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PHARMACY PROFILE


STRATEGIC IT MANAGEMENT

 

How independent pharmacy can leverage data to improve outcomes

 

By Todd Eury

 

(Editor’s Note:  this article first appeared in the May 2010 America’s Pharmacist,

official publication of the National Community Pharmacists Association. Eury is executive director of Pharmacy Technology Resource, Evans City, Pa. He can be reached at (41) 735-4427 or teury@pharmacytechnology.net.)

 

With the unprecedented business challenges facing independent pharmacies today, owners must be searching, planning, and implementing alternative strategies that create efficiencies, increased productivity, and new profit opportunities. Independent community pharmacy must accomplish more in any given day on the job to create more opportunity for success, sustainability, and increased patient services.

Managing your pharmacy’s technology, automation, and processes are keys to optimal effectiveness, and can have a significant impact on your store’s productivity and profitability. The use of pharmacy automation is more than just medication counting and packaging. Strategic planning and independent pharmacy’s adoption of automation can affect the entire process, from receipt of a prescription order to the actual dispensing of a finished product. 

Before talking about how leveraging information technology management can make a significant impact to the success of your operation, let’s discuss the purpose and selection of pharmacy technology. 

Making successful technology selections is a matter of intentionality. With all that’s in the marketplace to choose from, you need to be armed with articulated objectives. Far too many owners and operators move into the selection process unprepared, and they walk away either confused, overwhelmed, or worst of all, taken advantage of by vendors. 

So how do you go about making successful technology selections? Start with a stated business goal. Ask yourself and your team, “What are we attempting to achieve for our business? Where do we see ourselves three to five years from now?” The responses to these questions will identify several facets of the business you’ll want to consider.

 

· Market share ¾ the number of customers or the size of marketplace you are targeting. 

· Offerings ¾ the menu of products and/or services you see yourself taking to market.

· Geographical footprint ¾ the number and placement of physical locations you aspire to have. This may also encompass virtual locations as the Internet and its applications become a larger part of your business. 

· Functional capabilities ¾ the capacity to do more with less, and doing more than you thought possible before. 

· Financial growth and profitability ¾ growing both the top line and the bottom line of your business.  

Technology plays a measurable role in each of these facets, but technology isn’t the goal; instead it can be an enabling factor to achieve your goals.

 

STRATEGY PURPOSES 

A well-articulated strategy is important. It sets the plan in place and lays out the blueprint for your business. Without a guiding strategy, you’re no better off than a random leaf on a stream going wherever the current takes you. In other words, you’re not in control, and that most often results in failed outcomes. Strategy places boundaries for intent, action, and measures.

People need strategy to bind their efforts. Without a vision (strategy) people are confused. Staff crave the security of known parameters to give them purpose and measured affirmation. Good strategy attracts effective people. Your most valuable asset is your staff, so don’t underestimate it while overestimating technology. 

Process (business and functional) sets a context for getting things done. Day in and day out, the work performed by your business is accomplished through process. Whether formalized or the stuff of historical activity, process is the science of “doing,” which moves your business forward. By formalizing your processes, you can better predict the outcomes of what your staff is doing. Technology is no substitute for process; it’s simply an enabler through automation and measurement. Consider the business challenges you hope to resolve before selecting a technology. In other words, don’t choose a technology solution for a loosely identified problem. “No prescription ought to be offered for an illness undefined.” Know your business then choose your technology. 

When considering a technology solution, separate the “nice to haves” from the “have to haves.” Far too many technology selections are made based on the nice to have features of a  product instead of the fundamental functionality businesses need to have to succeed. Go into the selection process with a defined list of “have to have” functions that automate your business processes, resulting in more and better production output from your staff. Anything else will leave you unsatisfied and frustrated. 

When shopping for technology, ask some straight questions of the vendors promoting their products and services. Are they willing to share the risk of the selection by structuring a deferred payment arrangement until the solution is proven? Will they credit back a portion of the purchase if the offered solution doesn’t meet documented expectations? Responses to such questions will tell you a lot about the vendor. If they stand behind their offering, bounded by a responsible contract, then you have a true technology partner. The devil is in the details of the arrangement you make, and you also have to step forward with reasonable responses, but the ultimate outcomes is well worth it. Your selection will be safe because you are in it together. 

