Skip to content
Introduction
Among the more notable findings of the 2024 Pharmacist Workforce Study, sponsored by the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), was a sense among 76 percent of community pharmacists who agreed with the statement “I never seem to have enough time to get everything done at work.”
A previous version of the survey, conducted in 2022, delved into how pharmacists spent their time and found almost 40 percent cited “excessive paperwork” as a significant source of job stress. Other factors adversely affecting pharmacists’ daily routines included “being interrupted by phone calls or people while performing job duties (34 percent), “not being staffed with an adequate number of technicians” (42 percent), and “feeling that I will make a mistake in treating a patient” (29 percent).
These findings come at a time when community pharmacists also face unprecedented financial pressure, largely the result of rising medication costs and decreasing reimbursement rates, along with escalating business costs. A 2025 survey of independent pharmacies by the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) found nearly half, 48.6 percent said the financial health of their business declined “significantly” during 2024, with 30 percent saying they might have to close their doors during calendar year 2025.
For many pharmacies, the double whammy of increased workloads and decreased profitability is taking a terrible toll. As pharmacies look for help, a potential lifeline can be found by utilizing capabilities available in their technology management system. Namely, the PrimeRx management solution, which includes extensive functionality that automates pharmacy workflows and tasks, identifies cost savings opportunities, and generates real-time reporting of all pharmacy activities.
Following is an overview of ten essential PrimeRx capabilities.
Patient Records Management.
Pharmacies can maintain extensive patient records that can be easily accessed each time a patient visits the pharmacy. Records can include comprehensive medication history, copies of all prescriptions, payment records, information about health conditions, use of supplements and OTC products, pertinent personal details, and any other relevant information. In addition, a copy of each patient’s driver’s license or photo ID, and health insurance card can be scanned and added to the appropriate record. This information can be immediately accessible to the pharmacist, saving valuable time with each patient visit.
Inventory Management
Inventory is the largest carrying cost for an independent pharmacy, accounting for nearly 70 percent of expenses. With such a direct – and dramatic – impact on the bottom line, pharmacists must prioritize inventory management. PrimeRx facilitates full inventory visibility with capabilities that include:
- Physical Inventory. Medications are automatically added to inventory upon arrival from the wholesaler. This includes quickly scanning a medication’s bar code. Inventory levels are automatically adjusted each time a medication is dispensed or used to prepare a compounded drug. Pharmacists have real-time visibility into all drug holdings, along with pricing, batch, and expiration details.
- Vendor Management. Pharmacies can know precisely which medications have been purchased from each wholesaler/vendor. The system carefully tracks inventory received from a particular vendor, with each medication – and supporting information — scanned and stored within a vendor’s record.
- EDI/Automatic Reordering. Once the quantity of a medication reaches a pre-determined level, PrimeRx will automatically submit a reorder request.
- EDI/Purchase Order Generation. The system allows pharmacies to create online purchase orders that are electronically transmitted to a supplier.
- Cycle Count Settings. Patients who receive medications on a recurring basis can be assured of medication availability via PrimeRx’s cycle count solution. The pharmacist can easily set up a “cycle count” schedule for a drug, which will monitor inventory levels to ensure that the required quantity will be available when needed.
- Multiple Inventories. Separate inventories can be maintained based on a pharmacy’s unique needs. This includes a separate 340B inventory as well as separate inventories for multi-pharmacy owners.
- Reporting. Extensive reporting capabilities on inventory-related topics.
PrimeRx MARKET for Optimal Drug Pricing
Pharmacies can ensure the cost effectiveness of their drug purchases by utilizing the PrimeRx MARKET online drug marketplace. PrimeRx MARKET provides direct access to more than 40 wholesalers and suppliers, and the ability to check inventory and pricing in a matter of seconds.
The solution generates a side-by-side comparison of the suppliers that have a needed medication in stock and the associated pricing. A pharmacist can quickly compare each supplier’s pricing and make the best decision for their patients’ needs. This eliminates the time-consuming task of individually looking up each supplier’s pricing and placing orders with multiple suppliers. Now, the requested information is available in real-time, with orders submitted directly within the PrimeRx MARKET workflow.
Claims Submissions
PrimeRx automatically transmits a claim to the appropriate payer once a medication has been dispensed. The claim is marked as “open” until a resolution from the payer is received. Once payment is received, the claim is marked as “paid.” The system accommodates both physical and electronic payments, carefully recording transaction amounts and details. This allows the pharmacy to track outstanding claims and facilitates good recordkeeping.
Robust Data Insights
Pharmacy owners can rely on PrimeRx for extensive analysis and reporting capabilities. The sky is the limit when it comes to reports that can be generated. A few examples include:
- Business Summary. A topline overview of pharmacy performance based on the metrics an owner/manager wishes to track.
- Copays Not Paid. This report can be very helpful for pharmacies that allow house charge accounts. The report identifies all patients for whom copays are still outstanding.
- Patient Medication Adherence Report (PMAR). Busy pharmacies can identify patients who have fallen behind on their medications while also indicating if the pharmacy is at risk of falling below insurers’ preferred adherence thresholds. Pharmacies can review these reports, follow up with non-adherent patients, and remove any outdated prescriptions that may be skewing their performance ratios.
