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Pharmacy Growth Strategies

Ignite your pharmacy business with the most innovative growth strategies and ideas that produce real results.

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Build and Sustain an Effective Pharmacy Team in a Tight Labor Market

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Here at PDS, we take pride in highlighting some of our incredible exhibitors. We know these companies have the potential to revolutionize pharmacies just like yours through their products and services. We’re excited to introduce Oval Group as they focus on something so important to PDS – TEAMS. Read on for their sponsored blog post about building and sustaining an effective pharmacy team.

Pharmacy teamTalent is a scarce commodity. We predict this will continue to be the new normal for pharmacies. Staff turnover is expensive, unproductive, and can deliver a devastating blow to morale. The companies who are winning the war for talent are not only recruiting people who are the best fit for their business but are working hard to develop and engage their current pharmacy team so that they will remain and grow from within.

First, some facts:

  • January 2020 US Bureau of Labor Statistics results share that over 2 million new jobs were added in each of 2019, 2018, and 2017. Future indicators based on recent trends and the projected population of available workers predicts a global labor shortage over the next decade.
  • A recent study conducted by Korn Ferry Institute, predicts that by 2030, there will be a global human talent shortage of more than 85 million people, which could result in about $8.5 trillion in unrealized annual revenues.

Many of the articles and studies on this topic focus on the need to develop “Knowledge Workers” – people who can keep up with technological developments and be sufficiently agile to develop new skills and talents to keep up with changing business needs. The most successful companies are facing this shortfall head-on and investing in their talent by providing opportunities for continuous training and development.

We offer a simple framework from which to start to develop your own successful talent strategy.

3 Steps to Build Your Dynamic Pharmacy Team

Step 1: Create a compelling message – articulate the Vision, Mission, and Core Values that resonate with like-minded people.

    • Vision – a clear picture of where your business will be at a specific point in the future.
      For example: “By 2025 we will be the number one provider of alternative healthcare options in Busyville, USA, generating $5 million in annual revenue.”
    • Mission – your purpose for being in business.
      For example: “We improve the lives of every customer or patient we encounter.”
    • Core Values – the driving forces you espouse that your employees or customers can expect to experience in your business.
      For example: “We find new and creative ways to help others daily. We respect each other’s perspective while fostering an environment of continuous learning to solve the problems and concerns of our constituents.”

Our own research and experience have shown that the connection between an employee’s values and the requirements and rewards within a role is the most important predictor of employee engagement and effectiveness. A person, who can’t wait to get out of bed in the morning to get to work, will be more productive and will remain in the role longer than one without passion or purpose.

Provide an employee survey for your pharmacy team

Provide your team members with an opportunity to share their wants and needs. A third party employee engagement survey, where employees can be candid, coupled with feedback and follow up from management can go a long way to improving employee morale. Employees want to feel heard and acknowledged. If you want them to take ownership at work, it’s important to help them feel that they have a say in impacting their work environment.

After conducting an employee engagement survey, there are two important steps you must take. Number one is to share the results. Then ask and respond to input on changes they believe would improve the environment. You don’t have to agree to all employee requests, especially if they don’t make economic sense. But the requests you can accommodate will tell your employees that you care about their opinions and respect their needs. Plus, learning that they can have meaningful impact on their environment will build loyalty and trust.

Does your staff have a clear set of business goals and strategies?

Defining your goals and strategies will naturally help you identify the talent profiles you will need to fulfill those goals. Also, by sharing your goals with your team, you have an opportunity to solicit input on how they can assist with achieving those goals. The ability of your team to achieve results may surprise you. Of course, if your team has values that are aligned, you will be in a much better position to create meaningful incentives that will motivate the behaviors you seek.

You may find that you’ve identified skill gaps within your team needed to achieve your goals. The good news is that skills are trainable and offering developmental opportunities for your team to build the skills required for business success will engage them and help your business.

Step 2: Seek talent who shares your team values, and hire the candidate who best fits the profile of the open role.

Once you’ve established your business culture and core values, don’t compromise those values by hiring skilled talent that does not fit your culture. Skills can be learned and even behaviors can change with effort. Values (the driving forces that get us into action) change very slowly, if at all. Look for candidates who match your business values and have a shared passion around similar drivers.

We recommend developing a role benchmark that clearly spells out the ideal candidate profile, identifying those factors that will lead to success in a specific role. Then use gap assessments for applicants that tell you how close a candidate under consideration matches your ideal profile. The best way to build your new applicant pipeline is to build a strong team and culture of employee development and empowerment. Social media and word of mouth rule the day. Happy employees will post positive comments on social media sites and will talk amongst their friends.

Some of the best sources for new hires can come from your own internal staff. Since they know the jobs and the business culture best, they can recommend others who fit the criteria. Job applicants will scour social media sites looking for comments about what it is like to work in your business. If the comments are negative, the best candidates will not apply.

Step 3. Develop a consistent culture of continuous learning and development for your pharmacy team.

Given the tight labor market we face today in this country, finding good talent will inevitably get much more difficult before it improves. That means for those managing a workforce, the biggest challenge will be to keep the good talent and take action to undermine those who wish to poach your best employees.

