Let’s face it: it’s becoming increasingly difficult to remain competitive as an independent pharmacy owner. Pharmacy expenses can be high and profits are not what they have been in years past. Oh, and don’t forget: reimbursements are becoming virtually nonexistent.

While reading up on chronic disease states and running a diabetic-footwear promotion won’t hurt, they’re not at the top of your list for action items that will turn your pharmacy around. You need a solution that will enable you to not only sustain, but grow and expand your business.

Live Oak Bank + TelePharm: A partnership for growth

Say hello to remote dispensing. At TelePharm, we provide secure, cloud-based software to pharmacies and healthcare organizations in order to streamline workflow and strengthen patient relationships. Our user-friendly software enables safe remote dispensing and live-video patient counseling — both of which help provide all the care and services of a traditional pharmacy. Our innovative technology allows pharmacy owners to share pharmacists across multiple locations and provide convenient care to patients. Additionally, telepharmacies can be operated in areas where a traditional pharmacy is not financially feasible.

Want to learn how retail telepharmacy works? Read our most popular blog post: How Telepharmacy Works: 4 Simple Steps

Without further ado, here are three reasons why your next pharmacy should be a telepharmacy.

Reimbursements are still declining

As a pharmacy director/owner, you understand slim margins all too well. Insurance plans and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) largely control margins on medications, and reimbursements continue to become obsolete. In addition to slim margins, cost mandates at the federal, state and local level can result in halted growth and, in some cases, an independent pharmacy closure. In fact, it’s not unusual for a pharmacy to sell many prescriptions of which they actually take a net loss each day.

That’s where TelePharm comes into play. Telepharmacy is appealing because a remote-dispensing site, or retail telepharmacy, costs less to operate than a traditional pharmacy. That leads us to our next point:

TelePharm: a cost-effective pharmacy solution

Beyond prescription reimbursements, operating costs play a major role in the profitability of your pharmacy business. Whether you’re thinking about opening a new pharmacy in a rural community, inside or near a health system or clinic or in a medically underserved urban area,  telepharmacy is more cost-effective than a traditional pharmacy.

Did you know?

A telepharmacy provides all the care services that a traditional pharmacy does, and can be operate in areas where a traditional pharmacy is not feasible.

A retail telepharmacy site costs less to operate than a traditional pharmacy because you are sharing a pharmacist across multiple locations. Maximize your pharmacists’ time and maximize your bottom line.

Patients demand convenience

In the age of consumer-driven healthcare, offering seamless, convenient pharmaceutical services can be a differentiator for patients and health outcomes. Through remote telepharmacy sites, we bring pharmacy care — and the expertise of a pharmacist — to patients instead of them traveling upwards of 30 minutes to their nearest pharmacy. Convenient telepharmacies create a better patient experience which helps distinguish your pharmacy from that of a big chain.

Source: https://www.liveoakbank.com/pharmacy-resources/3-reasons-next-pharmacy-telepharmacy/