Over the last decade the pace of change impacting the pharmacy industry has been unrelenting. Pharmacists became front-line warriors fighting a global pandemic, expanded service delivery to patients, while continuing to battle ongoing demographic challenges increasing demand in the face of staffing challenges.
According to Fortune Business Insights, the U.S. pharmacy market continues to grow. The industry is expected to reach an overall market size of $862 billion by 2028, representing a 55.8% anticipated increase from 2020-2028. Even as demand climbs, staffing levels continue to fall short. The biggest pharmacy staffing challenge today is the shortage of pharmacy technicians, who currently have a 21% turnover rate. Simultaneously, enrollment in pharmacy programs is on the decline, and in 5-7 years’ time it is anticipated that there will be a significant shortage of pharmacists. Trying to stem the ever-rising tide, pharmacies are employing tactics such as increased overtime, and using pharmacists to perform the jobs of techs, neither of which are sustainable as demand continues to increase.
Patients are already being impacted by staffing shortages, with long telephone wait times, finding prescriptions not ready when promised, and experiencing lengthy waits to pick up medications and to consult with a pharmacist.
It’s understandable that those in the industry who are currently stressed and overworked may show resistance to even more change impacting their industry. Pharmacists may have valid concerns about adopting centralized fulfillment and how it will impact their work and their patients, but understanding the value of these technologies is key to a bright future for pharmacy.
The concerns of pharmacists regarding the impact of transitioning to a central fil model may include:
- Less control over the pharmacy dispensing process
- Reduced interaction with patients leading to less personalized patient care and satisfaction
- Potential disruptions during transitioning to central fill and the learning curve associated with a new system
- Continued legal and regulatory compliance
- Accuracy, efficiency, and safety of central fill compared to traditional dispensing
Overcoming this reluctance is critical to moving forward, facing the future, and embracing the many benefits of central fill technology which include:
Improved patient care
Central fulfillment could alleviate some of the burden on pharmacists and free up more time for patient interaction.
Improved medication adherence
Patients who receive more interaction and consultation with pharmacists may experience improved medication adherence and outcomes.
Positive work environment
Centralized fulfillment could reduce the stress on pharmacists and ease staffing concerns.
Increased fulfillment reliability
Fulfillment automation could reduce the likelihood of manual errors.
We’ll delve more deeply into each of these benefits in our upcoming blog series. In the meantime, if you are interested in learning more, download our white paper Understanding the Value: Embracing the benefits of centralized fulfillment for pharmacists.