Pharmacies must take a look at their processes and use of their technologies and determine where and how each pharmacy technician can be properly and effectively utilized to create efficiencies. The overall combination of people, process, and technology can create the best pharmacy operation as an interworking system. The questions of “how each part of the equation so ‘the system’ can fit into and support the overall mission of the pharmacy” is necessary to answer you every pharmacy.

 

THE PHARMACY SOFTWARE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM 

Proactive leadership has great influence on the success of the pharmacy. The variety and approaches to pharmacy information systems make this area complex yet exciting. Regardless of its size, an independent pharmacy that knows its information system is pivotal to the operations and uses that data captured on a daily basis, can become more profitable. Whether a business is dispensing 30 prescriptions per day or more than 1,000, benefits can be seen from modern open database pharmacy software systems coupled with independent pharmacists who understand the operational processes and workflow steps.  

Some of the more advanced systems are Windows-based and are designed to “think like pharmacist.” There are key operational features that are intended to free up prescription department personnel for other duties (most often associated with patient care). The logic of the pharmacy system is in place to ensure patient safety and lend support to the clinical overview of patients. The team can ensure that processes are followed, while using the pharmacy system to help fill prescriptions in a fast and safe manner while safeguarding profit margins. 

Independent pharmacist Heather Swaringen of Lewisville Drug Co., in Lewisville, N.C., knows the benefit of a modern pharmacy software system. Previously, she worked for a national chain and commented that its pharmacy system was antiquated and unsophisticated. Her current pharmacy program layout makes her job easier. “Our inventory and billing processes are seamless with the software compared to what I remember while with a national chain for six years,” she says. “The technology, combined with my experience, has given me about a 60 percent productivity advantage with regard to prescription processing from start to finish. From operations to production, the modern software is a huge advantage for us.” Swaringen mentioned that she uses barcode technology heavily throughout the day, too. “Using barcode in the process makes mundane data entry less tedious and cuts down on data entry mistakes. 

As an independent pharmacist, Swaringen understands the importance of technologies that help her work more efficiently. “With our software, it is possible to scan the barcodes of prescriptions in the pickup bins to produce an exception report for follow up via telephone.” Swaringen’s system also provides an electronic signature capture and retrieval at the time of dispensing for HIPAA, third party, accounts receivable, credit/debit cards, and controlled substance purposes. There are many reputable pharmacy technology vendors available in the marketplace. As discussed previously, it’s just a matter of doing smart shopping and finding the right match for your needs.

 

SECURITY AND INFRASTRUCTURE 

The most valuable asset within U.S. healthcare is its data. The criticality of patient data drives pharmaceutical development, bounds insurance actuarial policies, fills tomes of learning for all health care related education, and drives strategic placement and development of health care related constructions. The list goes on and on. Make no mistake, the U.S. health care industry of more than $2.3 trillion is driven and bounded by patient data/information. 

On the downside, patient data is the most sensitive information about any given individual. It reveals Social Security number, home address, insurance coverage, health history, medication management, and sometimes, psychological and behavioral life patterns and history. Any or all of this can be used harmfully against a patient in myriad ways. Additionally, fraud on a massive scale can be perpetrated using falsified identities for monetary gain and deeper intrusion into various health care industry corporate organizations. 

Prominent national security analysis think tanks such as the Rand Corp. and the Brookings Institute believe such fraud has direct implications to U. S. national security via funding of terrorist activities and strategic misuse of data. There are inexpensive services a pharmacy can employ to proactively monitor network usage, perform security scans, and act as the pharmacy’s IT network guard dog. 

A fundamental approach to data and information protection involves personnel orientation, performance accountability, measurable workflow process, and keen use of technology across an organization.

