A few days ago, I began writing about things to consider if you are interested in medication dispensing in your clinic. Picking the right prepackaged pharmaceuticals is just part of the process.
Operational Considerations for Physician Dispensing
- Picking the right labeling or dispensing system will impact the time it takes to dispense medications in your office. Many companies offer manual labeling as well as electronic labeling systems. Though dispensing software is better at information retrieval, programs tend to be a bit slower than a simple manual system. If you opt for a manual system, make sure you don’t have to duplicate entries on bottles and logbooks; you should be able to write the information once and keep a copy through the miracle of carbon imprints. Northwind Pharmaceuticals offers both systems and we will help you implement whichever makes sense for your clinic.
- Tracking inventory and managing the reorder process can be a challenge. In this case, electronic systems make it easier. However, adding another system for a clinic using an EMR doesn’t make sense. The best answer is to keep fewer quantities on hand and let your distributor carry the burden of inventory. If your pharma distributor is frequently out of products or makes you wait weeks for products then they may not be big enough to meet your ordering requirements. Once we understand a clinic’s ordering pattern, we will adjust our inventory to make sure we have the right products when they are needed.
My next blog will continue this discuss with a focus on staffing and process considerations.
