Inventory control, space savings and faster fills have combined to give Brownsville Family Pharmacy in Pennsylvania a major boost to its bottom line.
The pharmacy, which has been in business for almost 10 years, processes about 500 prescriptions on a busy Monday, according to Desiree Christener, Pharmacist-in-Charge.
She said the pharmacy is best known for its specialty services.
“We do adherence packaging, we service nursing homes, we do things that some other pharmacies won’t do, and we go the extra mile for [patients],” Christener says.
The pharmacy’s transformation started when Brownsville installed an RxSafe 1800 three years ago, and immediately gained some notable advantages.
"Before we purchased the RxSafe 1800 we were in a pharmacy that was about 300 square feet,” Christener said. “It gave us more room to work and to work on other things. Since we added the RxSafe we have [freed up] approximately 150 more square feet. We went from 200 sq ft of bays down to 24 sq ft."
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Space savings was just the beginning
"We were looking for more accuracy & speed,” Christener says. “One of the most important things is accuracy and knowing at the end of the day that you're getting the patient the right prescription -- that was very important to me."
The RxSafe has also sped up the pharmacy’s workflow, helping them save hundreds of hours per year on labor.
“With the RxSafe, it probably saves about 50% of put away time,” she says. “We probably use 14 less technician hours per week in put away labor.” In addition, Christener says, “We're able to save about an hour a day in lost or misplaced medications - it's always in the right spot because it's in the RxSafe.”
$40,000 per year saved on expiring drugs
Christener cited inventory control as another reason for purchasing the RxSafe 1800.
"We were looking for a better way to manage our inventory,” Christener says. “With the RxSafe you know exactly what you have at the exact moment, so it allowed us to be able to control our inventory.”
“The feature that we like the most about the RxSafe is the ability to sync the prescriptions,” she adds. “It really increases our productivity and we really like that. Also, we have less waste due to expired drugs. The RxSafe pulls the drug that is going to expire first for us to use, so there's much less waste. Now that we have the RxSafe we're able to save about $40,000 a year in expiring drugs. We're able to carry less on-hand inventory -- I would say it's decreased by 25%."
Narcotics security = peace of mind
The RxSafe 1800 is a closed and locked inventory system that guarantees unprecedented inventory accuracy, theft prevention and security for all drugs. Stock bottles are stored behind locked doors.
In fact, the RxSafe system is so secure it’s been approved by the U.S. Department of Defense for CII narcotics storage because it’s a safe that can limit access to any drug by worker classification.
"The area that our pharmacy is located in is an area of concern, and having the RxSafe gave us greater peace of mind that nothing would be taken, or if someone were to break in they wouldn't be able to access our controlled medications,” Christener says. "RxSafe keeps our narcotics secure and accurately tracks all activity related to them -- they're no longer out on the shelves where anyone can easily access them."
Profitability, and profitable services, have increased
The labor and space savings afforded by the RxSafe 1800 have also enabled the pharmacy to expand profitable services, Christner says.
"Since we got the RxSafe we're able to offer new programs and make more money for the pharmacy,” she says. “We've added immunizations, we've added blister packing and I'd say we've added about $40,000 to our bottom line. In addition we’ve spent more time visiting our nursing homes and we started a shot program with doctors -- it frees up time for us to do other things. ”
“Our overall profit has improved due to more space, inventory control and our ability to implement other programs,” Christener adds. “We definitely got a return on our investment within the first year of purchasing the RxSafe.”
Quality: the last word
Not only has the system paid for itself, Christener says the RxSafe 1800 has improved patient care at Brownsville Family Pharmacy.
“Our quality of patient care has increased greatly,” she says. “We're able to spend more time with our patients and even my technicians are able to do other things for them."
"You should buy an RxSafe because it gives you more inventory control, more space in your pharmacy, and more peace of mind at the end of the night knowing that you filled the right prescription for the patient."
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| Brownsville Family Pharmacy | Yearly Cash Savings/Profit Increase |
| More Floor Space | $40,000 |
| Less Waste Due to Expired Drugs | $40,000 |
| 25% Less On Hand Inventory | $58,000 |
| Less Put Away Labor | $11,000 |
| No Searching for Lost Items | $5,000 |
| TOTAL ANNUAL CASH INCREASE* | $154,000 |
* Based on NCPA Digest 2016 averages. Values are estimates. Savings may vary.
