MediloonA staff app puts that information where the team looks for it anyway: on their own smartphone. The rota, time tracking, requests, and tasks can be brought together in one app — while pharmacy management uses the administrative views intended for that.
Why the topic is gaining importance for pharmacies
Pharmacy teams are made up differently today than a few years ago. According to Treuhand Hannover, even among under-30s only around half work full time; from the age of 40 it is only about one in five. Part-time work has become the norm in the pharmacy.
At the same time, staff remain scarce: in the IFH Köln APOkix of March 2026, 80 percent of the pharmacies surveyed say they are affected by the shortage of skilled workers.
More part-time work with scarce staff means more shifts, more handovers, and more coordination. Every change to the plan has to reach more people. Typical consequences in day-to-day work:
- Rota changes are sent around as a photo or a message.
- Questions about shifts and leave interrupt work at the counter.
- Timesheets are filled in after the fact at the end of the month.
- Information is scattered across folders, spreadsheets, and chats.
What is a staff app for pharmacies?
A staff app is the mobile interface of internal staff management. Pharmacy management maintains the rota, working hours, and requests in the administration — every member of staff sees their own slice of it in the app.
It is therefore not another silo solution but the counterpart to digital staff management: planned shifts become visible to the team, and recorded working hours can be made available to authorised management.
A patient app is aimed at customers — with e-prescriptions, pre-orders, or appointment booking. The staff app is intended exclusively for the pharmacy team.
These features belong in a staff app
- Rota and team overview: Your own shifts with time and area — plus the team plan, which shows who is working with whom today.
- Time tracking via NFC: Clock in and out with a tap on the NFC tag in the pharmacy; breaks are taken into account according to the recording method that has been set up.
- Breaks: Working and break times stay in view and are recorded traceably according to actual use.
- Leave and requests: Submit leave requests digitally and follow their status; further request types depend on the scope of features.
- Time account: Target and actual hours as well as time differences at a glance; how overtime is assessed under employment law depends on the applicable agreements.
- Daily tasks: The day's tasks are in the app and are ticked off once done.
- Notifications: Changes and decisions can be communicated via the app, provided the corresponding notifications are enabled.
- Multiple locations: Depending on the configuration, a shared app can make sense for teams that work at changing locations.
A working day with the staff app
Before the shift starts
A glance at the app shows the shift, the area, and the colleagues on duty today.
Arrive and clock in
Hold the smartphone to the NFC tag at the counter — the start of work is recorded and confirmed with the time.
During the day
Daily tasks are ticked off; the running working time and breaks stay in view.
In between
Request summer leave or a shift swap — without a note and without asking in the back office.
End of the day
Clock out with a tap. The entry is available in the time account; missing or incorrect entries may need to be corrected.
What pharmacy management gains
Fewer follow-up questions: When every person can see their own shifts, request status, and time account, many of the short questions that otherwise interrupt work throughout the day disappear.
Current rather than back-filled working hours: Clock-in times appear in the rota as time bars next to the planned shift. Deviations stand out while they are still easy to clear up — not only at the monthly payroll.
Requests with a history: Leave requests arrive in a structured way and can be reviewed, approved, or declined. The decision is traceable for both sides instead of being made across the room.
Data for payroll: Where the export function is enabled, recorded working hours can be provided for further payroll processing, without timesheets having to be typed up.
A messenger group instead of an app? Why that does not hold up in the long run
Many teams organise shift swaps and plan changes in a private messenger group. That is quick to set up but runs into limits:
- Important changes get lost between other messages.
- Whether a swap has actually been approved often remains unclear.
- Rotas circulate as photos in several versions.
- Employee data ends up in private chats the pharmacy has no control over.
A staff app does not replace every conversation in the team. But it does make sure binding information — shift, request, status — sits in exactly one place.
Their own smartphone: what teams want to know
The Mediloon Staff App is designed for use on smartphones. Using private devices should be voluntary and organisationally regulated; for employees without a suitable device of their own, a practical alternative should be provided. That is exactly why staff rightly ask what the app sees and what it does not.
- Recording in the pharmacy: With NFC entries, the interaction takes place with the NFC tag on site. Whether further device data is processed should be checked against the actual app configuration and privacy notices.
- Your own data, not other people's: Staff see their own hours, requests, and time accounts. Team-wide evaluations remain reserved for authorised people in pharmacy management.
- Data storage in Germany: Mediloon states that it hosts data in Frankfurt. The specific data protection documents and data processing terms should be reviewed before introduction.
Employees should learn in advance which data the app processes and for what purpose. If the pharmacy has a works council, the introduction may be subject to co-determination, in particular under Section 87(1) No. 6 of the Works Constitution Act (BetrVG).
How to introduce it successfully in the team
Define the scope
Clarify which processes move into the app: first the rota and time tracking, then requests and tasks.
Bring the team along
Show in a short team meeting what the app can do, which data it processes, and who sees what.
Place the NFC tag
Mount the tag where it is easy to reach, for example at the counter or the staff entrance.
Limit parallel operation
Keep old lists and chats going only briefly and set a fixed switchover date. Two systems in the long run double the effort.
What to look for when choosing
Staff apps differ less in their look than in how well they are connected to the rest of the organisation. These points help when comparing:
With the cost of time tracking too, what matters most is how many systems end up running in parallel. An app that covers the rota, hours, and requests together saves not only licences but above all coordination.
Frequently asked questions
Does my team need a work phone?
Not necessarily. The Mediloon Staff App is designed for smartphones. For employees without a suitable private device, the pharmacy should provide an alternative way to use it. The operating systems actually supported should be checked before introduction.
Can I require staff to use the app on their private smartphone?
Mandatory use of private smartphones should not be assumed. Use has to be clarified in advance, and a practical alternative should be provided for employees without a suitable private device.
Does the app work for several branches?
Use across several locations depends on the location management that has been set up and the respective access rights. Before using it, check whether the specific Mediloon configuration supports this.
Do staff see their colleagues' working hours?
No. The team plan shows who is on duty when. Each person sees recorded working hours and time accounts only for themselves.
Conclusion
A staff app makes the rota, your own working time, and the status of requests visible to every team member at any time — on the smartphone that is in their pocket anyway. For pharmacy management that means fewer follow-up questions, current working hours, and requests with a clear history. For the team it means reliability: what is in the app applies. With the Mediloon Staff App, the rota, NFC time tracking, leave requests, and time account can come together in one mobile access point — aligned with pharmacy management's staff management. Which features are actually available depends on the version in use. Discover the Mediloon Staff App for pharmacies and see how the rota, NFC time tracking, and leave management work together.
About Mediloon
Mediloon is a Leipzig-based healthtech company building digital infrastructure for German pharmacies — including E-Rezept integration, pharmacy apps, Click & Collect, Botendienst coordination, and the Medi AI assistant. This article is part of Mediloon's pharmacy digitalisation guide series. It is intended as general operational and regulatory information. For specific questions on employment law or data protection relating to digital staff management, consult a qualified legal advisor.