In Office Dispensing of Medications
Last Updated: June 1, 2021 | Created: May 30, 2019
In Office Dispensing of prepackaged medications is a solution that allows physicians to dispense medications on site, and delivers an easy and profitable way to ensure your patients obtain the pharmaceuticals they need for optimal care and outcomes
The Basics of In Office Medication Dispensing
To start in office medication dispensing, there are a few things that you need to figure out early on: (1) What the laws are in your state regarding dispensing drugs; (2) How to keep inventory and keep stock up; (3) Where to buy the medications; (4) Which medications to stock and what to charge.
Fortunately, our team of experienced experts can help navigate your office through all of those questions. First, we’re intimately familiar with the laws of each state. The majority of situations only require a few forms to get started. Once the legal side is sorted out, our team continues to provide input on what medications offices find most beneficial to stock, what quantity should be stocked and the typical price point. Our physician dispensing software makes it extremely easy for your office to track and order medications.
Still curious if in office dispensing is right for you? Check out our extensive list of Frequently Asked Questions.
In Office Dispensing of Medication: An Overview of State Regulations
Individual states have the power to regulate the in office dispensing of medication by medical practitioners. As a result, each state has its own rules and in office dispensing regulations. Some states are extremely liberal in their regulations while others are more stringent. There are even a handful of states that still don’t allow in office dispensing. Our team can help you figure out the complexities of your state and keep you in compliance.
States That Don’t Allow In Office Dispensing of Medication
Although the majority of states allow physicians to dispense medication in office, there are a handful that don’t. These include: Massachusets, Montana, New Jersey, New York, Texas and Utah. If you’re located in one of these states, BRP Pharmaceuticals won’t be able to help. However, by contacting us, we can place you on a mailing list that will alert you if your state ever allows in-office dispensing.
Archiac laws go through change when advocates lobby their elected officials. If you believe strongly in being able to use your medical license to it’s fullest, we encourage you to get in contact with your electeds and make the case for why in office dispensing of medication leads to a better more efficient, patient treatment plan.
States that Allow In Office Dispensing of Medication
While 46 of the 50 states allow doctors to dispense their own prescriptions, regulations are not uniform across these states and requirements for physicians and clinics wishing to dispense medications vary between them. BRP Pharmaceuticals is experienced working with physicians in every state in which dispensing is legal, and can quickly get you up to speed about the process in your state; click here for more information. You can also consult your state’s Board of Pharmacy or equivalent regulatory body for up-to-date and detailed guidelines.
In Office Medication Dispensing Benefits for Doctors
Doctors enjoy a number of in office dispensing benefits. Improved patient outcomes continue to be the most important benefit of in office dispensing. You chose a career as a physician because of the want to help people live happier and healthier lives. Healing the sick and injured was a calling and having the ability to provide in office dispensing of medication at the point of care is a powerful and effective way of doing so.
In today’s economy, physicians need to be business savvy and learn how to grow their clinics. Larger and more efficient clinics mean the ability to help more people. Patients look at in office dispensing as a convenience because they walk out of your office with their medications in hand – no more separate trips across town to a pharmacy. Practices are able to charge for these medications – just like a pharmacy – which leads to a new revenue stream.
Most physicians known that dealing with pharmacies can be a time-consuming hassle. When you choose in office dispensing, prescribing medications takes only a couple of minutes.
Patients (and their insurance companies) have to spend money to purchase medications. Instead of that payment going to a pharmacy, in office dispensing physicians allows that money to remain inside the practice, where it can be reinvested and benefit the public health system at large.
In Office Medication Dispensing Benefits for Patients
There are many benefits to in office medication dispensing. For the patient, the biggest benefit is improved health and convenience. Studies show that each year, millions of patients skip actually filling their presctiptions. The convenience benefit is easy to understand. Instead of needing to find a pharmacy that has the correct medication, going to that pharmacy, submitting a prescription, and waiting for it to be filled, a patient can simply get the medicine that he or she needs from his or her doctor during the same visit in which that medicine is prescribed.
This benefits every kind of patient but is especially important for patients in some rural areas without a convenient nearby pharmacy or for old or infirm people with mobility issues. It is also a very important benefit for those pressed for time, such as working single parents.
Health benefits for the patient stem directly from the increased convenience. A recent study in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that over 30% of prescriptions were never filled (and approximately 50% of chronic disease medications are not taken as prescribed). That results in (according to an estimate in the same study) approximately 10% of all hospital visits and nearly 125,000 deaths. These are truly astronomical (yet well-researched) figures showing the extent of the problem that physician dispensing aims to solve.
Improved patient outcomes don’t just benefit individual patients directly; they also benefit society at large in a direct, tangible, and financial way. Current levels of non-compliance with physicians’ prescriptions and medication instructions are estimated to cost the health care system between $100 and $300 billion per year.
In Office Dispensing Companies
BRP Pharmaceuticals is pharmacist-owned and operated. Pharmacists provide a valuable service in the United States; our position is merely that, from having lived the system “from the inside” that there is simply a better way for many doctors and clinics to operate.
BRP Pharmaceuticals is the leading in office medication dispensing company in the United States. We are licensed to operate in all 50 states (though as per above, physicians may only dispense in 46 of them). It is best-known for its extremely high-quality customer service and customer success functions. Over 90% of medication orders from doctors are shipped within one business day from our extensive and specialty-specific formulary. We have a dedicated customer service team based in Burbank, CA – not some call center overseas – as well as a registered pharmacist who is available 24/7 to assist you.
Very few doctors or clinics who work with BRP Pharmaceuticals regret their decision or cease in-office medication dispensing in partnership with us. To find out why, and to see if in-office dispensing is the right fit for your situation, please fill out the contact form below. A senior customer solutions specialist will respond to your inquiry within one business day. Or if you’d like to get started right away (why wait?) please call us at 1-877-885-0882. During normal business hours, a friendly human who works on-site at BRP Pharmaceuticals in Burbank, CA (not a call center, not a voice response system) will be happy to help.
START EARNING MORE REVENUE TODAY WITH IN OFFICE MEDICATION DISPENSING
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