Sometimes the unknown of a situation or opportunity can be overwhelming and cause you to avoid it altogether. But, when you arm yourself with the ins and outs of whatever situation or opportunity you’re faced with, those unknowns will disappear.
That seems to be the case with point-of-care medication dispensing. Too often healthcare providers including primary care physicians and urgent care centers, are so set on doing business as usual, they aren’t open to the fact that there might just be a better/different way of doing things. The old saying “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it” isn’t always true.
Just because you’ve run your practice the same way all these years, doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement. When point-of-care medication dispensing is offered, you open yourself and your practice up to so many positive outcomes.
Let’s look at some of the facts about in house medication dispensing:
- You don’t need to hire extra staff to manage the dispensing. Although each state has its own laws and regulations as to who is legally able to dispense medications (e.g., nurses, physician assistants, etc.), it doesn’t necessarily fall on the doctor’s shoulders. This gives doctors more time to focus on the well-being of their patients.
- You don’t need extra office space. All you need is a printer for labels and space from a small, unused cabinet to store the medications in your office.
- Add a new revenue stream for your practice. Medication costs are set so you can mark up costs enough to generate income for your practice, and still coming in under or even with patient co-pays. Additionally you’ll increase patient satisfaction, which will result in referrals and new patients.
- Give your patients an immediate start on treatment. In office medication dispensing gives you the opportunity to talk through the treatment plan with your patient, giving them an opportunity to ask questions and to help them understand the purpose, when to take it, etc.
- Improve patient adherence and patient outcomes. Offering in office medication dispensing is a convenience your patients need. By giving them their medication(s) on the spot, they don’t have to make a special trip to the pharmacy, which may or may not have it in stock. The result is improved adherence and outcomes for your patients.
So, what’s holding you back from offering in office medication dispensing? We would love to walk you through our process and answer any questions you may have. Click here to get started.