The decision to offer in-office dispensing at your practice is something that will probably take some planning, research, and consideration, but the upfront time spent on due diligence pays off in dividends once you have your program in place. Here are 5 reasons why point-of-care dispensing is a good medicine practice for you to consider.
1. Multiple stops for medication add burden for your patients
A certain percentage of patients visiting a physician’s office are suffering from some sort of illness or injury. Depending on the severity of either, they are most likely not well enough to be out in public or have difficulty getting around due to their injury. These ailments become more cumbersome when the patient is required to make one or more stops to pick up their prescribed medication from the pharmacy. If prescriptions are available to your patients at the point of care, it is only one stop for those in need. Patients will appreciate the convenience and relief and can begin their treatment sooner.
2. Improved Oversight
It is believed that preventable medication errors impact more than 7 million patients and cost almost $21 billion annually across all care settings. Many of these errors occur due to lack of or inefficient communication between prescribers and pharmacy employees. Much greater oversight and communication directly with the patient is possible when medication is dispensed on-site. This additional oversight can extend to proper reporting and record-keeping to detect any long-term patterns that suggest the need for closer examination.
3. Reliable access to medication
Dispensing prescriptions at your own practice helps eliminate the possibility of the medication being unavailable at the pharmacy. There are many times when patients go to the pharmacy only to be told to come back at a later time or day because their prescription isn’t in stock. This can be extremely discouraging and often results in the patient never filling their prescription because they can’t afford to take additional time off work, or don’t have reliable transportation for that third trip. A physician is better equipped to understand the demographics and needs of their patients, and can ensure that they have ample stock on-hand of the medications most often prescribed.
4. Increased Patient Compliance
A patient is more inclined to view their dispensed medication as part of their practitioner’s recommendation instead of that of an unknown third party at the pharmacy. Patients are also more likely to call their personal physician for needed refills on prescriptions which creates another opportunity for communication and follow-up to ensure patients are still on the right track with their medication treatment.
5. Curbing opiate addiction
Physicians, and their staff are specifically trained to identify patients that may be abusing medications or experiencing the symptoms of withdrawal. Most point-of-care dispensing programs offer sophisticated prescription tracking and automatic PDMP reports which allows a practitioner additional ways to help prevent further abuse and recommend intervention or alternative, non-narcotic treatment that can help the patient get back on the right track.
DirectRx for your medication dispensing needs
Health care providers across the country are constantly looking for new ways to improve their practice’s efficiency and enhance their patient care. DirectRx is dedicated to helping all health care providers incorporate in office dispensing into their practice. Utilizing our turn-key medication dispensing program, doctors in most states across the country can be actively dispensing to their patients within just a few business days. Get in touch with us to find out how our expertise can serve your medical practice.
The material contained on this site is for informational purposes only and DOES NOT CONSTITUTE THE PROVIDING OF MEDICAL ADVICE, and is not intended to be a substitute for independent professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare provider with any questions or concerns you may have regarding your health.
