Posts By: Beth Osborne

What Is Data Archiving?

what is data archiving pharmacy

Pharmacy and healthcare organizations are responsible for a tremendous amount of data. From patient history to prescription records, the data you collect and store is critical to your operations. But what happens during a data conversion when you don’t want to move all your records? You still need access to the data for compliance and regulatory reasons. An alternative and less expensive option is to archive it. So, what is data archiving?

Data Archiving Explained

Data archiving is the process of identifying and moving data from your current pharmacy software or EHR platform to long-term storage. The storage and transfer of this data must be secure. That’s because it’s protected health information (PHI), meaning HIPAA governs its usage.

Keeping Legacy Systems Running is Risky and Costly

When you move to a new system, not everything has to go with you. Converting more data will typically cost more money. The other option is to keep your legacy system running, which means a monthly maintenance fee. Plus, your old system may be no longer supported. When software is no longer updated, it becomes more susceptible to a breach.

Legacy systems also make it harder for you to find what you need. If you become the subject of an audit, you’ll be expected to deliver a report with documentation quickly. That can be difficult with old platforms.
Data archiving, however, offers you many advantages over legacy systems.

Why Archiving Is a Better Alternative

Archiving offers you more freedom for less. It’s a better option than converting all your data to a new system or maintaining old software. You can easily archive multiple years of data, which you must keep to be compliant with HIPAA and Medicare Part D. And you only pay an initial fee—no monthly charges required!

As a leader in pharmacy and healthcare data management, we designed a transaction viewing tool to enable easy data archiving, ViewMaster. This web-based, intuitive user interface is accessible as long as you have an internet connection. It offers a central, searchable archive that’s encrypted and secure. The security of the data meets HIPAA and HITRUST guidelines.

You can also store multiple formats of data, including images and documents. For example, pharmacies find this tool useful because it stores patient signature acknowledgments. So, if you become the subject of an audit, you can quickly create print-ready supports of this documentation.

This activity would take hours, if not days, to complete if you’re working from a legacy system. You and your staff don’t have that kind of time. ViewMaster delivers a convenience not found with any other type of archiving platform.

It’s also highly configurable. If you have multiple locations, you can limit or expand user permissions, depending on the access needed by each person. And, because it’s so easy to use, it requires only a few minutes of training.

We’ve archived billions of records for pharmacies and healthcare systems. See how ViewMaster works today by scheduling a demo with our team.

Drug Shortages: FDA Report Identifies Root Causes and Potential Solutions

An FDA Drug Shortage Task Force recently published Drug Shortages: Root Causes and Potential Solutions. This report examines the root causes of and potential solutions for drug shortages. The report gathered information from stakeholders, research, and an economic analysis of the market conditions impacting the issue.

Root Causes Identified

drug shortages FDA

The report concludes there are three root causes causing drug shortages:

Lack of incentives for manufacturers to produce less profitable drugs

When manufacturers have limited profitability opportunities, they are less likely to invest in older drugs and expanding capacity. Older generic drug manufacturers face intense price competition and smaller margins. If it’s not profitable, then pharmaceutical companies have no incentive to make more, even if there is demand.

Absence of recognition and reward for manufacturers for “mature quality systems,” which focus on continuous improvement and early detection of supply chain issues

Manufacturers must meet Current Good Manufacturing Practices (CGMPs). Mature quality management conforms to CGMPs while also including a performance and patient focus. Technology, process control, and planning support this focus. The problem here lies in the limitation of information. Purchasers have little information related to quality management. 

Therefore, the market doesn’t reward manufacturers with price premiums for those that engage with modernization. Nor does it penalize those that do not. Again, there’s no incentive here for manufacturers to invest in manufacturing quality. This leads to quality problems, resulting in shortages. 

Difficulty related to the recovery of the market due to disruptions caused by logistical and regulatory challenges

Drug supply chains are more complex than ever before. More production has gone abroad along with the use of contract manufacturers, adding to the intricacy. Most markets respond to shortages by increasing production. With logistical and regulatory red tape, it’s rather difficult to expand production to meet demand. 

Drug Shortages Have Real-World Impacts

drug shortages patient

When drug shortages occur, patient health can worsen. It impacts the ability to treat a disease. Often substitutes don’t have the same effectiveness. A recent study found that 56% of hospitals reported having to change patient care due to shortages. 

These shortages often impact the most vulnerable patients. One such example is children with T-cell acute lymphoblastic (ALL). This is a highly treatable cancer. However, the drugs used to treat them are older and more likely to be susceptible to shortage. As recent as 2019, nine of the 11 drugs used to treat ALL were hard to keep in stock. 

Another example is the shortage of norepinephrine, a treatment for septic shock. In 2011, it was in shorty supply. Other drugs were used in its place, resulting in more deaths. 

Information on current drug shortages can be found on the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) website.  

