To optimize drug costs, pharmacies need to take responsibility for what they can control, one of those factors being inventory management.
According to recent data collected, pharmacies can most profit from an investment in inventory management if they are open to revamping their procurement process and they meet an annual drug spend of $3 million annually.
The Financial Consequences of Excess Inventory
The most efficient pharmacies reduce inventory without hindering their ability to meet demand. Mastering inventory management allows pharmacies to invest profits in other areas of operation. Think of it this way:
If an independent pharmacy consistently has excess inventory, it’s the same thing as cash collecting dust on the shelves!
In 2012, prescription stock stayed on hand in independent pharmacies for more than 30 days on average. Pharmaceuticals and medications that remain on the shelves for long periods of time drain pharmacies financially.
3 Tips to Master Inventory Management for Your Pharmacy
At Visrex, we’ve collected 3 tips to help independent pharmacies better manage their inventory, thereby optimizing their drug spending.
- Create Effective Inventory Procedures — Does your pharmacy have inventory guidelines that all pharmacy technicians and staff follow? If not, the time to create effective inventory procedures is now.
- Audit Inventory Trends — Invest time for a member of your staff to audit the top 5–10 medications that are on the shelves for more than 30 days and re-evaluate the orders of these medications.
- Adjust Inventory Based on Seasonal Demand — For example, an independent pharmacy may want to adjust their orders for Tamiflu to increase during Fall/Winter vs Spring/Summer due to the onset of Flu season in October.
Take Control of the Money on Your Shelves
Look at it this way, one independent pharmacy in Santa Fe recently saved $275,000because of modifications made to their inventory efficiency.
This pharmacy shifted from turning over their inventory 5.8 times to nearly 12 times within one year — all due to applied optimizations in inventory management.
If you could double your pharmacy inventory turnover within 12 months, would you?
With the proper optimizations, it is very possible for your independent pharmacy to do so, but you have to make inventory management a top priority. Take the proper steps to no longer let cash collect dust on your pharmacy shelves.
To learn how you can save on your drug orders in 2019, please email us at info@visrex.com
