Distributors that help clinics dispense pharmaceuticals normally offer a dispensing logbook and/or an electronic tracking and labeling system. These systems enable the clinic to keep track of medications dispensed to their patients. Medication tracking software can be simple or complex depending on your vendor. We encourage our clinics to keep their dispensing system as simple as possible.
Practitioners that dispense to their patients typically offer a combination of pills, lotions, ointments and solutions. Many of our customers focus on treating acute conditions so we see many orders for antibiotics, analgesics, cough & cold products as well as corticosteroids. Vaccines are also offered as a complement to the dispensing process. In the case of Northwind Pharmaceuticals, we will also provide medical supplies to our clinics.
Point-of-care dispensing is not a path to riches. There are companies that promote practitioner dispensing as a means to generate significant dollars but the simple truth is that it can provide a decent supplemental revenue stream to a healthy clinic. If dispensing revenues are higher than those from medical treatments, something is very wrong! A single physician/nurse practitioner can reasonably generate enough to cover one or two office staff members.
