Careful inventory management to increase the profitability of a pharmacy

Why Inventory Management Is Essential?

Ensuring the adequate stock of medications is one of the main reasons of inventory management in retail pharmacies, but there are many other reasons as well that include:

• Minimizing the occurrence of unexpected out-of-stocks to decrease the impact on patient care.
• Decreasing the carrying cost of maintaining an inventory.
• Lowering costs of ordering medications from wholesalers.
• Ensuring minimal time is spent ordering medications and purchasing tasks.
• Preventing costs associated with damage and expiration of inventory.
• Decreasing total costs to the pharmacy and overall health care organization by focusing on purchasing products with the lowest cost

There are two main goals to keep in mind when managing an inventory for a pharmacy. The first is to ensure that medications are available when patients need them. The products that are regularly kept in stock are based on the needs of the pharmacy and its customers. While some rarely used, extremely expensive or cumbersome products may be ordered in as needed, efforts should be made to keep the medications used regularly in stock and available for use – not outdated or damaged.

The second goal of retail inventory management is to keep medication costs at a minimum. Many pharmacies have preferred wholesalers to order from or contract pricing with specific drug companies to decrease the cost of purchasing medications. The pharmacy technician should make an effort to use preferred delivery systems to try to keep acquisition costs as low as reasonably possible. Preventing profit loss is also a contributing factor to controlling medication costs. Properly managing stock by using medications before they expire and processing returns regularly can help keep medication costs down.

How Inventories Are Managed In Modern Days?

Computer systems are used nowadays in retail and LTC pharmacies to assist with the maintenance of inventory as well as processing prescription orders and maintaining patient files. Wholesalers often have computer programs that allow pharmacies to access information in the wholesaler’s computer system.

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Harry Harry a Usa based writer who writes on various topics such as Pharmacy Software Solutions, Retail Pharmacy Software and many others mapping the wider picture of the Pharmacy world. www.advrxonline.com