Keeping good talent is not simply about erecting barriers (real or virtual) to prevent access. Rather it requires a strategy aimed at making your workplace so attractive that your employees are truly not interested in considering other options. Once you have articulated and shared your business Mission, Vision, and Core Values, plus built a team that is aligned with your direction, you need to foster an environment that lives your promise.

If your team is excited to come to work, charged up by their daily roles, fulfilled in their achievements, and happy in the environment you foster, there is only one thing left to do. You need to provide ongoing opportunities to learn and grow at work through continuous improvement, embracing reasonable change consistent with your plan, and seeking ways to reward and reinforce your company values.

About the Author

The Oval Group LLC (Oval), established in 2003, is a talent management solutions provider specializing in talent assessments and services that enable business owners and corporate executives to make informed strategic decisions about their unique business and the people who hold the keys to its success.

What Can Your Pharmacy Data Do?

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Here at PDS, we take pride in highlighting some of our incredible exhibitors. We know these companies have the potential to revolutionize pharmacies just like yours through their products and services. We’re excited to introduce American Associated Pharmacies (AAP). Read on for their sponsored blog post about building your bottom-line.

Data is everything. It can drive business growth, increase profitability, and improve your relationships with your patients, but only if you use it.

Here are just some of the key categories of data you should be interested in, and suggestions for how to get started acting on it.

Questionable and Open Claims

It’s important to monitor all claims going through your pharmacy. A good practice would be to double check any claims outside of some key financial rules that make sense for your business, to help avoid negative outcomes. If no copay is collected on a cash claim, was it processed correctly? If the profit margin on a prescription is less than the cost, are you purchasing that drug correctly?

Be sure to monitor and resubmit claims that are reversed. It’s also to your advantage to monitor changes in Average Wholesale Prices and consider other claims to resubmit. One pharmacy generated $2,000 in additional revenue in only a week using a tool to access up-to-date AWP data.

Timeliness of Refills and Missing Patients

Does your pharmacy monitor when patients are due for refills, or if patients disappear altogether? Using that data to stay in contact with these patients can mean better care for them, and more revenue for your pharmacy. Pharmacies using one tool have proven that contacting just a few dozen of these patients in a month can mean an average of $11,000 or more of increased revenue. With the added benefit of increasing adherence and Star Ratings, along with building essential loyalty with patients who feel cared for, it’s data you can’t afford to ignore.

 

Other Marketing and Outreach

Marketing and outreach are important ways to take the data you already have and apply it. Patient data can tell you if you have patients nearing 65 who may need help selecting a Medicare plan; it can tell you if you have brand new patients who could use some outreach to build a relationship; it can tell you if there are prescribers in your area who aren’t sending prescriptions your way, or if there are others who may make up a large share of your fills. Data can help you target your marketing efforts and spend less to do more for your pharmacy’s health and growth.

These are only some of the opportunities that can deliver great benefits from the data your pharmacy collects on a daily basis! The good news is, there are tools like AAP’s ProfitAmp that can sift through your dispensing, patient, and prescriber data and provide easy-to-use reports with immediately-actionable data.

Saying pharmacy is a busy profession is an understatement, especially considering current events. However, watching these metrics as much as possible can be a key way to optimize profitability.

About the Author

As a cooperative of over 2,000 member pharmacies with an independently owned warehouse and specialty pharmacy and qualified preferred partners, American Associated Pharmacies (AAP) is so much more than a buying group. AAP provides the tools and resources needed for members to improve their bottom lines, such as business intelligence tools, a powerful proprietary ordering system that syncs across devices, and more! Visit RxAAP.com/ProveIt to learn more.

Planning for Success with Adherence Packaging in Your Independent Pharmacy

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Here at PDS, we take pride in highlighting some of our incredible partners. We know these companies have the potential to revolutionize pharmacies just like yours through their products and services. We’re excited to introduce RxSafe. Read on for their blog post about planning for success with adherence packaging in your independent pharmacy. 

You’ve no doubt heard the saying, “If you fail to plan, you’re planning to fail.” Marketing adherence packaging is no different. If you begin with the end in mind, you’ll have a much better chance of success.

At RxSafe, we’ve worked with hundreds of independent pharmacy owners, including a few who have successfully added 15-30 new adherence patients each and every month. How did they do it? It starts with a plan, which incorporates best practices as well as taking into account your local market and its needs, your unique value proposition, your competition, the strengths of your team, and other factors.

“It’s definitely not Field of Dreams, like ‘If you build it, they will come’… you really have to build it and then go out and tell everybody about it,” says PDS member Matthew Massey, pharmacist and owner of Massey Drugs, with three stores in Florence and Tuscumbia, Alabama. “You have to educate your patients, you have to educate the doctors and your community that you’re doing this, and why it’s important. But I really believe you can grow this quickly, pick up new customers and take care of those customers better than they were being taken care of before. To me, it’s all about what’s in the best interest of the patient.”

Like Massey, fellow RapidPakRx owners and PDS members Bruce and Lisa Kocian have a lot of experience with compliance packaging.

