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Pharmacists can Find Top Prescription Medications at a Discount
Introduction
The Importance of Price Shopping in Pharmacy Inventory Management
Would you buy a new car without shopping around and comparing prices? Probably not. Well, the same principle applies to pharmacy inventory management. With inventory accounting for an estimated 70% of a typical pharmacy’s operating budget, and at a time when an alarming number of pharmacies are opting to stop carrying certain high-cost medications, shouldn’t a pharmacist invest the time to ensure competitive pricing?
In a perfect world, of course they would. But it’s far from a perfect world. For one thing, the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA) reports that pharmacists lose money on roughly 3 of every 10 prescriptions they fill. The numbers are worse for Medicare Part D prescriptions, with more than half of pharmacy owners saying they lose money on more than 60% of the Part D prescriptions they fill. This dire economic situation comes as pharmacists are also stretched for time, with most saying they simply don’t have enough hours in the day to complete their tasks.
How then, could a pharmacist possibly find the time to check pricing for the hundreds of drugs held in the pharmacy’s inventory?
The answer, naturally, is in technology. Technology-based solutions allow pharmacists to quickly compare pricing and optimize inventory management. The results can be amazing. One New York City pharmacist, according to Drug Topics, credited automated price comparisons with helping his pharmacy save between $2,000 and $3,000 per day in ordering costs.
How PrimeRx MARKET Empowers Pharmacies
Thousands of pharmacists rely on the PrimeRx MARKET solution to help guide their drug purchasing decisions. PrimeRx MARKET is an online prescription drug marketplace that allows direct access to more than 40 wholesalers and drug suppliers. A pharmacist simply types in a particular drug, and the system generates a list of pricing options. Orders can be placed with multiple providers, all within PrimeRx MARKET.
The Potential Cost Savings for Pharmacies
All told, PrimeRx MARKET can result in considerable cost savings for the typical pharmacy while also helping to recapture valuable staff time. Price comparisons are generated in real-time, eliminating the need for staff members to individually check each supplier’s pricing for a particular drug.
How significant are the savings? While each pharmacy’s purchasing options depend in large part on the details of their payer contracts, along with factors including volume discounts, rebates, and markups, there can be broad variances in drug pricing. The average wholesale price (AWP), which is the term used to describe the price paid to buy a drug from a wholesaler, according to Drugs.com, “has often been compared to the ‘list price’ or ‘sticker price,’ meaning it is an elevated drug price that is rarely what is actually paid.”
According to reporting by Commonwealth Fund, “experts” report that wholesalers generally markup generic drug costs by an average 10%-15%. However, “confidential contracts make it difficult to verify the accuracy of these estimates or determine the exact levels at which wholesalers are able to markup specific drugs.”
Mark Cuban’s CostPlus Drugs: A Case Study in Cost Savings
A useful comparison then, are the publicly available cost savings available through Mark Cuban’s CostPlus Drug Company. Cuban, a nationally recognized businessman and television personality, launched his online drug company in 2023 as a way to help reduce prescription drug costs for consumers. CostPlus Drugs operates on a “cost + a fixed 15% margin,” and eliminates involvement by pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs). Instead, Cost Plus Drugs negotiates directly with drug manufacturers.
The online pharmacy’s offerings are limited to generic drugs that allow significant savings. A few examples include:
| Generic Name | Brand Name | Dosage | CostPlusDrugs Price | Other Pharmacies | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Abiraterone Acetate | Zytiga | 30 count/250mg | $23.69 | $1,093.20 | $1,069.51 |
| Mesalamine | Canasa | 30 count/1000mg | $27.63 | $766.80 | $739.17 |
| Lisinopril | Prinivil | 30 count/2.5mg | $5.45 | $24.00 | $18.55 |
| Fluticasone Propionate | Flonase | 1 count/50mcg | $11.56 | $51.10 | $39.54 |
| Fluoxetine | Prozac | 30 count/10mg | $5.37 | $22.80 | $17.43 |
While this pricing reflects savings available to consumers, it is indicative of the wide variances that exist in today’s drug market. Pharmacies can significantly reduce their drug costs by taking advantage of wholesaler pricing differences. But, they need to do their homework and identify the ideal supplier for each medication.
PrimeRx MARKET seamlessly manages this important task on the pharmacist’s behalf. A pharmacy can have immediate access to pricing information for every drug in its inventory, as well as a seamless process for placing orders with multiple providers. It couldn’t be easier.
PrimeRx MARKET:
A Seamless Solution for Pharmacies
A shocking survey by the New York City Pharmacists Society found that 92% of responding pharmacists said they had turned away patients in the last six months due to excessively low reimbursement rates. The survey also found that 98% have stopped carrying “some or all brand name drugs over the last six months to avoid sustaining crippling losses on those medications.”
As these findings make clear, pharmacies are at a breaking point. But PrimeRx MARKET offers a lifeline in helping pharmacies manage during this period of extreme uncertainty.