- Patient/Profitability Report. Pharmacies can identify “high profit” patients by reviewing medication dispensing and profitability at the individual patient level.
- Profit/Revenue Report. Provides a detailed overview of all factors affecting pharmacy performance. This includes a summary of each insurer’s activity, among other indicators, and depicts the pharmacy’s rate of profit for each area. The report also indicates areas in which the pharmacy is showing a loss.
- Profit by Drug Category. PrimeRx can generate an analysis of drug category profitability to help owners/managers determine which drugs to hold in inventory, and which should only be procured on a “patient specific, as needed” basis.
- Refills Due. A “refills due” report lists all medications due for refill. The report can be customized based on a wide range of preferences including date range, facility, prescriber, and profit range. Pharmacists can have a comprehensive overview of all outstanding refills – and potential revenue opportunities.
- Staff Productivity. PrimeRx allows the pharmacy to assess staffing needs in several ways. The system tracks each employee’s per/hour dispensing rate, identifies pharmacy peak hours, and of course, closely tracks all payroll expenditures. These metrics allow the pharmacy to identify possible times when the pharmacy is over-staffed, thereby presenting an opportunity to cut back. The metrics also identify potential employee productivity issues, which may indicate instances in which staff time is being spent on non-dispensing issues.
Prescription Benefit Review
PrimeRx includes direct integration with the Real-Time Prescription Benefit from Surescripts solution. The solution provides immediate access to information about a patient’s covered medications and out-of-pocket costs. Should a medication not be covered, or require an expensive copay, the solution can suggest alternatives.
The Surescripts solution automates the process, and eliminates time-consuming phone calls between pharmacists, plan representatives, and prescribers’ offices.
Audits and Recordkeeping
Pharmacy managers can have confidence that all records – patient, vendor/supplier, compliance, inventory, operations, sales, claims, receipts, reimbursements – are seamlessly stored within PrimeRx. This capability is critically important in responding to audit inquiries, since requested documents can be located in a matter of seconds, eliminating the need for staff members to comb through boxes of documents.
A pharmacy will never have to scramble to locate a document, nor will there ever be a concern about a record being “lost in cyberspace.” The system archives all records, seamlessly updates active records, and allows pharmacy managers to easily access any file.
Compliance
PrimeRx facilitates time-consuming compliance requirements with direct access to solutions that include:
- Automated Immunization Reporting. Script Management Partners (SMP) allows pharmacies to automatically report immunization records to state/local immunization information systems (IIS). In addition, the system identifies immunization opportunities among pharmacy patients. The solution helps pharmacies build their immunization programs and manage compliance with mandatory reporting requirements.
- Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) Reporting. PrimeRx allows direct integration with Bamboo Health/AWARxE, which allows pharmacists fast access to their state’s controlled substance reporting system. Pharmacists can quickly confirm patient identification and seamlessly report dispensing activity to their state’s database.
- Automated Refill Management. Many states regulate pharmacy automatic refill programs with requirements that patients confirm their desire for a medication, and have an option to terminate participation in the program. PrimeRx helps satisfy these requirements with extensive communication capabilities. This includes automated texting/email services that generate confirmation notices about upcoming refills, and reminders when a prescription is ready for pickup.
- Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA). The Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) includes detailed provisions that affect the way in which pharmacy inventory is processed and managed. A cornerstone of this law is a uniform “track-and-trace” process through which pharmacies capture detailed information about all prescription medications. PrimeRx has partnered with third-party software provider InfiniTrak, which offers solutions designed specifically for DSCSA mandates.
OTC Sales
PrimeRx offers direct integration with the highly successful Pointy solution that helps pharmacies promote their consumer product inventories. The solution allows a pharmacy’s OTC and consumer product offerings to show up in local Google search results. Whenever a Google search is initiated for any of those products, the pharmacy will appear as a retail option. This drives new traffic into the pharmacy and increases product sales.
User-Friendly Format
One of the PrimeRx’s most formidable efficiency-boosters is its extreme user-friendly format. The system was designed with today’s busy pharmacists in mind, and includes several time-saving features that include:
- Dashboard. Pharmacies can customize a dashboard that allows “at a glance” access to the most-utilized system features.
- Drop Down Menus. The system includes dozens of drop-down menus that guide pharmacy staff in completing requests. Drop down menus provide accurate options for pharmacy-specific data entry requirements.
- Predictive Text. The system speeds data entry by suggesting text based on historical patterns. This eliminates keystrokes and minimizes pharmacy staff time spent on repetitive tasks.
- Logical Format. PrimeRx users have been pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to understand and implement the system. Although PrimeRx offers extensive training opportunities, both in-person and on-demand, many pharmacies report their staffs were able to figure out the system themselves, often within hours of having the software installed!
Ten PrimeRx capabilities that offer critical efficiency and cost savings! And the list could go on. As pharmacies continue to operate in today’s highly pressurized environment, they can look to technology for critically needed efficiencies and savings.