“When you’re starting out, I would say to focus on communication,” says Lisa Kocian. “This is a new concept for a lot of people, and they don’t necessarily understand it, and they may have expectations that are not realistic. And so, we’ve learned to thoroughly explain the program to the patient, that we’ll have to sync their prescriptions first, and then we can get them in the RapidPakRx. People are so excited about getting their prescriptions in the packaging, they want them immediately in the packaging. And sometimes it takes a refill cycle to get everything synced up. But communication and doing a really good job of explaining what they should expect from the program, I think makes things run smoothly.”

 

PDS member Clayton Gilde, owner of McBain Family Pharmacy, recommends a multi-pronged marketing approach.

“We usually get about seven patients per week from the PakMyMeds Network (social media advertising), Gilde explains. “When we get a lead, we’ll usually reach out to them and ask them how they’re currently taking their medications. Sometimes the patients are taking it from another provider like PillPack, or something else, and they’re happy to switch over to someone local.

One thing we noticed was that we put in the PakMyMeds box right by the register, and by the drop-off area, it was able to spark a lot of conversations with our patients that are already using us. We also use ads in local newspapers and radio explaining the PakMyMeds program and how it can benefit patients.”

The three most important things to do when adopting automation for your synchronization program are:

  1. Make a plan for marketing and promotion.
  2. Effective communication and set proper expectations.
  3. Don’t rely on one marketing approach, use a variety of methods to get the word out.

About the Author

RxSafe is the leader in robotic automation that improves patient safety and boosts profitability for retail pharmacies. Our RapidPakRx™ adherence strip packager enables pharmacies to run a 30-day med cycle at the lowest possible cost. RxSafe’s BlistAssist™ medication blister card packaging assistant improves the manual preparation and verification of single or multi-med blister cards. Our RxSafe 1800™ system helps pharmacies achieve better accuracy & speed, space savings, narcotics security, and inventory management. Learn more at www.rxsafe.com.

How Vaccination Programs Can Bring Profits to Your Independent Pharmacy

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Here at PDS, we take pride in highlighting some of our incredible exhibitors. We know these companies have the potential to revolutionize pharmacies just like yours through their products and services. We’re excited to Drug Topics. Read on for their sponsored blog post about how vaccination programs can bring additional profits to your pharmacy

The majority of pharmacies in the United States now offer vaccinations, but there is still a significant opportunity to turn a well-run vaccination program into a profitable

endeavor that benefits both patient and pharmacy.

Many adults still fail to get the recommended vaccinations each year. According to the CDC, just 37.1% of adults received the flu vaccine during the 2017-2018 flu season. This presents a significant opportunity for independent pharmacies to improve these numbers by expanding their immunization efforts, marketing their programs to the community, and relying on what makes a pharmacy a unique health care setting.

“Pharmacies have a huge advantage right off the bat of being readily available and accessible,” said Beverly Schaeffer, RPh, of Katterman’s Sandpoint Pharmacy in Seattle, WA.

Katterman’s was one of the first to offer vaccines—starting their program back in 1996. Schaeffer said the pharmacy had been hoping to give 300 vaccines but found themselves administering 1,200. Since then, the program has continued to grow and the pharmacy now offers all available vaccines in the state and can even administer to children and infants.

“All pharmacists could be doing more immunizations than they are if they wanted to,” she said.

Expanding immunization efforts can not only improve public health, but it can also serve as an increased revenue stream for community pharmacies. Close to 100 million Americans get the flu shot each year, translating to $4 billion to $5 billion in revenue, PBA Health reported.

Immunizations outside the influenza vaccine can often bring in even larger administration fees for pharmacies. “Almost all immunizations pay an administration fee that varies from plan to plan, but you get paid for the vaccine plus an administration fee,” Schaeffer said.

Vincent Hartzell, PharmD, president of Hartzell’s Pharmacy in Catasauqua, PA, said successful immunization programs not only provide revenue for a pharmacy on their own, but they also often drive other areas of business. “Vaccines have allowed us to provide marketing and attract new customers,” he said.

The most effective marketing strategies, he said, don’t always have to be costly and can be as simple as an effective social media post, informing local physicians and area senior centers of the pharmacy’s immunization services, or using banners and signs.

Schaeffer has found one of her best marketing tools is a sandwich board placed outside the pharmacy each day that highlights different services such as its tetanus shots, travel vaccines, or the highly sought-after shingles vaccine.

Her pharmacy does a significant amount of business in travel vaccines, so she also tries to drive other store business through a separate travel aisle where customers can find everything needed for an upcoming trip; anti-diarrhea medications, rehydration packets, eye drops, all in one convenient area.

Hartzell believes it’s important that all the pharmacists in a community pharmacy be trained to give immunizations so that there is always an available staff member whenever a customer arrives at the store.

To improve the workflow, he said, non-pharmacist staff should also be a critical aspect of vaccination programs. Those workers should have ways to identify patients who may be behind on immunizations or could benefit from annual vaccines such as influenza and pneumococcal vaccines.

“Make sure that your technicians know how to do the billing, make sure your technicians know how to fill out the consent forms because that’s the stuff that you don’t need a pharmacist for,” he said.

