As a physician, you are able to increase the revenue you bring in each month by introducing new services into your practice. Many services do not require a lot of money to start but give you a huge return on your investment. Not only do you benefit financially, your patients benefit from the convenience and better care they receive. Below are some of the dispensing revenue streams you can implement now.
Wellness Programs
Physicians are recognizing the importance of patients taking responsibility for their health and teaching them to be proactive in reaching health goals.
Wellness programs allow you to work with nutritionists who can further teach your patients how they can improve their own health naturally, without always relying on synthetic medications.
You can sell alternative medicines at the point of care. Because you can obtain these remedies at wholesale costs, you can often double the price on each product, making a nice profit on dispensing revenue.
Premier Services
Why not make your patients feel catered to? Why not give them the one-stop-shop they desire? This makes your patients feel special and lets them know you care about their time and their care.
Patients want you to be in control of all their services. They want to go to one place to complete the many tests you require to analyze their health. You can provide many tests at the point of care. Ultrasounds, blood testing, and x rays are just a few services you can provide onsite.
Patients do not enjoy traveling to many different medical sites for one health condition. By offering these services in your office, you will attract loyal, satisfied patients. You will even be able to charge more money for the services and make more dispensing revenue.
Patients are often willing to pay more for convenience.
You can further increase your revenue by offering common, simple procedures at the point of care. Services that are not intensive and can be completed in an hour or less are perfect for adding to your list of dispensing revenue streams.
Controlled Substances
The need for controlled substances is increasing, not decreasing. Just because a few of your patients are abusing the drugs, doesn’t mean there aren’t patients who can benefit from them. There are patients who will use them as directed and their pain can be alleviated.
Having these controlled substances at the point of care can give you better control over how you prescribe them to your patients. Rather than giving them a prescription for a month supply, you can give them a week’s supply. This makes the patient more accountable to you, protecting you and the patient from negative outcomes while boosting your dispensing revenue at the same time.
Durable Medical Supplies
Medical supplies are much different than medical equipment. Supplies are disposable. They are typically used one time and then thrown away.
Medical supplies consist of bandages, gauze, and tape. Other supplies include irrigation tools and rubber gloves that can prevent contamination.
Needles and test strips are considered medical supplies also and can be used to increase your dispensing revenue.
Supplies can be used by the patient, the doctor, nurse and even the caregiver. They are made to increase patient self-care, while preventing the spread of any diseases or infections.
Durable Medical Equipment
By providing durable medical equipment in your office, you are helping your patients receive immediate assistance. Most insurance companies will pay for the equipment. However, patients can purchase them outright when they want and giving them the option to do so can help your dispensing revenue.
Personal care aids can help your patients monitor their own vital signs. Heart monitors allow patients to check if there are any abnormalities in their heart rate. If so, they know to contact you. Heart monitors are also a way for you to measure how their heart, so you can make a better diagnosis.
Common Medications
Dispensing only the most common medications you prescribe keeps your inventory low but your returns high. You are not required to stock one or two of every medicine available. Instead, you pick medications to store based on the needs of your patients only.
Some common medications include anti-depressants, blood pressure medications and drugs for controlling cholesterol. Other common medications include diabetic medications, as well as insulin and supplies.
Analgesics that are non-narcotic could have major importance in your practice. Minor pain-relieving agents could even be administered by you or your staff right there in the office. Giving a patient an ibuprofen at the time of service could help the patient find faster relief from pain.
For a person with arthritis or migraines, being able to have immediate treatment will be greatly appreciated.
It is also a terrific way to provide a quick, harmless service while increasing service charges. Patient satisfaction and dispensing revenue increases.
Add Medical Professional Staff
Adding Nurse Practitioners to your staff can be a terrific way to bring in more money to your practice. They can do everything you can do, with your approval, and you can make a profit from their services while still paying them a large fee.
If a nurse practitioner is compliant with all state laws, they are perfectly capable of assessing, diagnosing, prescribing and dispensing.
Adding medical staff allows you to increase your patient roster without you working longer hours. It can bring in thousands of extra dollars in dispensing revenue and office visits a year. You are providing employment, great care to patients and are doing so without any extra stress.
Having a nurse practitioner on staff prevents waiting lists for patients who need to be evaluated. They also know how to communicate with insurance companies and can prescribe and dispense medicines at the point of care, just like you.
Before starting any ancillary services, check with your State’s pharmacy and Board regulations to ensure you follow proper procedures in establishing the services.
One of the best moves you can make is to work with a dispensing company who not only provides the prepackaged medication, but also provides the software technology that makes the entire dispensing process simple and effective.
Working with a dispensing company makes providing services such as these easy to learn and transition into so that your patients benefit the most.