Your Clients Deserve Carrier-Grade. So Do You.
The Infrastructure Behind Your Service Delivery
When your internet drops, eScripts can’t be dispensed, PBS claims can’t be validated, and EFTPOS stops processing. For a pharmacy where 60 to 80 per cent of revenue comes from PBS dispensing, every minute offline is money lost. Summit Internet delivers own-network reliability with automatic 4G backup — because your pharmacy can’t afford to go dark.
The Connectivity Challenge
There’s a fact about modern pharmacy operations that most internet providers don’t understand: eScripts cannot be dispensed manually during an internet outage.
This isn’t a workaround problem. It’s not a matter of writing things down and processing them later. When your connection to the National Prescription Delivery Service goes down, electronic prescriptions simply cannot be dispensed. The system requires real-time connectivity to retrieve the prescription, validate it, and record the dispensing event. No internet, no dispensing.
For a pharmacy where PBS dispensing represents 60 to 80 per cent of revenue — and at $12.14 per dispensing fee across dozens or hundreds of scripts per day — even a short outage has a measurable financial impact. Patients who can’t get their medication don’t wait. They walk to the pharmacy down the road. Some of them don’t come back.
But it’s not just eScripts. Your dispensing software — whether it’s Fred or Minfos — relies on a continuous connection to PBS Online for real-time claim validation. Each script is checked against PBS and RPBS rules and the patient’s entitlement status in real time. Your EFTPOS terminals need connectivity to process the 95 per cent of transactions that are now cashless. Your My Health Record integration needs to upload dispensing records. Your inventory management system needs to sync stock levels and trigger reorders.
When the internet drops, all of this stops simultaneously. Your pharmacists are standing behind the counter unable to do the core function of their job. Your customers are frustrated. Your queue is growing. And you’re losing revenue by the minute.
The typical response from a big telco? A ticket number and an estimated resolution time measured in hours, sometimes days. They don’t understand that your pharmacy is a healthcare service with patients waiting at the counter. They treat your outage with the same priority as a residential customer whose Netflix is buffering.
And here’s the uncomfortable truth that 5,723 PBS-registered pharmacies in Australia face: a basic internet connection without backup is a business risk. Not a technology risk. A revenue risk.
How Summit Helps Pharmacies
Own-Network Reliability as Your Primary Connection
Summit Internet isn’t an NBN reseller hoping the shared infrastructure holds up during peak hours. We own and operate our fixed wireless network across Melbourne under ACMA Carrier Licence #388. Your pharmacy’s connection runs on infrastructure we built, we maintain, and we control.
This means when your dispensing software needs to reach PBS Online at 9am on a Monday — your busiest dispensing hour — your connection isn’t competing with every household on the street. It’s a dedicated business-grade link on a network engineered for reliability.
For pharmacies in areas where NBN performance has been inconsistent, Summit’s fixed wireless offers a genuine alternative. Symmetrical speed options mean your uploads (PBS claims, My Health Record updates, inventory sync) are just as fast as your downloads.
4G Backup -- Non-Negotiable for Pharmacy Operations
We’ll say it plainly: a pharmacy without internet backup is a pharmacy that will, at some point, be unable to dispense medications. Not might. Will. Internet outages happen. The question is whether your pharmacy keeps operating when they do.
Summit’s 4G backup monitors your primary connection continuously. The moment it detects an outage, the backup activates automatically. Your dispensing software reconnects to PBS Online. EFTPOS terminals resume processing. eScripts can be retrieved and dispensed. The failover is designed to be seamless — your staff may not even realise the switch has occurred.
This isn’t an optional extra. For pharmacy operations, it’s a revenue protection measure.
Fax to Email -- Still Part of the Pharmacy Workflow
Despite the shift to eScripts, fax remains a channel for prescription transmission in certain contexts — particularly from GP practices that haven’t fully transitioned to electronic prescribing, and for some specialist and hospital prescriptions. Summit’s fax to email service means your pharmacy can receive these faxes as email attachments without maintaining a physical fax machine or a dedicated phone line.
Fast Deployment for New Pharmacy Fit-Outs
Opening a new pharmacy involves navigating the Pharmacy Location Rules, fitting out the dispensary, setting up your software, and a hundred other tasks. The last thing you need is to wait months for an internet connection. Summit’s fixed wireless can be installed in as little as 10 business days. If we don’t meet that commitment, your first month is free.
A Phone System That Handles Pharmacy Call Volumes
Your pharmacy phone rings constantly. Patients calling about prescriptions. Doctors calling through scripts. Aged care facilities requesting medication deliveries. Patients checking if their repeat is ready.