Overall, Schaeffer and Hartzell agreed, successful vaccination programs can yield big rewards for community pharmacies and their patients.

About the Author

Drug Topics is the leading pharmacy journal for retail, health system and specialty pharmacists. Drop Topics provides news, information and trusted perspectives through peer-based forums and opinions, relative to all aspects of pharmacy practice and also offers direction on elevating your profession and career. Check it all out at drugtopics.com.

Solutions to Build Your Independent Pharmacy’s Bottom Line

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Here at PDS, we take pride in highlighting some of our incredible exhibitors. We know these companies have the potential to revolutionize pharmacies just like yours through their products and services. We’re excited to introduce American Associated Pharmacies (AAP). Read on for their sponsored blog post about building your bottom-line.

Your Brand Rx cost of goods is one of the largest factors affecting your independent pharmacy’s bottom line, but it isn’t the only one. You may have found the right buying group or wholesaler, but inefficient processes or small losses that may seem insignificant now could mean a huge difference for your profitability later.

growing pharmacy profits

Let’s look at some of the things you should watch for when evaluating the best independent pharmacy business solutions to build your bottom line.

Don’t Lose Your Specialty Patients

Patients on a specialty drug have an average of 13 additional prescriptions.* A majority of these are maintenance prescriptions your pharmacy can fill, but only if these specialty patients continue to come to your pharmacy. They may not return if they are directed to a pharmacy other than yours for their specialty needs, and the specialty drug market is one of the fastest-growing. Specialty drugs are expected to account for 50% of the drug market as soon as this year (2020).

It’s in your best interest to be able to help patients who need these medications, and the good news is that you don’t have to spend tens of thousands of dollars to become certified as a specialty pharmacy yourself. There are programs available to help you keep your specialty patients in your pharmacy while making sure they’re provided with quality specialty care.

*According to Specialty Pharmacy Times Magazine

Keep A Unique Front-End in Your Pharmacy

On average, front-end products carry a profit margin of 15% higher than on prescriptions. This average of 38% for OTCs and other front-end merchandise, much greater than the average of 22% on prescriptions, is a clear opportunity. Are you taking full advantage of that knowledge?

Rather than only stocking items your patients could find in any big-box retail store, you have the opportunity in your pharmacy to be unique. Basic supplements like vitamins are essential and can bring in a hefty amount of revenue. Don’t leave them out! But you can do more. You can carry the variety of over the counter products that big-box stores are spread too thin to offer.

There is a wealth of niche markets to branch into. From specialized health products to pet pharmaceuticals and diabetic footwear, do what only you can do as an independent pharmacy. Take your queues from your community or target market. Attract patients who might otherwise have to travel long distances to find the products they need or order blind from online sources. They’ll be glad you’re there.

Streamline Ordering Within Your Pharmacy

Save precious time by streamlining your ordering process. Having a plan and a robust ordering system will go a long way in this area. Make sure your system will keep an order queue consistent across devices to avoid redundant spending, automatically submit orders to keep you from missing deadlines and make the process as efficient as possible. Don’t waste time typing in numbers, dragging bottles to a stationary scanner, or ordering from multiple websites.

Do your research and find a solution that offers all the flexibility you need in your setup!

About the Author

As a cooperative of over 2,000 member pharmacies with an independently owned warehouse and specialty pharmacy and qualified preferred partners, American Associated Pharmacies (AAP) is so much more than a buying group. AAP provides the tools and resources needed for members to improve their bottom lines, such as business intelligence tools, a powerful proprietary ordering system that syncs across devices, and more! Visit RxAAP.com/ProveIt to learn more.

Flu Season Essentials for Your Patients

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Here at PDS, we take pride in highlighting some of our incredible exhibitors. We know these companies have the potential to revolutionize pharmacies just like yours through their products and services. We’re excited to introduce American Associated Pharmacies (AAP). Read on for their sponsored blog post about flu season essentials for your patients this flu season.

It’s that time of year where we experience an increase in cold and flu activity. Patients will be turning to your pharmacy for medication and remedies that they can rely on to get them through the winter.

Popular Supplements to Keep in Stock

According to the Nutrition Business Journal, the US supplement industry has seen an increase of 5-6% each year over the last two years, with growth expected to continue at that rate or higher until at least 2022. Make the most out of this opportunity for profitability by supplying your community with OTC products that carry valuable health benefits.

Elderberry

Elderberry syrup is growing in popularity as a powerful alternative to both prevent and fight cold and flu. It has been tied to a significant reduction in the severity and duration of symptoms in studies. Patients taking Elderberry syrup reported symptoms clearing up an average of four days earlier than those taking a placebo.

The syrup has been nearly impossible to keep on pharmacy shelves in recent flu seasons, and the market is expected to continue to grow at an accelerating rate of over 7% until 2022 at the very least. Don’t miss out! Your patients will thank you for keeping this new staple in stock.

Vitamin C

Studies have shown Vitamin C can boost your immune system, and possibly even help protect against heart disease, cancer, and stroke. This safe and effective supplement is a strong preventative for flu season. It’s recommended that the average adult receive at least 75-90mg daily for peak effectiveness.

