Independent Pharmacies, We Are In This Together
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by Dr. Alex Toth<br/>
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Dr. Alex Toth is the Owner of Plumsted Pharmacy in New Jersey and Co-Founder of InStockRx. <br/>
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If you are a Community Pharmacy Owner or Pharmacist in Charge looking for new strategies to improve your margins, this is for you. <br/>
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You and Me vs. The Big 3<br/>
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I used to believe that being an independent pharmacy owner was a very solitary existence. It was the pharmacists’ version of David and Goliath – my single location vs. all 19,000 stores owned by the “Big 3” chains. I gladly fought that battle, despite a non-existent advertising budget and no lobbyists in Washington. I wore all the hats of pharmacist, tech support and HR. In fact, I delivered better service to my patients and grew my business. Yet, there was one part of my business that felt outside of my control – my purchasing ability.<br/>
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While my inventory management was efficient and responsive to market conditions, I was still one store and could not adequately leverage my inventory. No matter how many reports I ran, or how many times I trained my staff, I often ran into problems with overstock, dead stock, and expiring stock. For example, when I ordered a specific medication for a new patient, I got stuck with partial quantities or dead stock. That destroyed my profit margins. Larger chains can navigate this scenario better because of their expansive supply chain.<br/>
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Working together is key to our survival<br/>
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The more that I speak to other independent pharmacy owners and discuss their challenges, the less alone I felt in the journey. According to National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA), there are over 19,400 independent community pharmacies in the US, surpassing the number of chain-owned pharmacies. Given the market forces that independent pharmacies face now, and in the years to come, it is high time that we start exploring new ways to work together to better serve our patients and return to profitability. At a recent event our team attended with the Independent Pharmacy Association (IPA) in Florida, they stressed the need for collaboration as a key to their survival. Collaboration between pharmacies should exist on every level, from healthcare policy to business operations. <br/>
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InStockRx facilitates and improves pharmacy collaboration<br/>
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At InStockRx, we help pharmacies gain an understanding of their own inventory and provide access to our network of independent pharmacies that are looking to buy and sell surplus inventory that is sitting on their pharmacy shelves. Further, we facilitate these transactions in a DSCSA-compliant manner. For pharmacies under common ownership, they can create their own private network and rebalance inventory between their pharmacy locations, creating a virtual supply chain.<br/>
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Pharmacy owners may feel uncomfortable when buying or selling to another pharmacy who they do not know personally. InStockRx provides enhanced product security through our data integrations that let the pharmacy know who they are purchasing from and the wholesaler that the selling pharmacy sourced the original product.<br/>
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Common questions about pharmacy-to-pharmacy transactions<br/>
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Below are some frequently asked questions we receive in relation to pharmacy-to-pharmacy purchases:<br/>
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Q: What types of medications can be bought and sold between pharmacies? <br/>
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A: While states have guidelines or restrictions for controlled substances, almost all states DO allow for transactions between pharmacies. It is important to ensure that a product being bought or sold is not a limited distribution item or restricted due to a REMS program. <br/>
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Q: How often can I buy or sell medications? <br/>
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A: Most state board of pharmacies allow for up to 5% of your total inventory to be sold between pharmacies or practitioners in a calendar year. <br/>
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Q: What type of documentation is needed for a pharmacy-to-pharmacy transaction? <br/>
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A: It is important to ensure you have an invoice from the selling pharmacy and the ability to track down the original invoice/compliance documentation in case of a third-party audit. InStockRx handles every aspect of your pharmacy-to-pharmacy transaction from compliance of what can and cannot be sold, record keeping of invoices, and payment processing between pharmacies. <br/>
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Are you looking to network with other pharmacies to be successful? Click here to get started with InStockRx. <br/>
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by Dr. Alex Toth<br/>
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Dr. Alex Toth is the Owner of Plumsted Pharmacy in New Jersey and Co-Founder of InStockRx.