Inventory Management for In-Office Dispensing

The physician dispensing model is becoming increasingly popular due to its ability to streamline the patient experience and promote better patient outcomes. From the provider’s perspective, in-office dispensing creates an additional revenue stream while ensuring that healthcare providers have direct oversight of a patient’s care journey.

However, an in-office dispensing program does create new logistical and compliance challenges. The most notable barrier to a safe and effective dispensing process is inventory control.

Fortunately, you can overcome this hurdle by adopting some established best practices designed to optimize inventory management for in-office dispensing. Here’s what you need to know.

What Is Inventory Management?

In the context of in-office dispensing, inventory management refers to the systematic process of tracking, storing, and replenishing over-the-counter and prescription medications.

The goal is to maintain optimal stock levels so that medications are available when needed. Inventory management also ensures that medications are stored under appropriate conditions and used within their expiration dates.

Inventory tracking is also critical for both office and patient compliance. Your practice must ensure that each patient receives the proper medication and that all prescription drugs are accounted for.

Keeping a detailed record of scheduled substances is especially important, as these medications are regulated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Benefits of Inventory Management

The benefits of effective inventory management for in-office dispensing include the following:

Regulatory Compliance

When you move medication dispensing on-site, your practice becomes responsible for complying with DEA rules and state regulations imposed by your jurisdiction’s Board of Pharmacy. Discrepancies in your records can compromise patient safety and expose your practice to liability.

Therefore, keeping an accurate medication inventory is critical. To achieve this, you’ll need to leverage a combination of established best practices and a modern dispensing system to reduce the risk of human error. A robust inventory management system can help you:

Track expiration dates
Document how medications are stored (i.e., temperature, humidity, and security)
Stay prepared for audits

Leading inventory management software promotes real-time tracking of stock levels and other critical data. It has built-in safety mechanisms to detect and correct discrepancies.

Enhanced Patient Care

Effective inventory management promotes better patient care and increased adherence to medication protocols. If you have a real-time view of your inventory, you can:

Quickly locate medications
Avoid shortages or stockouts
Improve patient satisfaction by consistently meeting their needs

Moving prescription dispensing in-house is meant to simplify the patient care journey. When you tailor your inventory to match the needs of your patient population, you can help patients start treatment regimens sooner while avoiding the hassle of seeing third-party pharmacists.

Cost Optimization

Building out your point-of-care medication inventory represents one of the largest upfront costs associated with in-office dispensing. While you will recoup these costs, it’s vital to limit financial waste so that you can maximize your return on investment. To optimize costs, you need to:

Avoid Overstocking: Carrying too many prescriptions that are in low demand can result in you having expired or unused medications
Avoid Understocking: Understocking could leave you unable to fill patient orders
Forecast Patient Needs: Review prescription trends so that you can stock medications based on patient demand

Leading dispensing solutions will help you gather and analyze prescription trends so that you can adjust your inventory based on the needs of your patient population. By keeping costs down, you can recoup your initial investment sooner and generate stronger cash flow.

Key Strategies for Inventory Management

Effective inventory management is essential to the success of your in-office dispensing program. It ensures that you have the medications your patients need while promoting compliance and minimizing waste. If you want to excel at inventory management for in-office dispensing, you need to:

1. Use a Secure Storage System

The first step to implementing in-office dispensing involves investing in a secure storage system. Proper storage prevents medication errors and maintains drug efficacy. A secure storage solution will also help you stay organized, which can reduce the risk of inventory errors. Here are a few other ways to organize your medications:

Use Label Bins: Categorize and label bins clearly so that staff can quickly find medications, saving your team time and minimizing errors during dispensing
Create a Climate-Controlled Environment: Make sure that you have a secure location to store any temperature-sensitive medications
Organize Medications by Categories: Separate medications into classes to make it easier to manage your inventory and respond to varying patient needs

Once you’ve created a safe, organized place to store your medications, you are ready to build out your inventory. To further simplify the process, consider prepackaged medications. Prepackaged medications are already divided into common dosages and quantities, which means your team won’t have to count pills or package prescriptions.

2. Conduct Regular Inventory Reviews

Periodically review your stock of medications to ensure that the actual inventory matches what’s documented in your inventory management system. During this process, your staff should:

Identify drugs that are nearing expiration
Ensure that stock levels are in line with seasonal trends, such as allergy or flu season
Adjust inventory — for example, if your population of elderly patients increases, you should increase your stock of meds relevant to that demographic

If you observe deficiencies in your inventory management strategy, make adjustments to avoid compliance issues or cost overruns. For example, if your team members are having difficulty locating and logging medications in the new system, you could provide additional staff training to ensure they are confident with the technology.

3. Established Delivery and Receipt Procedures

Delivery and receipt of medications are a critical workflow for any dispensary. Fortunately, your office likely receives medical supplies on a regular basis. With that in mind, you may be able to adapt or expand your existing policies to your in-office dispensing program. When modifying your inventory intake processes, you should:

Cross-check the delivery receipt with the original order to ensure that the shipment actually includes the types and quantities of medication you requested
Update inventory records immediately to avoid stock discrepancies
Confirm that your order matches the purchase order

Dispensing software with automation capabilities will simplify the intake and delivery process. These tools allow your team to quickly scan incoming products and add them to your inventory. The platform will also create a detailed record of what items arrived, as well as the date and time that they were added to your inventory.

4. Optimize Product Selection

Carrying a large supply of every mainstream prescription medication is not practical. Instead, you should focus on building an inventory that is aligned with the needs of your patient population. Make sure to include popular products and OTC medications as well.

Keep in mind that inventory needs will fluctuate throughout the year, even if your patient population remains relatively stable. For example, you may need to stock flu vaccines during flu season or purchase a larger quantity of allergy pills during peak allergy season.

Collaborating with experts is the key to optimizing your product selection and keeping inventory costs in check. Proficient Rx, a pharmaceutical repackaging services provider, offers scalable support to determine the optimal mix of medications for your practice.

Check out our guide to learn more about how in-office doctor dispensing works and how Proficient Rx can support your inventory management needs.

5. Implement Inventory Management Technology

Manual inventory management processes increase the risk of discrepancies and compliance issues. Therefore, it’s important to automate as many aspects of your medication inventory management processes as possible. Here are a few of the technologies you can implement to simplify inventory management:

Barcode or RFID Systems: These systems allow you to track medication movement and stock levels in real time, reducing the need for manual logging
Automated Alerts: Use software to trigger alerts for low stock levels or upcoming expiration dates to prevent stockouts and reduce waste
Analytics Tools: Analytics software generates detailed reports to identify demand trends so that you can adjust your stock levels based on patient needs

Adopting in-office medication dispensing technology enables your practice to exercise precise inventory control while simultaneously unlocking the benefits of in-office dispensing. The goal is to maximize visibility into your stock levels while also providing the insights necessary to avoid shortages.

Help Manage Your Inventory With Proficient Rx

The in-office dispensing model can create an additional revenue stream for your practice while getting critical medications into the hands of patients sooner. By removing barriers to prescription drug treatments, you can also promote a better patient experience and potentially improve health outcomes.

Proficient Rx can help you manage your inventory by providing user-friendly software that simplifies medication tracking and helps you minimize waste.

We also offer medication repackaging services, which allow you to offer your patients convenient, prepackaged medications. Prepackaged medications also promote inventory accuracy and efficiency, as these packs are easy to find, dispense, and track.

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