Introduction
Creating pharmacy workflow efficiencies can help address some of the most pressing challenges faced by pharmacies today. These include financial pressures, employee shortages, distribution errors, and more.
However, compounding these challenges is the fact that many pharmacies lack the resources to implement certain efficiency measures like software and technology solutions, even if they have an appetite for change.
Below, we discuss the value of implementing pharmacy workflow efficiencies with key examples. We also share how pharmacy leadership can demonstrate this value to decision-makers to drive change. Lastly, we highlight the capabilities of our solution to automate and optimize pharmacy shipping workflows.
The value of pharmacy workflow efficiency
Reduced financial pressures
Pharmacy budgets are being squeezed by rapid healthcare inflation, high drug prices, tariffs, and other economic factors. When health systems are struggling to make ends meet with limited resources, it’s more critical than ever to prioritize pharmacy workflow efficiency.
Optimizing pharmacy workflows can help eliminate inefficiencies that lead to waste and increased costs. For example, VPL Rx integrates with pharmacy management systems to automatically and seamlessly transfer patient shipping information, avoiding costly distribution errors and re-ships resulting from incorrect data entry.
Eased employee shortages
Pharmacies operating with fewer employees are often still expected to maintain the same output of a fully staffed team. Making pharmacy workflows more efficient can help manage this by reducing or eliminating repetitive tasks. This allows pharmacy teams to work more efficiently, even with fewer resources.
Additionally, less time spent on manual tasks means more time for pharmacists and their teams to spend with patients. This ensures pharmacies can continue to provide excellent patient care even with limited staff.
Reduced distribution errors
Accredited pharmacies know that maintaining near-perfect distribution is both a requirement and a core mission of the practice. Not only do distribution errors increase costs through re-ships, but they also impact patient safety when medication deliveries are delayed. They can also affect pharmacies’ accreditation status and play a role in audits.
Automation can help reduce distribution errors at several points along the pharmacy workflow. For example, in addition to integrating with pharmacy management systems, VPL Rx also offers package monitoring and intervention to enable pharmacy teams to easily track and recover lost shipments before it’s too late.
Demonstrating the value of pharmacy workflow efficiency
Addressing budget concerns
Many pharmacies today may be operating with outdated equipment and technology by necessity rather than a lack of appetite for change. This can be due to financial pressures, competing priorities such as staffing, and more.
To support a meaningful conversation around prioritizing pharmacy workflow efficiency, pharmacy leadership can communicate its benefits to key decision-makers. To address any concerns, it’s important to illustrate how building efficiency can alleviate many challenges that pharmacies experience including those discussed above.
In addition, any associated costs with upgrading pharmacy software and technology can be re-framed as investments. This includes investments in patient safety, pharmacist and pharmacy employee well-being, and the long-term financial security of the business.
Leveraging data analytics to increase value
It’s important to note that creating pharmacy efficiencies doesn’t have to be a one-and-done process. Rather, once the software is in place, pharmacies can continually refine their processes by making intelligent use of their data.
Pharmacies produce a vast amount of data, including information on prescriptions, patients, insurance providers, shipping patterns, and more. All this data can be utilized to inform decision-making on procedural improvements.
Once more, pharmacies are already well-equipped to take this next step. This is because they’re required by regulatory and accrediting bodies to maintain these records. Data analytics tools like VPL Rx can then seamlessly integrate with existing data management software.
Pharmacy data analytics with VPL Rx
VPL Rx, for example, is one of the few pharmacy shipping solutions that offers data analytics and insights specifically for pharmacy teams to monitor their shipping workflows and identify areas for improvement with compliance in mind.
Our data analytics solution allows pharmacies to track the success of their optimization efforts by location, carrier/courier, and retail/specialty pharmacy. Pharmacies can also export these metrics (and proof of delivery) to demonstrate distribution accuracy and ensure compliance with audits.
Lastly, our solution is built by pharmacists, for pharmacists with patient safety and data integrity in mind. We even build custom integrations with our customer’s patient management software to ensure safe and seamless transfer of patient information. Learn how we integrated with PioneerRx for Pikeville Medical Center Specialty Pharmacy here.
Conclusion
Pressures from all sides are forcing pharmacies to adapt and reimagine the traditional pharmacy workflow. The industry has already proven to be agile. However, there are several areas that can be refined further with the right support.
VPL Rx can help with our clinically minded prescription shipping, tracking, and compliance solution. To learn more, visit https://getvpl.com/demo/.
About us
VPL Rx is a clinically minded shipping, tracking, and compliance solution designed to modernize pharmacy distribution and promote healthier patients. Our quicker shipping workflow delivers prescriptions safely with real-time tracking, delivery alerts, and last-mile intervention. Exportable performance reporting and data analytics help pharmacies optimize costs and maintain compliance and accreditation.