 

RECONCILIATION AND PROFIT ANALYZING PHARMACY DATA 

For those independent pharmacies that excel more in the billing, reconciliation, and financial reporting aspect of business, creating additional savings initiatives through advanced business software services can provide better profit margins. A proactive independent pharmacy can leverage its understanding of claims reconciliation to explain the benefits of these profit optimizing systems. Pharmacies can work with pharmacy-experienced analysts who can electronically connect directly into the pharmacy system through a secure connection. They diligently rebill erroneous transactions, adjust brand and generic pricing, and make other adjustment to optimize future transactions. This can include adjustment to AWP, billing errors, incorrectly priced drugs, and other data issues that might have been missed by the adjudication team.

 

INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGY FOR COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES 

For pharmacies to maximize their effectiveness and time spent to generate greater profits, it’s necessary to understand and use advanced pharmacy technologies. Independent pharmacies that are using various methods of workflow and automation have an advantage over pharmacies that do not. Today’s independent pharmacy will have to master a wider variety of business challenges, process understanding, and workload technologies to provide service to modern patients who are technologically more in tune. There is simply no alternative to a pharmacy operation that employs automation, technology, and processes together that drive a competitive advantage. All independent pharmacies should seek opportunities to learn more about different types of technology and IT management to have a better chance of sustaining success.

07/17/10


Brian Buck: Having Fun Being a Teacher

“Being a faculty member at the College of Pharmacy is the most challenging job I’ve ever had,” said Brian Buck, who was named the 2010 Teacher of the Year at the University of Georgia College of Pharmacy. “As an academic pharmacist, I must manage numerous teaching projects while maintaining a clinical service. As for teaching, preparation can be quite demanding but I have found that actually working in the classroom with the students is enjoyable and very rewarding.”  

For Buck, teaching with enthusiasm is important in becoming a successful academician. It’s the central theme of his teaching philosophy. “If you’re enthused about teaching and coaching learners, you will likely be more effective as a pharmacist,” said Buck, whose main teaching duties involve third-year pharmacotherapy students and pharmacy residents.  

“A good teacher must be able to use multiple teaching methods since different learners demand different styles,” he explained. 

As coordinator of the pharmacotherapy curriculum, Buck has spent the last two years working with other faculty to make the course more patient-focused, interactive and learner-centered. Rather than listening to lectures, students spend their class time discussing, assessing and preparing evidence-based treatment plans for patients with a wide range of disease states with faculty specialists who act more as coaches than lecturers. As students critically evaluate and apply information, they begin to develop good critical thinking skills and good clinical judgment, Buck said, “skills that all health professionals must possess to provide effective direct patient care.”  

Students seem to support his approach in their class evaluations. “He is sincerely trying to enhance learning and better prepare students for their future in pharmacy,” and “His passion for teaching has positively influenced me as a student and broadened my training in clinical pharmacy” are two endorsements he received from students for the Teacher of the Year award. “He stayed faithful to a high level of teaching,” read another endorsement, “because he demanded us to rise to the challenge instead of making the class easier.”

Buck is no stranger to teaching awards. In 2009, Buck became the recipient of the 2009 American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Innovations in Teaching Award for his involvement in Dr. Catherine White’s elective course on providing pharmaceutical care in a disaster environment. In 2008 he was named a Fellow of the American Society of Health System Pharmacists for his accomplishments in pharmacy practice and education, which included directing three ASHP-accredited residency programs. 

As director of the program, he was also instrumental in advancing the residency and implementing a teaching certificate into the residency curriculum. The program provides residents and residency preceptors an opportunity to participate in a structured, peer-reviewed teaching program that will increase skills, confidence, and enthusiasm for teaching others, he said. Earning the UGA Teaching Certificate documents proficiency and assures that effective and evidence-based teaching techniques are learned and utilized by current and future teachers.

“Giving time to learners in a fast-paced, productivity-focused world while meeting our own scholarly goals as academicians is a huge challenge,” he said. “But if we expect others to make a difference, we as teachers must demonstrate commitment to training others. 

“The expectations here are really high, but I love my job and that’s important. A close mentor of mine once said, ‘If you’re not having fun at your job, then you need to find another one’. I’ve been given a lot of support from mentors, colleagues and students to improve the way we teach and learn. Considering the fact the UGA is my alma mater, this award is quite an honor and a significant responsibility.”  

07/17/10


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