Vitamin D

Vitamin D is particularly useful in areas with harsher winter weather. When the sun is hiding behind clouds, it’s harder to soak up enough! Vitamin D is essential to the body’s immune system and bone strength, but our bodies cannot store it for extended periods of time. Supplements can help combat this and will also keep your patients happy and healthy.

Iron

Iron is another immune booster. It has shown to help keep energy levels up during short, dim days. Iron is essential to blood flow and oxygen transfer in the blood, making it a key component to heart, lung, and neurological function. Deficiencies are common even here in the US, with an estimated 8-12% of Americans not receiving enough iron in their diets. Women, young children, and patients with heart conditions are among some of the most likely to have these deficiencies and could most benefit from iron supplements.

Zinc

Zinc is known as another preventative supplement that can help to prevent the common cold if used regularly. Similar to elderberry, it strengthens the immune system and can aid in reducing the length and severity of a common cold. The average adult needs about 9.5mg a day, while women need about 7mg.

Cold and Flu Shots and Medications

While supplements are popular and can help prevent sickness or shorten a bout already underway, encourage your patients not to pass on a flu shot.

If your patients do come down with the flu, a cold, or a fit of allergies, you can be ready. Keep plenty of flu medication, nasal spray, and cough syrup on hand, as some of these–particularly a prescription like Tamiflu–can grow scarce as the season drags on. Stock up and stay ahead of the rush as much as possible to avoid losing potential income.

From AAP’s Member-Owned Warehouse for Cold and Flu Season

Find these remedies and more at store.apirx.com.

  • Supplements: Vitamins such as C, D, & E; Iron; Zinc; and more
  • Medications: Generic Tamiflu, Fluticasone nasal spray, Promethazine-Codeine cough syrup, Mucinex, and more
  • Other: Nasal strips, thermometers, socks, and other winter essentials

About the Author

As a cooperative of over 2,000 member pharmacies with an independently owned warehouse and specialty pharmacy, the nation’s 4th largest PSAO, and qualified preferred partners, American Associated Pharmacies (AAP) is so much more than a buying group. AAP provides the tools and resources needed for members to improve their bottom lines. Visit RxAAP.com/ProveIt to learn more.

Pharmacy Marketing - Welcome Sign

Pharmacy Marketing: Attract New Patients from Store Closings

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Last month Walgreens announced the closing of 200 stores. Last April Fred’s decided to begin closing 159 stores and stated that they were getting out of pharmacy. We also heard about Shopko going out of business. These changes in the industry mean thousands of patients will be looking for a new pharmacy and YOU, the independent pharmacy, are their best option. Therefore it is time to kick your pharmacy marketing into gear.

Now that the closings are underway this presents an opportunity to attract those patients. We thought it would be helpful to remind PDS members and the independent pharmacy community at large about the first steps to reaching (and attracting) these patients.

Pharmacy Marketing - Welcome Sign

Some of the action items below are repeats from our blog How to Leverage Big Box or Chain Store Closings back in in May of 2016 when Walmart announced their store closings.

At PDS we classify our pharmacy marketing efforts into three buckets: inside the four walls, outside the four walls and digital marketing. Within each of these groups, there are steps you can take to start attracting new patients.

Building these relationships and ensuring that your customers are happy within your own independent pharmacy business is very important. Below are three ways you can strengthen your skills towards more profitable relationships with your pharmacy’s customers.

Inside the Four Walls

  • Are you ready to take on more customers? If you were to bring in 100, 200 or 500 new patients, would you be able to accommodate them and provide excellent customer service? Your new patients need to see, feel and experience an unprecedented level of service. Make sure that you have a New Patient Process and New Patient Packet set up or updated.
  • Promote your Referral Program to your existing patients. Use your current patient base to promote the valuable services you offer.

Outside the Four Walls

  • As soon as you hear about a closing, make your first stop a visit the store’s management. They are probably concerned about their patients and by establishing a relationship with them, they will feel comfortable referring their patients to you. During your visit there may also be an opportunity to recruit some great talent.
  • Use traditional marketing techniques. Put up a banner outside your store stating that you welcome new patients. Send a direct mail postcard in your area.
  • There is some urgency to getting this done so lean into your local printer to get these materials produced quickly.

Digital Marketing

  • Use social media to reach new customers. Create a Facebook ad with photos of your team and your pharmacy that will be displayed within your target area. Be specific about the store closing and that you are welcoming new patients.

In your communication to these new patients, it is important to convey that their health and well being are your priority. Show them that you can offer quality care, convenience and competitive pricing. If you have an efficient medication synchronization program, promote the benefits it will offer them as a patient of your pharmacy. At a time when these patients need to make a switch, we have a great opportunity to show them that an independent pharmacy, your pharmacy, is the best place for them.

For PDS members, log into PDSadvantage to find the applicable pharmacy marketing resources in the Marketing section of the Knowledge Library that will help you win these new patients. The How to Develop Marketing Campaigns program, the New Patient Process, our Marketing Mastermind calls and the Make the Most of a Closing Competing Pharmacy are all available to you with additional detail so you can accelerate your implementation.

arrow pointing ahead

Using Adherence Packaging to Grow Your Independent Pharmacy Profits

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Here at PDS, we take pride in highlighting some of our incredible solutions partners. We know these companies have the potential to revolutionize pharmacies just like yours through their products and services. We’re excited to introduce RxSafe’s blog post about adherence packaging services.