Solving the Drug Shortage Problem

The report also identified possible solutions to the problem with three recommendations:

Create a shared understanding of the impact of drug shortages and the contracting practices that may contribute to them

Even though drug shortages are a well-known problem, little data has been collected and analyzed. The FDA cites three areas that need to be addressed:

  • Quantification of the harm that drug shortages do to patients
  • Characterization of shortages
  • Transparency in private sector contracting practices

Develop a rating system to incentivize drug makers to invest in achieving quality management system maturity

Manufacturers still need to meet CGMP guidelines. But they need to be encouraged with incentives to do more. To accomplish this, a rating system is a good step. It could inform purchasers and even consumers about the quality of the product.

Promote sustainable private sector contracts

With more information about contracting practices and greater transparency could provide a new approach to contracting. With this, the supply of drugs could be more reliable. These contracts could address the root causes by providing financial incentives and rewarding manufacturers for mature quality management. 

Additionally, there are currently legislative proposals and FDA initiatives that could help with the drug shortage problem. Those include:

  • Better and improved guidance on data sharing
  • Requirements of risk management plans and guidance on how to develop them
  • Longer expiration dates
  • Improved pharmaceutical product lifecycle management 

There is no simple or sole solution to addressing the problem of drug shortages. Like much of healthcare, there are many stakeholders, each with their own agendas. However, this an issue that cannot be ignored, as it’s impacting patient care. It’s time for all parties to work together to find a clear path to managing what could turn into an epidemic. 

The Truth About 90-Day Prescription Fill Numbers

When it comes to 90-day prescription fills, there are both pros and cons for pharmacies. However, the ability to offer 90-day fills isn’t really optional in an environment of tight competition and margins. If you aren’t monitoring your 90-day fills as a percentage of total fills, then you may not know about its impact on your bottom line.

 Why the Shift to 90-Day Prescription Fills?

 The catalyst for 90-day prescriptions for retail pharmacy began in an effort to retain patients. Patients were leaving brick-and-mortar pharmacies in favor of more convenient mail-order services. A 90-day prescription meant more convenience for the patient. 

Most insurance companies and payers approve 90-day fills, including 61% of employers that allow them for maintenance medications. With really no pushback from payers and the ease for patients, it’s easy to see why it’s become a trend.

 90-Day Fills Pros: Medication Adherence and Sync

90-day prescription fills medication

 It can also help with medication adherence. According to one study, one out of every 10 instances of medication nonadherence is caused by a patient being late on their refills.  

 Even though most pharmacies offer automatic refills on 30-day scripts, that doesn’t always mean they pick them up in time. Sure, pharmacies have multiple ways of reminding customers that their refills are ready, including phone calls, texts, and in-app notifications. However, those prompts don’t always lead to prompt pickups.

90-day scripts can make a difference in improving adherence. And this is one reason that a pharmacy may suggest them, outside of ensuring patient retention. 

Another reason a pharmacy may be inclined to push 90-day fills is for medication synchronization. Med synching offers the opportunity to get all chronic meds on the same schedule for the patient. If all meds are filled and ready on the same date, patients find it much easier to adhere to their medication requirements. 

Do 90-Day Fills Reduce Costs?

90-day fills can actually reduce costs for the entire healthcare ecosystem. A study found that substantial savings do come from 90-day fills in the realm of reducing pharmacy dispensing costs and ingredient costs. The study looked at over 52,000 patients and found that following quantifiable savings per person per year by medication type:

  • Stains: $7.70
  • Antihypertensives: $10.80
  • SSRIs: $18.52
  • Hypoglycemics: $26.86

With prescription costs already taking up a big chunk of the healthcare spend at 9.5%, as of 2017. Any relief to curtail expenses for all parties is a welcome one.

Costs can also be reduced with medication adherence. Not taking meds could lead to hospitalizations or other costs associated with a patient not taking a daily medication as prescribed.

Although, it’s important to note that Medicare Part D does not allow for 90-day prescriptions, so these medications aren’t applicable to the situation. 

What You Miss with 90-Day Fills

The most critical revenue element eliminated by 90-day fills is the additional dispensing fees, you’d receive. You go from three dispensing fees to just one. 

Indirectly, you may also lose revenue from non-prescription purchases, as the patient will be entering your location less frequently. 

However, to remain competitive, you may have to reduce your margins to offer that same convenience as a mail-order pharmacy. 

90-Day Prescription Insights

Knowing your numbers is key to your pharmacy’s performance. Not only do you need to know your current numbers, but you should also have access to historical numbers for comparison. 

For example, if you found that there was a drop from last month to this month in 90-day prescriptions, this might prompt you to look further into “why.” Did you lose the customers to a competitor? Did they switch back to 30-day supplies? Did they stop taking the medication? 

By finding out the context behind the numbers, you can better understand how 90-day fills impact your business. 

Understanding your data begins with being able to access it. No one understands pharmacy data like InfoWerks. If you’d like to have this type of access, we can help with customized data analytics and business intelligence tools. Connect with us today to learn more.