A Case Study in Inventory Management Success

Committed to the excellence of the pharmacy industry, the number one goal of the team at RxSafeGrand Event Sponsor at the PDS All-Star Super Conference, is to streamline retail pharmacy workflows and inventory management.

In the following casey study, we spotlight the team at Paw Paw Village Pharmacy and how they used their RxSafe 1800 system to diminish $98,000 in excess inventory.

Meet Paw Paw Village Pharmacy: RxSafe 1800 Customer
Paw Paw Village Pharmacy is a family-owned pharmacy that has served the residents of Paw Paw, Michigan for more than 35 years. They pride themselves on providing fast and friendly service and are dedicated to helping patients find the best and most cost-effective solutions for their needs. Paw Paw Village currently fills an average of 450 scripts per day, and over 700 prescriptions on a busy Monday.

The Pharmacy’s Challenge
Paw Paw Village had a lot of technicians walking back and forth pulling bottlesand counting drugs as fast as they could on multiple counters throughout the pharmacy in order to keep up with demand. This negatively impacted their technician hours, error rate and service delivery.

In addition, Paw Paw Village was considering purchasing another pharmacy, which would cause their inventory value and prescription volume to increase by over 20% overnight. They would need a way to incorporate, manage and track this new inventory.

Finding Inventory Management Solutions
Paw Paw Village purchased the RxSafe 1800 two-tower system in order to increase accuracy and efficiency, and improve patient safety. Eighty percent (80%) of the pharmacy’s prescriptions are now filled through the RxSafe. The system pulls medications by bar codes so the NDC codes are correct and there is far less room for errors.

Paw Paw Village acquired another pharmacy and its inventory a year after purchasing the RxSafe system. The RxSafe allowed them to assimilate all of their new inventory into their pharmacy over the course of a weekend. RxSafe’s bottle-picking algorithm automatically selected soonest- to-expire medications first, which enabled them to dispense newly-acquired inventory that might otherwise have been discarded. Over a period of six weeks they were able to deplete $98,000 of excess inventory.

Paw Paw Village’s Results

• Security. Secure storage and tracking of drugs prevents theft and diversion. Joe Romph, co-owner told us, “With the reporting features we’re able to track the movement of each prescription bottle to show what prescription it filled and what technician filled it. The tracking and accuracy are unparalleled.”
• Accuracy & Efficiency. Eliminate filling errors and increase workflow efficiency. According to Joe, “We don’t have pulling mistakes anymore. Technicians used to pull and count the incorrect medication and if there was a mistake we wouldn’t catch it until the pharmacist checked it. We wasted time and effort by having someone count something that was incorrect. Then they would put the drug back in the bottle, retrieve the correct drug, and recount it. With the RxSafe, we don’t have any mistakes because it pulls by the barcode.”
• Inventory Management. Increase inventory turns and reduce physical inventory. Joe says, “We’ve seen our inventory turns go from 19 turns to 25 turns per year. When we acquired a new pharmacy recently and added their inventory to our pharmacy it was easy with the direct-to- overstock feature—it’s a great program and it saved us!”
• Reduction in Labor Hours. Reduction in the time required for technician counting, pharmacist verification, and inefficiencies related to inventory management. Joe shared, “Three months after introducing the RxSafe we saw a reduction in technician labor hours of between 200–250 hours per month. This reduction basically covers the cost of the RxSafe.”
• Profitability. Increase inventory turns, reduce labor hours and increase profitability. According to Joe, “Along with a quieter, smoother and more efficient operation, we’ve also able to increase our inventory turns and our profit with the RxSafe.”

Client Testimonials
“With the reporting features we’re able to track the movement of each prescription bottle to show what prescription it filled and what technician filled it. The tracking and accuracy are unparalleled.”

“Filling prescriptions using the RxSafe completely changed our workflow. We used to have multiple technicians pulling drugs, filling prescriptions and lining them up on different counters for the pharmacist to check. Now that 80% of our volume is filled at the RxSafe with only one tech, we have a much more organized process of setting up the prescriptions on one counter for the pharmacist.”

“I’m happy with the RxSafe because it’s improved our inventory turns, reduced my labor hours, and it’s given us the opportunity to take care of our customers in new ways (such as MTM, blister packaging, and delivery service).”

About Paw Paw Village Pharmacy
Paw Paw Village Pharmacy is a family-owned, professional pharmacy serving the residents of Paw Paw, Michigan and the surrounding communities since 1982. The Paw Paw Village Pharmacy staff consists of two full-time and two part-time pharmacists, as well as 11 technicians. At Paw Paw Village Pharmacy, we pride ourselves on bringing you individualized service and attention and are dedicated to helping you and your physician find the best and most cost-effective medication for you.

Visit RxSafe, LLC
For pharmacy owners who are focused on improving the accuracy, safety, and security of their business operations, RxSafe is an automated, high-density robotic storage and retrieval system that helps pharmacies avoid medication errors and enhance narcotics security. Unlike traditional automation, our products provide the peace of mind that comes with unparalleled accuracy in the tracking of pharmacy drugs and narcotics.

You can visit the website at www.rxsafe.com for more information. To stay connected, follow RxSafe on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.