Independent pharmacy owners can no longer sit on the sidelines when it comes to evolving and growing their services to compete with companies like Amazon, CVS and Walgreens. While there are many opportunities for you to grow your business and profitability, developing an adherence packaging program should be at the top of your list.

At the 2019 PDS Super-Conference, RxSafe assembled five independent pharmacy owners, with a collective 37 years of experience in adherence packaging, and asked them to share what they have learned. These pharmacists have tried all manners of adherence modalities before arriving at what really works.

Through a series of questions and answers in this blog, they’re going to give you their hard-won advice and insight.

The following people featured at the breakfast session:

  • Amjad Abukwaik, Sheefa Pharmacy in Paterson, NJ
  • Bruce Kocian, Gibson Pharmacy in Athens TX
  • Kyle Lomax, Southern Pharmacy in Jonesboro, AR
  • Ben McNabb, Love Oak Pharmacy in Eastland, TX
  • Todd Eury (Moderator), publisher, Pharmacy Podcast Network
Q: [Todd Eury] What is patient awareness? Has Amazon talked about adherence and is PillPack being more aggressive towards your patients? Or has it been pretty much the same as it’s always been with Amazon?

A: [Ben McNabb] I’m seeing quite a bit more advertising in our area. I think they’re still acclimating themselves to the pharmacy industry. So, I think we’re only kind of seeing the tip of the iceberg here and what Amazon’s able to do with how they’re going to market it and how they’re going to push it out. I would probably say that they haven’t pushed it extensively, so I think there’s still a window of opportunity to try to be first in your marketplace. Try to get to your providers quickly, maybe you start advertising in your local area through social media and other means of advertising, to try to be first in line when someone sees a PillPack ad on TV, or through Google ad networks, and other things.

Q. [Todd Eury] Have you had experience with strip packaging and adherence packaging before purchasing the RxSafe RapidPakRx? If so, discuss that experience and tell us about what you’ve done and how you’ve managed it.

A. [Bruce Kocian] We do have a competing company’s automation for strip packaging. Before the strip packaging, you name it, we’ve probably done it: Medicine on Time, Doc-u-Dose, OPUS, cassettes. The experience as far as the automation goes was not a good one at first. With the previous machine, we had varied time and a lot of time constraints on the pharmacists themselves. We put a hold on our adherence packaging system until the RapidPakRx came out. I will tell you that the look on my techicians’ face when we say we have a new customer that’s going to the packaging as opposed to what it was before is completely different. I would want everybody to really do your due diligence on the automation as well as the company that you’re going to be in business with when you step down this path.

Q. [Todd Eury] How are you introducing adherence to your patient base and what’s their reaction? Is this being followed up with counseling and/or spending more time with your patients?

A. [Ben McNabb] Our marketing plan is very significant. I know many owners that have bought a packager and it just gets put in a corner and it’s not used. The packager doesn’t do the work. You still have to sell the service. So that’s extremely important. We started out with a lot of video and social media advertising. We got picked up by local news stations. That really got us out there very well in my area. I had people that have trouble remembering, and they’ve been mistaking their medications for years. Now the patients just tell me it’s life-changing in many ways.

Q. [PDS Audience Member] To fill, let’s say 11 prescriptions for that patient, how long does that take?

A. [Amjad Abukwaik] With the RapidPakRx, it just takes about 10 minutes per patient. The verification for a pharmacist is a minute or less. You don’t have to open the box, I just look at the screen where I actually see every single pouch. Usually, there’s no error, but if there is any you can see it right there on the screen.

Q. [Todd Eury] How many technicians are required for your packaging program and do you run the packaging system every day?

A. [Bruce Kocian] Currently there is one technician that runs the packaging program. She has help from the other technicians. We use RxSafe so obviously, the fill technicians on the RxSafe are pulling the SKUs out of the safe that go into the RapidPakRx. But it’s a single technician. We have about 150 people in the RapidPakRx. She runs that probably Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. By Thursday, Friday she’s working on the people for the next week, not actually running the packer. I see her easily being able to do 30-plus people a day by herself on the packer. It’s that efficient.

Q. [PDS Audience Member] With the non-adherents that we all have that just refuse to be adherent, have you had much luck putting those patients in the program and then just accepting it? Because those are the ones that, even if you’re in a sync program, they won’t pick up.

A. [Ben McNabb] That’s what I’ve found tremendous. Even with sync, some of these patients, they just will not take the medications appropriately or there are anecdotal issues with the physician telling them only take a half or whatever these issues are. When you’re reconciling the meds every single month, once a month, you’re forcing them to take it according to how the package is listed. If they miss a dose, they potentially put it to the side, and they continue trying to remain adherent on the dates and times. Over the long run, it trains them. It’s going to keep your scores moving forward the way it needs to go.

