Primary healthcare relies heavily on pharmaceutical services, some of which have been outsourced to the private sector to increase quality and reduce costs. The rising costs of prescription drugs and competition between pharmaceutical firms for customers are attracting the attention of policymakers, pharmacies, individuals, and institutions. Despite the competition from local community pharmacies, mail-order pharmacies have grown in popularity recently.
The cost of medicines accounts for 20-60% of healthcare costs in developing countries, compared with 18% in OECD countries. By regulating and supervising the process of drug use, pharmacies can ensure timely access, safety, and cost-effective use for patients and employees in developing countries.
A multitude of products and services can now be purchased via the internet, a technology that has been accepted for two decades. Online medication purchases are no exception. In addition to its benefits, purchasing medicines outside the traditional supply chain has several risks related to patient safety.
“The mail order pharmacy market is expected to reach $166,384 million, globally, by 2027, at a CAGR of 16.5%”.
In this blog, let’s take a look at why mail order pharmacy outsourcing is getting popular these days:
1) Creating a Competitive Edge: A pharmaceutical organization that outsources its pharmaceutical affairs to a cooperative is called an outsourcing organization. Creating competition is one of the significant advantages of outsourcing, and it is through competition that organizations achieve excellence through outsourcing. A number of factors need to be considered when outsourcing services and requesting resources, such as efficiency, quality, adequacy, justice, and accountability. The most significant reasons for outsourcing could be the possibility of paying more attention to critical activities, reducing costs, the poor performance of internal units, better quality, cost, insufficient expertise, or improving activities and the services in long term.
2) Convenient: Prescriptions can be ordered and refilled conveniently online. With mail-order pharmacies, you can easily manage medication orders and refills via your computer or smartphone. The option to synchronize multiple refills is another great benefit when managing chronic illnesses.
3) Consistency: When you use a trusted mail-order pharmacy every time you fill a prescription, you’ll have continuity of service, especially if you tend to use different pharmacies every time you fill a prescription. Providing patients with services such as auto refills and order reminders makes it easier for them to keep track of their medication needs and improve their health. The convenience of having prescriptions filled at a single pharmacy makes life easier for healthcare professionals too.
4) Networking: Some licensed mail-order pharmacies give patients access to their order history, allowing them to manage their health needs. It is especially important when you are seeing a medical professional for the first time. Similarly, partnering with a mail-order pharmacy service can promote new relationships and enhance connectivity. Using the pharmacy app or website, specialists can get up-to-date on a patient’s current prescriptions, minimizing the chance of potential interactions.
5) Save Time: You no longer have to drive across town to get your prescription filled. Although restrictions after the pandemic have been relaxed, pharmacies continue to see high usage of mail-order delivery. As a result of this service, consumers can be reassured that their prescriptions will be filled on time, while not having to worry about their safety when visiting pharmacies on a regular basis. Additionally, mail-order delivery can be a cost-saving option for individuals.
6) 24/7 Service: The majority of mail-order pharmacies offer 24/7 customer service on their websites or by phone. Having access to this service is helpful if you have questions regarding your medication during non-business hours, or when local pharmacies are closed.
7) Increased Medication Adherence: According to research, having prescriptions delivered by mail order has increased medication adherence because consumers do not have to worry about going to the pharmacy or remembering to order their medication. In most cases, delivery services send individuals automatic reminders about their upcoming prescriptions and the charge that will be applied to their credit card. Unlike local pharmacies, mail delivery services also offer 24/7 customer service via a website or phone number.
8) Less Expensive: It is often less expensive to order medications through the mail. Through mail-order pharmacies, your insurer can purchase medications directly from manufacturers to lower costs. Usually, mail-order prescriptions contain a 90-day supply, which allows you to save money. With 90-day supplies, you don’t have to fill your prescription as often, so refilling takes less time.
9) Improved Service, Quality, and Patient Care: Using a pharmacy management company can save money for pharmacies, but some administrators worry that patient care will suffer. Others are concerned that physicians and nurses will not like the changes implemented by a pharmacy management company. Nevertheless, a patient-centric approach in pharmacy operations leads to more efficient hospital operations, which improves patient satisfaction. All of this contributes to increased revenues and profits. Having pharmacy team members fully integrated into patient care naturally leads to better medical outcomes. In the long run, this will contribute to your hospital’s success and profitability.
Say, for example, your hospital is having trouble getting drugs from pharmacy to floor quickly. An experienced pharmacy management partner can map workflows, assess inefficiencies, assess staffing levels, etc., and propose a working solution.
10) Increased ROI: With the right pharmacy management partner, you can drive down costs while improving patient satisfaction and staff morale while lowering costs. It’s about spending money more effectively so that healthcare costs can be lowered while patient care can be improved. Automation and medication management may improve pharmacy return on investment depending on your care center.
11) Expanded Pharmacy/Staff hours: By improving operational efficiencies, your pharmacy management company can save money instead of cutting hours of operation. It is not uncommon for vendors to limit pharmacy hours for budgetary reasons. Unfortunately, this has a negative impact on patient care and physician/nurse satisfaction. However, your pharmacy partner may be able to maintain hours of operation without overtaxing staff. Pharmacy management companies know that drastic, unplanned cost cuts, unnecessary schedule changes, and forced overtime can lead to higher rates of attrition. Therefore, it is essential that people are managed well in any mail-order pharmacy operation.
Concluding Thoughts:
Throughout 2022 and beyond, pharmacy mail-order delivery will be a vital part of our daily lives. As the population ages, internet access increases, e-commerce expands, and economic growth rises, the market is expected to grow. Further, the increasing implementation of e-prescriptions in hospitals and other healthcare services has also contributed to the growth of the market.
With deep clinical expertise and extensive pharmacy fulfillment capabilities, Sourceims offer mail-order pharmacy outsourcing services including patient counseling prescriptions sourcing, prescription processing, prescription transcription, therapeutic screening, pharmacist-physician interaction, etc. which are custom-made to meet our client needs.
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