Efficient pharmacy services are part and parcel of the healthcare system. Patients rely heavily on seamless pharmacy operations. No matter where they live or move, the first thing a patient asks is, “Where can I find a reliable pharmacy near me?” They do this to ensure they can buy all the essential medications from their nearest pharmacy.
For example, think of a patient who was recently prescribed Wegovy® for weight loss. “What pharmacy has Wegovy in stock?” is probably the first question that will pop into their mind. This highlights why pharmacy management solutions are critical for ensuring better patient care and operational efficiency.
We will dive deeper into this topic in the article, so keep reading.
The Patient’s Journey: Beyond Prescriptions
Pharmacies play a key role in a patient’s journey to achieve better treatment outcomes. They are more than just places to buy medications. Pharmacists working at pharmacies guide and support patients to best manage their diagnosed conditions. When patients run into problems like unavailability of drugs or medication errors, it hurts their trust in the healthcare system (1)(2).
Hospital pharmacy directors and drugstore owners should thus implement advanced pharmacy management systems that put patient needs first over everything else. These systems automate workflows and streamline operations, allowing pharmacists and other staff to efficiently manage orders, inventory, billing, and drug compatibility checks. This can ultimately lead to better patient outcomes and transform pharmacy operations (3).
What Does Pharmacy Management Solutions Offer?
Pharmacy management systems include a range of software solutions designed to save pharmacists time and optimize operations. These solutions help automate, organize, and manage many of the manual tasks at pharmacies.
In fact, by relieving pharmacists and pharmacy technicians of their overburdening workload, a pharmacy management system allows them to focus more on patient care and less on tiresome administrative work (3)(4).
Typically, pharmacy management solutions come with the following features:
- Pharmacy data management
- Inventory management
- Supply management
- Reporting and analytics
- Prescription management
- Electronic patient records
- Medication dispensing
- Billing and insurance processing
- Drug interaction alerts
- Regulatory compliance
- Medication adherence notifications
- Refill Alerts
Enhancing Patient Care Through Efficient Pharmacy Management
The first prerequisite for effective pharmacy management is seamless collaboration among all stakeholders. Those at the management level play the most critical role, as everything depends on how effectively they manage day-to-day pharmacy operations. When directors or owners run a pharmacy well, patients receive prompt service along with accurate information and guidance on their prescribed medications (5).
To improve patient trust and loyalty, pharmacy directors or drugstore owners can take various steps:
Ensuring Medication Availability
They can do this by using pharmacy inventory management software. When implemented, this software can help reduce waste, prevent shortages, and manage overstock. By accurately predicting medication demand, it strikes the right balance between meeting customers’ demands and avoiding excess inventory, which helps prevent unnecessary purchases (6).
Offering Pharmacy Discount Programs
Offering pharmacy discount cards is another way pharmacy directors and owners can build patient trust. These discounts help patients cope with high medication bills. Some may even find price discounts encouraging enough to fill prescriptions they might otherwise skip due to excessive costs. This ultimately improves treatment adherence and overall patient care.
Streamlining Processes with Pharmacy Express Scripts
Modern pharmacy management solutions often integrate services like pharmacy express scripts. Although Express Scripts® is a well-known pharmacy benefit management organization (PBMO), people often associate the term with faster processing of prescriptions and home delivery of medications at no extra cost. Integrating such services into a pharmacy management system enables patients to spend less time waiting and more time focusing on their health (7).
Integrating Pharmacy and Medical Supply Services
When patients are offered combined pharmacy and medical supply services, it simplifies their buying experience. They appreciate the convenience of getting their medications and supplies in one place. This reduces the stress of having to visit another store and helps improve treatment adherence.
Leveraging Pharmacy Benefit Management
What is pharmacy benefit management?
It refers to a system that lets third-party companies administer prescription drug programs. These administrators are commonly known as pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). They typically work on behalf of health insurers, Medicare Part D drug plans, large employers, unions, or government programs.
PBMs often act as middlemen between drug manufacturers, pharmacies, and insurance companies to secure lower drug costs. By negotiating with manufacturers and pharmacies, they also help manage formularies (lists of covered drugs) and process prescription claims. Leveraging PBMs effectively allows hospital pharmacies to offer patients more affordable options (7)(8).
Optimize Your Pharmacy Operations with IT Medical
Want to enhance your pharmacy’s efficiency? IT Medical stands out among top pharmacy management companies with innovative solutions tailored to your needs. We streamline operations so you can focus on what matters most—your patients.
Our pharmacy management solutions simplify everything from inventory management to drug interaction alerts, ensuring your patients get timely, accurate service every time. With features like electronic patient records, medication dispensing, and drug interaction alerts, we help you provide prompt, accurate service while reducing administrative burdens.
Ready to transform your pharmacy operations? Book your free consultation today. Let’s make your pharmacy the trusted choice in your community.
References
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Blouin, R. A., & Adams, M. L. (2017). The role of the pharmacist in health care: expanding and evolving. North Carolina medical journal, 78(3), 165-167. doi: 10.18043/ncm.78.3.165.
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Kehrer, J. P., Eberhart, G., Wing, M., & Horon, K. (2013). Pharmacy’s role in a modern health continuum. Canadian Pharmacists Journal/Revue des Pharmaciens du Canada, 146(6), 321-324. doi: 10.1177/1715163513506370.
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Smith, M. G., Ferreri, S. P., Brown, P., Wines, K., Shea, C. M., & Pfeiffenberger, T. M. (2017). Implementing an integrated care management program in community pharmacies: a focus on medication management services. Journal of the American Pharmacists Association, 57(2), 229-235. doi: 10.1016/j.japh.2016.12.074.
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Chalasani, S. H., Syed, J., Ramesh, M., Patil, V., & Kumar, T. P. (2023). Artificial intelligence in the field of pharmacy practice: A literature review. Exploratory Research in Clinical and Social Pharmacy, 12, 100346. doi: 10.1016/j.rcsop.2023.100346.
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Nind, J., Smith, A., Scahill, S., & Marra, C. A. (2022). A systematic review of independent and chain pharmacies effects on medication adherence. Pharmacy, 10(5), 124. doi: 10.3390/pharmacy10050124.
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Shi, L., Wei, W., Smith, A., & Abbasi, G. (2024). Implementation and evaluation of an EHR-integrated perpetual inventory system in a large tertiary hospital oncology pharmacy. American Journal of Health-System Pharmacy, 81(12), 546-554. doi: 10.1093/ajhp/zxae022.
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Rosenthal, M., Miller, L., Bateman, M., Smith, M., Nueva, K., & Ballou, J. M. (2023). The impact of pharmacy benefit managers on community pharmacy: A scoping review. Exploratory Research in Clinical and Social Pharmacy, 10, 100283. doi: 10.1016/j.rcsop.2023.100283.
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Mattingly, T. J., Hyman, D. A., & Bai, G. (2023, November). Pharmacy benefit managers: history, business practices, economics, and policy. In JAMA Health Forum (Vol. 4, No. 11, pp. e233804-e233804). American Medical Association. doi: 10.1001/jamahealthforum.2023.3804.