Q. [PDS Audience Member] I want to know what percentage of your patients are you having as a pharmacist to relook at because of potential errors when it checks it? How does the adherence system match if you need to fill 15 of one NDC and 15 of another? Does that confuse the system?

A. [Bruce Kocian] With the RapidPakRx, it’s minimal to none because of the technology. The RapidPakRx will not drop a pill to be packed if it does not recognize it. Before it ever drops the pill to be sealed, if it doesn’t recognize the medication, it alerts you on it. So it’s very, very minimal on the repacks.

Q. [PDS Audience Member] If the patient takes the 11 prescriptions per month, you probably can get compliance back. What is the net profit per patient?

A. [Ben McNabb] We use PDS RxAnalytics, but when we determined what we were getting, we were getting approximately $180 of gross margin before rebate per patient per month. You should consider it as a subscription-based model. I think that’s how Amazon considers this. This is a subscription that they’re paying their Amazon Prime fee for. They’re getting all of this included service. Don’t forget the tax benefits of bringing in this technology. Some of these tax breaks help pay off these technologies and really reduce how many patients you need to bring on to break even on the technology.

A. [Amjad Abukwaik] I’m sure all of you do marketing. Let’s say you let staff go out of their own pharmacy and out from behind the bench to go to doctors, adult daycare, and so on. If you bring in five to seven patients a month on this system, new patients, do the math. You give an average patient eight or 10 prescriptions, and hopefully, you’re making $10 per prescription. Let’s say 10 patients per month, new patients, brand-new patients, that’s 10, probably times 10- I mean, do the math. It’s almost like four or five thousand dollars extra income coming in. That would pay for your machine.

A. [Bruce Kocian] As compared to the competing company’s machine, when you do have 200-250 canisters, if you’re going to load that machine completely, you’re talking about a significant increase in your inventory. With the RapidPakRx, you have no increase in inventory other than your increase in patient volume.

Q. [Todd Eury] How are you marketing adherence technology to your customer base?

A. [Ben McNabb] I’ve been really impressed with the impact of social media. Especially, if you can get this social media presence out there as personalized as possible, you already have a well-built advantage. You can really get that message out there. Make sure you’re doing your research on effective social media advertising. Facebook typically doesn’t like the mass-produced or stock-image type of advertisement. It really wants it to come down to that local level. It wants it to come down to that relationship that exists between you and the customer, that’s a sincere relationship. So, if you can get that across, Facebook’s algorithms could really pick that up, see that it’s engaging content, and you can boost the heck out of it in your geographic area and really make a good go at it.

A. [Amjad Abukwaik] One of my stores packs all of their sync program patients on Monday and Wednesday. On the other days, they’re out seeing doctors and speaking about the sync program. They’re also talking about adherence packaging, and how that’s beneficial for their patients and their practice.

Q. [Todd Eury] Does offering adherence really grow your service area?

A. [Ben McNabb] Because of packaging, we’re able to service a much larger geographic area than what we have in the past. We went from a potential population reach of about 18,000 to 125,000 when you start looking at the map.

Q. [Todd Eury] How do you partner with other health providers?

A. [Amjad Abukwaik] Partner with your PBM. You have a lot of Medicare Part D plans, you know, reps, and they knock on your door. They ask about switching patients from plan A to plan B. Find a good one that is beneficial for you. They will be your best friend and will bring you tons of patients.

A. [Bruce Kocian] Hospital readmissions is another venue. Go there if you have a hospital close to you locally. Their readmission rate greatly affects the reimbursement with Medicare now. We also have a nurse in the county that works for one of the insurance companies that refers patients to her. She’s not a home health nurse, she doesn’t work for the local home health agency, she works for one of the insurance companies. And she calls us on a regular basis with her high-med, difficult patients, to put them in our packaging system.

The above statements are simply excerpts from a larger discussion panel. To see the entire adherence breakfast session and hear even more from these independent pharmacy owners who are having success with their compliance and adherence programs, click here.

To learn more about the RapidPakRx and PakMyMeds, visit rxsafe.com/pds.

Using Adherence Packaging to Grow Your Independent Pharmacy Profits

cash inside a prescription bottle

Three Ways to Improve Your Cash Balance

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If we were to ask independent pharmacy owners what makes their pharmacy run, many might say their inventory, their customer service or their rock-solid team who keep the ship afloat. While all of those are true, the undercurrent at the heart of these statements is money. Make no bones about it, your cash balance dictates your ability to pay your team (and by extension, their families) and whether or not you shudder at the thought of paying your wholesaler bill.

A large part of understanding the science behind profitability is knowing how your money moves through your business. Once you understand how it works and what financial statements you need to review then you will know what to do to improve your cash balance. Money in the bank means that you have a safety net to see you through those industry forces that impact your pharmacy today, such as lower reimbursements, DIR fees and GER contracts.

As a pharmacy owner, you should be confident in your ability to:

  • Pay your wholesaler on time, every time.
  • Sleep at night knowing that your cash balance is on solid ground.
  • Keep the fear of making payroll a thing of the past.
  • Know how your money moves through your business.

If any of these statements hit home, read on for a few tips to get you on the track to financial freedom.

