Situation:
Hospitals and health systems across the country are facing an unsurmountable list of growing challenges. From increased drug prices and drug shortages, to crumbling reimbursement rates and the ever-evolving web of regulatory and compliance, the obstacles can be mounting. These complications are exasperated by the limited resources and workforce challenges that notoriously plague critical access hospitals serving rural communities. Typically one of a hospital’s highest cost centers, the pharmacy department is often overlooked and under supported. Additionally, pharmacy departments are complex, multi-faceted ecosystems that require expertise in a variety of areas. Pharmacy leaders and their staff must juggle complicated regulatory and accreditation requirements while reducing costs, discovering new revenue streams and maintaining quality care. Unfortunately, even the most experienced pharmacy teams fall short without dedicated support.
This was the case for a 25-bed Critical Access Hospital in Northeast burdened by many of these organizational challenges. Hospital leadership discovered a growing list of concerns in their pharmacy and feared possible repercussions, particularly noting compliance concerns with their 340B Program. The hospital took a proactive approach and engaged CompleteRx to conduct a full onsite assessment of the pharmacy operations—at no cost to the hospital—to identify fiscal, clinical and operational improvements.
Solution:
Following the pharmacy assessment, CompleteRx discovered a variety of operational and financial efficiencies that, if implemented, could yield an immediate savings of over $50,000 and increase potential revenue by over $700,000 in the first year, while eliminating any compliance concerns.
Hospital leadership initiated a strategic partnership with CompleteRx to lead a multi-pronged approach addressing the immediate opportunities with the 340B Program and a surplus in inventory uncovered during the assessment.
Inventory
To tackle the inventory conundrum, CompleteRx deployed a team of Inventory Specialists to train and mentor the onsite pharmacy team. Together, they established PAR levels throughout the pharmacy, gathered any inventory beyond the PAR levels and returned the overstock, immediately increasing the hospital’s cash on-hand. On-going training and development were recommended to help foster and strengthen a culture of data-driven inventory management.
The 340B Program
The 340B Drug Pricing Program is arguably one of the most complex areas of pharmacy. Realizing a lack of policies, support, oversight, and expertise, CompleteRx extended a dedicated 340B Program Expert to implement a three-step solution. First, form a dedicated, cross-departmental 340B Program Committee to oversee and support the ongoing success of the program. Second, develop, implement, and train pharmacy staff on a set of program protocols and procedures to ensure program compliance. Lastly, maximize program potential through contract pharmacy expansion.
Results:
By applying the recommendations from the assessment and enabling CompleteRx’s dedicated support through a strategic partnership, the hospital was able to realize immediate inventory savings and discover a new, fruitful revenue stream through their 340B Program. The inventory optimization project increased hospital cash on-hand by $51,000 with a 20% reduction in inventory. This was accomplished within the first month of the strategic partnership with CompleteRx.
The most meaningful impact came from the commitment of hospital leadership to not only champion, but chair the 340B Steering Committee which, now, oversees and ensures the program’s ongoing compliance and success. “This level of commitment and support for a 340B Program is rare, but incredibly rewarding to a hospital’s program success,” Victoria Nosowicz, CompleteRx 340B Program Specialist, explained. With better oversight and clear, compliance driven processes the program has begun to flourish and unearth greater savings opportunities increasing the average monthly savings from $3,600 to over $61,000 a month. In just three months, the hospital has realized over $184,000 in savings, allowing it to better support and expand its services to the underinsured patients across the community.
Although the financial benefits are significant, hospital and pharmacy leadership agree that the greatest value in their strategic partnership with CompleteRx lies in the continuous specialized support and resources offered across all areas of the pharmacy. The pharmacy is now able to take a proactive approach at tackling ongoing industry challenges, and hospital leadership has a front-row view of the strategic impacts pharmacy has contributed to the hospital’s overall success.
