with them. This is one of the best preventative measures you can take regarding the security of your pharmacy’s software, and it doesn’t cost you a cent!
Perhaps most importantly, always make sure to contact the POS system manufacturer (or a computer specialist) if you think that the security of your software has been compromised. When it comes to POS systems — specifically those used by pharmacies — there’s no such thing as being too careful.