Better Outcomes, Better Profits

If you’re to increase your cash balance, you must understand that profitability follows great patient care. This is not something we tout as a feel-good story. We mean that if you look at your dispensing data to find where there are more effective therapeutic options for your patients which also offer higher reimbursements, this is a win-win for you and your patients.

Real-Life Application: One PDS member pharmacy consulted with their patients and prescribers to help their patients get the most effective drug available with their insurance. Without any changes to the total Rx volume, this pharmacy was able to increase their gross profit by $25,000 – all from one drug!

As you continue to analyze your data, you’ll start to

  • Discover more profitable opportunities
  • Increase your average margin dollars per prescription
  • Earn more profits without filling more prescriptions
  • Mitigate low-yield prescriptions
  • Build trust as a thoughtful, dedicated healthcare advocate

PDS offers our members access to our proprietary platform, RxAnalytics, a tool that can help you revolutionize how you see patient care and profitability. Fill out the form to learn how you can get a pharmacy performance analysis to know whether RxAnalytics is the right place for you to start.

Synchronize Your Way to Money in the Bank

The foundation for a profitable, high-performing pharmacy is a solid medication synchronization program. Many pharmacies don’t implement this program correctly; therefore, don’t see the benefits of improved workflow, reduced expenses, scheduled staffing, improved adherence, and opportunities for healthy patient interventions.

There’s no magic involved. You don’t have to be a “special kind of owner” to achieve results that impact your profitability so you can rest easy knowing your cash balance is on solid ground. Besides the patient, workflow, prescriber, performance, and marketing impact you gain from implementing a successful synchronization program, the direct financial impact is undeniable.

Your synchronization program should be able to:

  • Deliver more prescriptions per patient
  • Lower expenses per prescription
  • Improve inventory management
  • Allow for more effective staffing

You’ll see all of these benefits in your financial statements, and the numbers don’t lie. PDS offers a comprehensive training to equip owners with the tools and knowledge they need to properly implement this program and synchronize their way to better financials.

Get the clarity you need to be sure that medication synchronization, and the PDS exclusive member program SyncRx, is the right place for you to start. Fill out the form to learn how to get started with a pharmacy performance analysis.

Understanding Your Money

In order to move from the unknown to the known, you have to understand the health of your finances. Stop worrying over how much money you have in the bank and start by creating a plan of attack. PDS is offering a pharmacy performance analysis from an experienced independent pharmacy owner. In this analysis, we’ll show you:

  • A snapshot of your pharmacy’s performance in four key areas
  • The eight KPIs you should measure
  • The tools you need to move the needle

Take the next step to secure your financial freedom and leave the stress of making ends meet in the past.

​Ready to Experience Your Best Year Yet?

For over 21 years, PDS has helped Independent Pharmacy Owners ​​thrive. We’re a team of experts dedicated to your success and who focus on your entire pharmacy. Click ​below to discover your pharmacy’s biggest growth opportunities.

Three Steps to Get Your Team On Board With A Systems Strategy

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If you’ve ever rolled out a new program that involved a systems strategy or even a new process in your pharmacy, getting your team’s buy-in and commitment is crucial if the system will succeed.

Your team will be the ones who will put your ideas into practice, taking the policies and procedures that you have created for your business and turning them into a force for growth. Give them the tools they need to succeed by giving them an implementation strategy to get them on-board and aligned.

Give Your Team an Implementation Strategy

If you want to get your pharmacy team on-board with your decision, you should give them a business strategy of their own — a process that they can use to implement those changes without constant oversight. Here are three steps that you can take to motivate your employees:

Step 1: Give Them Instructions

Like many independent pharmacy owners, you work with your pharmacy team to complete the day-to-day tasks that come with running a business. Your employees rely on you for direction, guidance, and support as they fulfill their responsibilities — and that becomes even more apparent when you make a series of comprehensive changes to your pharmacy.

Those changes will have a significant impact on their attitude, performance, and career trajectory, so you must make sure that they have the information that they need to adapt. When you create a policy and procedures manual for your new system, they can follow the instructions that are laid out in your workbook without worrying about the implementation process.

Step 2: Give Them an Incentive

Change doesn’t come easily, and some of your employees will push back when you introduce your new systems strategy. At that point, it will be more important than ever for you to have a series of incentives that will motivate them to change their behavior. We recommend a combination of paid and unpaid rewards — including verbal praise, competitions with prizes, commission and bonus plans, and strategies like the uRock Rewards Program — to get your team to buy into your new vision for your pharmacy.

Step 3 – Give Them Your Time

When you roll out your new systems strategy, you need to make sure that you continue to talk to your employees about your goals for your business, their responsibilities, and the benefits that they will receive when the implementation process is complete. You can use team meetings to discuss their progress as a group, and one-on-one performance review sessions to go over their achievements and opportunities for improvement as they put your systems strategy into practice.

Are You Ready To Create A New Systems Strategy For Your Pharmacy?

Download our free, eBook Surefire Systems for Sustainable Growth, and you’ll have what you need to know why, when, where and how to implement a systems strategy for your pharmacy.

Click here or below to download today!

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