Reflections on the 2024 Garden State Pharmacy Owners Conference
<img src="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/092d21_cf4c60ebad0647189e20336653173d59~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_1000,h_983,al_c,q_90,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01/092d21_cf4c60ebad0647189e20336653173d59~mv2.png" alt="Reflections on the 2024 Garden State Pharmacy Owners Conference" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto; margin-bottom: 20px;" />
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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At the Garden State Pharmacy Owners (GSPO) conference this past weekend, we had the opportunity to interact with over 150 like-minded pharmacists who were ready to learn, engage and discuss hot topics affecting the industry. This event is free for GSPO member pharmacies and should be on every pharmacy owner’s to-do list to stay in tune with pharmacy practices in New Jersey.<br/>
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As a pharmacy owner myself, it is tough to step out of the pharmacy for almost any event, but given the current industry conditions, supporting an organization like GSPO is critical. During our time at the conference, the InStockRx team was able to hear directly from pharmacy owners about their inventory concerns, how they currently manage them, and we did plenty of brainstorming on strategies that would help them run their pharmacy better.<br/>
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Additionally, there were continuing education sessions where pharmacy owners could gain insight into developments in pharmacy law and clinical topics such as opioids and immunizations. New Jersey Assemblyman Herb Conaway Jr also provided an update on pharmacy legislation. Finally, GSPO President Brian Oliveira helped wrap things up by sharing and emphasizing how Independent Pharmacies can work together to improve the industry.<br/>
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One of the most interesting topics that pharmacy owners were buzzing about was related to the education session on pharmacy law. There was much discussion related to pharmacy audits, both from state boards and from 3rd party Prescription Benefit Managers (PBMs). Concerns and questions were raised about the sale of medications between pharmacies and whether it was allowed. This short answer to this question is YES, if the transaction is being properly documented and pharmacies have access to invoices and an audit trail. Also, under certain circumstances pharmacies have certain carve outs from DSCSA requirements going into effect in November 2024. The recommendation here is for pharmacies to ensure they can get access to where the selling pharmacy has purchased the item from.<br/>
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Here at InStockRx, we made an intentional decision to lean into the DSCSA requirements and built our platform to ensure compliance, and giving peace of mind for the pharmacies that transact on our platform. We found that many pharmacy owners were interested in finding out more about how they can future proof their trading activities, and use InStockRx as a central data source to help keep track of their purchases.<br/>
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The knowledge sharing at the GSPO conference was powerful, with actionable insights that could potentially save pharmacies hundreds, if not thousands of dollars on a potential audit, or worse, risk of a pharmacy closure. These types of educational sessions are just what pharmacy owners need to stay abreast of new laws, practice standards, and technology.<br/>
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Ready to future-proof your pharmacy, rebalance your inventory in a DSCSA compliant manner, and maximize your profitability? Click here to get started.<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.