Summit’s FlexPBX hosted phone system manages these call volumes efficiently:
- IVR menus — ‘Press 1 for prescriptions, press 2 for general enquiries’ — to route callers to the right person and reduce hold times
- Ring groups — distribute calls across multiple staff during peak periods
- Voicemail to email — capture after-hours messages as audio files in your inbox
- Time-based routing — automatically switch between business hours and after-hours call handling
- Call queuing — keep callers on hold with a professional message rather than a busy signal
Because Summit provides both your internet and your phone system, voice calls are prioritised on our network. Your phone quality doesn’t suffer when your dispensing system is processing a batch of PBS claims.
Services That Matter to Pharmacies
| Service | Why It Matters to Your Practice |
|---|---|
| Fixed Wireless Internet | Own-network reliability for PBS dispensing and eScript processing |
| Business NBN | Available with static IP where NBN is the right fit |
| 4G Backup | Automatic failover -- dispensing and EFTPOS continue during outages |
| Hosted PBX (FlexPBX) | Manage high call volumes with IVR, queuing, and after-hours routing |
| Fax to Email | Receive prescriptions and correspondence without a physical fax machine |
| Static IP | Required for dispensing software server access and security configurations |
| SIP Trunks | Connect your existing phone system to Summit's network |
Frequently Asked Questions
How does 4G backup work with our dispensing software?
When your primary internet connection drops, Summit's 4G backup activates within seconds. Your dispensing software (Fred, Minfos, or equivalent) reconnects through the backup link. PBS Online validation resumes. eScripts can be retrieved and dispensed. EFTPOS terminals reconnect. The failover is automatic -- your dispensing staff can continue working without manual intervention.
What internet speed does a pharmacy need?
For a typical single-dispensary pharmacy with 2 to 3 terminals, EFTPOS, and standard operations, 25/25 Mbps on fixed wireless is a solid starting point. Larger pharmacies with multiple dispensing points, CCTV systems, and higher transaction volumes should consider 50/50 Mbps or above. We'll assess your specific requirements during a consultation and recommend the right plan.
Do you support multi-site pharmacy groups?
Yes. For banner groups and pharmacy owners operating multiple locations, Summit can provision consistent connectivity across all sites with centralised billing and a single support contact. Our MPLS private network service can also connect your sites securely for shared inventory management and centralised reporting.
How quickly can you connect a new pharmacy?
Summit's fixed wireless service can be installed in as little as 10 business days -- which is often faster than waiting for an NBN connection. For pharmacies undergoing fit-out or relocation, we can coordinate installation timing to align with your opening schedule.
Is Summit compliant with pharmacy regulatory requirements?
Summit's services support the technical requirements of PBS-approved pharmacies, including static IP addresses for dispensing software, encrypted connections, and network configurations that align with Australian Digital Health Agency standards. Our infrastructure is owned and operated under ACMA Carrier Licence #388, giving you a direct relationship with the carrier that controls your connection.
Why Pharmacies Choose Summit
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We Understand That Internet Downtime Stops Dispensing
This isn’t abstract for us. We know that when your connection drops, your Fred or Minfos system can’t validate PBS claims, eScripts can’t be retrieved from the NPDS, and your patients are standing at the counter with no way to get their medication. Our network and our 4G backup service are designed with this reality in mind.
Redundancy Is Revenue Protection
The cost of Summit’s 4G backup service is trivial compared to the revenue you lose during even a short outage. If your pharmacy dispenses 200 scripts per day at $12.14 in fees, plus associated retail sales and EFTPOS transactions, an hour of downtime during peak dispensing hours can cost hundreds of dollars in direct revenue and immeasurable amounts in patient trust. The backup pays for itself the first time it activates.
Your Connection Isn't Shared with the Street
On a standard NBN connection, your pharmacy’s bandwidth is shared with residential users in your area. During peak evening hours — which overlap with your late-afternoon dispensing rush — that shared infrastructure can slow to a crawl. Summit’s fixed wireless network is business-only, giving your pharmacy consistent performance when it matters most.
Local Support That Understands Pharmacy Urgency
When a pharmacy calls Summit to report a connectivity issue, we understand what’s at stake. Our Melbourne-based support team knows that your outage means patients can’t get their medications. We prioritise accordingly — not because pharmacy customers pay more, but because healthcare connectivity demands a different level of responsiveness.
Every Minute Offline Costs Your Pharmacy Revenue
Don’t wait for your next outage to discover what it costs. Talk to Summit about a connectivity solution built for the reality of pharmacy operations — reliable primary internet, automatic 4G backup, and support that understands healthcare urgency.