As payor reimbursements decline and DIR fees continue to rise, independent pharmacies will need to find ways to offset their shrinking profit margins in the coming year. Expanding the pharmacy to include products and services that require little to no third-party involvement is an effective way to do this. Plus, BestRx’s robust, user-friendly pharmacy software can help stores efficiently manage many other revenue-generating services, beyond prescription sales.
Here are 3 ways independent pharmacies can generate additional revenue with BestRx:
Administering Vaccinations
While most pharmacies have been administering select vaccinations for years, many are now offering additional vaccinations as well. From COVID-19 boosters, travel-related vaccines and those required for school, vaccines provide pharmacies with an easy way to bring in additional revenue and better care for their community. In fact, pharmacies can leverage the BestRx software to easily:
- Track your acquisition costs and inventory for vaccines.
- Record any administered vaccinations in the patient’s electronic record.
- Submit the required administration records for COVID-19 vaccines (our software integration does this automatically each day).
Plus, reimbursement for vaccines is often less complicated than prescriptions. Payer coverage is typically more straightforward, or patients are paying out of pocket – right at the time of service.
Working with Long-Term Care Facilities
Supporting long-term care facilities and their residents is another great opportunity for independent pharmacies to add DIR-free revenue. Millions of elderly patients rely on LTC services, including help managing their medications. Servicing LTC facilities provides pharmacies with a way to quickly grow their patient and prescription volume. Plus, LTC facilities help to ensure patients stay on track with their medications. This means higher treatment compliance and more predictable, ongoing revenue for the pharmacy as well. BestRx makes supporting LTC facilities easy, with a wide range of nursing home-specific features and integrations. This includes the ability to:
- Quickly generate Medication Administration Records (MAR) and Physician Order (PO) forms.
- Share MARs forms electronically with the facility using a secure online portal.
- Offer unit/multi-dose packaging and print the corresponding labels.
- Manage all LTC facility activity, using Rx logs and other reports, which can be filtered by facility.
Using BestRx, pharmacies can eliminate many of the manual, time-consuming tasks associated with supporting these facilities. From time spend on the phone coordinating care and faxing orders to generating statements and prescription labels, BestRx helps to automate the entire process.
Growing Over-the-Counter Sales
Pharmacies should also think past their pharmacy counter, to ensure they are maximizing their full revenue potential. Over the counter (OTC) products are great way for pharmacies to bring in additional revenue. In fact, using the BestPOS point-of-sale system in tandem with the BestRx software allows pharmacies to seamlessly manage their entire store. BestPOS has multiple features designed to help pharmacies grow their OTC sales, including:
- A built-in customer loyalty program
- Customizable sales promotions
- Online payment options
- Online product listings
- Robust inventory management and reporting
This enables patients to obtain other healthcare-related products at the pharmacy when picking up their prescriptions, instead of making the purchase elsewhere. This includes Flexible Spending and Health Savings Account eligible purchases, ranging from toothpaste and deodorant to smoking cessation products and hearing aids.
These new revenue streams not only boost the pharmacies overall profitability, but they enhance the customer experience as well. Happy, loyal customers means repeat business, which is essential to ensure long-term success for pharmacies, too. To learn more about all the ways BestRx can help independent pharmacies become more profitable in the year ahead, request a free demo!
