Has your pharmacy department grown so much that you can’t easily find the drugs you are looking for? If you have 20 types of antibiotics, 10 kinds of gastroprotectants, 8 different kinds of NSAIDs, steroids, liquids, tablets, capsules, powders, and compounds your pharmacy probably looks more like a hoarding situation than anything else. What are your “go to” drugs? Why not just stock what you use all the time and eliminate your in-stock costs? Is your pharmacy spilling over with too much of a good thing?
Has your pharmacy department grown so much that you can’t easily find the drugs you are looking for? If you have 20 types of antibiotics, 10 kinds of gastroprotectants, 8 different kinds of NSAIDs, steroids, liquids, tablets, capsules, powders, and compounds your pharmacy probably looks more like a hoarding situation than anything else. What are your “go to” drugs? Why not just stock what you use all the time and eliminate your in-stock costs? Is your pharmacy spilling over with too much of a good thing?
Comments
Great subject Sonogirl and I
Great subject Sonogirl and I bet this is a major cut into the bottom line at most clinics… I remember one of my first jobs as a tech that I was nearly fired for doing a long overdue inventory of expired drugs that were getting prescribed out the door… I didn’t work there for more than a summer as you can imagine:)
Great subject Sonogirl and I
Great subject Sonogirl and I bet this is a major cut into the bottom line at most clinics… I remember one of my first jobs as a tech that I was nearly fired for doing a long overdue inventory of expired drugs that were getting prescribed out the door… I didn’t work there for more than a summer as you can imagine:)
Yikes, that can definitely
Yikes, that can definitely become a serious problem too. If you aren’t selling the drug it sits on the shelf until you finally can use it and then it is expired. A lose-lose situation.
Yikes, that can definitely
Yikes, that can definitely become a serious problem too. If you aren’t selling the drug it sits on the shelf until you finally can use it and then it is expired. A lose-lose situation.
Diets can easily become a
Diets can easily become a problem when everyone from doctors, clients, and salesmen want you to carry many different foods. The owner really just needs to decide on the one or 2 he/she wants to prescribe the most of, and carry those. Others can be special orders (unless there are minimums – I know Iams has a program now where you can order UPS on an as-needed basis with no minimums) or set it up through a home delivery program.
This is also an issue with heartworm products and flea/tick products – it is possible to carry a huge inventory unless you pare it down and decide to sell just a select few. Decide where your emphasis will be and put your efforts there.
Some hospitals take advantage of marketlinks like vetstreet and others, to keep their pharmacy limited and set up the home delivery system. Not bad for long term medications but I still think one of the important things we can offer to clients is most of the time their medications in hand as they go out the door, to be able to start immediately.
Ideally turnover should be monthly for all meds, except for those you can get incredible deals on, rebates, extended payment terms, etc such as heartworm and flea/tick. So figure out what the turnover rate is for all drugs and from that modify how much is kept and do frequent inventory counts. When keeping it this close I do quick counts, eyeballing, weekly just in case there is a run on something. Best to have the list in hand, because you will miss something if you don’t – I sure do when I just try to eyeball it quickly in between other duties. Obviously this does not always work for injectables, etc that you must have on hand but also purchase a set vial size. This system will also help you identify those drugs that sit way too long on the shelf. These you can present to the owner and ask if they still really want to stock it.
And remember some expired drugs can be returned and some can’t – so take advantage of that if you can. If not, we put it aside to be given to people who need that medication for their pets. Of course expired controlled drugs are an entirely different thing.
Diets can easily become a
Diets can easily become a problem when everyone from doctors, clients, and salesmen want you to carry many different foods. The owner really just needs to decide on the one or 2 he/she wants to prescribe the most of, and carry those. Others can be special orders (unless there are minimums – I know Iams has a program now where you can order UPS on an as-needed basis with no minimums) or set it up through a home delivery program.
This is also an issue with heartworm products and flea/tick products – it is possible to carry a huge inventory unless you pare it down and decide to sell just a select few. Decide where your emphasis will be and put your efforts there.
Some hospitals take advantage of marketlinks like vetstreet and others, to keep their pharmacy limited and set up the home delivery system. Not bad for long term medications but I still think one of the important things we can offer to clients is most of the time their medications in hand as they go out the door, to be able to start immediately.
Ideally turnover should be monthly for all meds, except for those you can get incredible deals on, rebates, extended payment terms, etc such as heartworm and flea/tick. So figure out what the turnover rate is for all drugs and from that modify how much is kept and do frequent inventory counts. When keeping it this close I do quick counts, eyeballing, weekly just in case there is a run on something. Best to have the list in hand, because you will miss something if you don’t – I sure do when I just try to eyeball it quickly in between other duties. Obviously this does not always work for injectables, etc that you must have on hand but also purchase a set vial size. This system will also help you identify those drugs that sit way too long on the shelf. These you can present to the owner and ask if they still really want to stock it.
And remember some expired drugs can be returned and some can’t – so take advantage of that if you can. If not, we put it aside to be given to people who need that medication for their pets. Of course expired controlled drugs are an entirely different thing.