ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 13, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ --
According to the 2015 National Community Pharmacists
Association's (NCPA) Digest, sponsored by Cardinal Health,
achieving both higher patient adherence to prescription medication
and more diversified pharmacy revenue streams are vital to the
future success of independent community pharmacies.
"The NCPA Digest affirms that independent community
pharmacies are essential to patients and particularly those in
underserved inner city and rural areas," said NCPA CEO B. Douglas Hoey, RPh, MBA. "These innovative
small business owners are defining the future of pharmacy.
"In addition, the Digest illustrates the challenges of
declining, even negative, revenue from prescription drug
reimbursement," Hoey added. "This underscores the urgency with
which community pharmacy owners must address two areas. First,
improve patient adherence to make your pharmacy indispensable to
payers who are under increasing pressure to demonstrate success in
that area. Second, take advantage of every opportunity to diversify
pharmacy revenue streams beyond prescription drug payments. NCPA
offers turn-key programs to address these areas and will continue
to seek out new ways to help community pharmacies stay
competitive."
"The healthcare industry continues to explore new approaches to
challenges associated with care delivery and coordination, which is
an opportunity for the community pharmacist to play an increasingly
significant role in the healthcare system," said Ron Clerico, vice president of Retail Marketing
at Cardinal Health. "Consumers and patients have access to a wealth
of information and are taking on additional responsibilities for
their healthcare decisions – and they are looking for a trusted
healthcare advisor to guide them through all the options. In order
to thrive in today's competitive marketplace, pharmacists need a
resource, like the NCPA Digest, to encourage them to think
outside the box, and explore innovative offerings that meet the
unique needs of their community. This is exactly why Cardinal
Health is proud to once again sponsor the NCPA Digest, a
comprehensive report that helps pharmacy owners make smarter
business decisions."
Highlights from the Digest, which analyzed 2014 (the most
current full-year data available), include:
- There are an estimated 22,478 independent community pharmacies,
which is a slight reduction from the previous tally of 22,814.
- More than 314,000 individuals are employed on a full or
part-time basis by these pharmacies, which contribute greatly to
state and local economies and tax revenue.
- Prescription volume decreased slightly, going from 62,424
prescriptions annually on average to 61,568. The change is partly
attributable to excessive limitations on patient choice of pharmacy
that NCPA continues to oppose.
- Eighty percent of prescriptions dispensed were for generic
drugs, an indicator of how community pharmacists help to reduce
overall health care costs.
- Community pharmacies lowered payroll expenses, as a percentage
of sales, from 13.4 percent to 13 percent to grapple with tight
prescription drug reimbursement rates.
- These pharmacies collaborate with physicians 10 times daily (up
from 8.7) on prescription drug therapy. Doctors accept pharmacists'
generic product recommendations 94 percent of the time and 80
percent of the time for other therapeutic recommendations,
reinforcing the value of pharmacists to the health care team.
- The most common niche patient care services offered by
independent community pharmacies were: medication therapy
management (provided by 80 percent of independent community
pharmacies); same-day home delivery (78 percent); immunizations (71
percent); and compounding customized medications for patients (65
percent).
- Twenty-six percent of independent community pharmacy owners
have ownership in two or more pharmacies.
The National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA®)
represents the interests of America's community pharmacists,
including the owners of more than 22,000 independent community
pharmacies. Together they represent an $81.4
billion health care marketplace and employ more than 314,000
individuals on a full or part-time basis. To learn more, go to
www.ncpanet.org, visit facebook.com/commpharmacy, or follow NCPA on
Twitter @Commpharmacy.
About Cardinal Health
Headquartered in Dublin, Ohio, Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:
CAH) is a $103 billion health care
services company that improves the cost-effectiveness of health
care. Cardinal Health helps pharmacies, hospitals, ambulatory
surgery centers, clinical laboratories and physician offices focus
on patient care while reducing costs, enhancing efficiency and
improving quality. Cardinal Health is an essential link in the
health care supply chain, providing pharmaceuticals and medical
products and services to more than 100,000 locations each day and
is also the industry-leading direct-to-home medical supplies
distributor. The company is a leading manufacturer of medical and
surgical products, including gloves, surgical apparel and fluid
management products. In addition, the company operates the nation's
largest network of radiopharmacies that dispense products to aid in
the early diagnosis and treatment of disease. Ranked #26 on the
Fortune 500, Cardinal Health employs nearly 35,000 people
worldwide. More information about the company may be found at
www.cardinalhealth.com and @CardinalHealth on Twitter.
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SOURCE National Community Pharmacists Association