Why Hire A Pharmacy Staffing Agency that Offers Consulting

Why do I need to find a reputable Pharmacy Staffing Agency as quickly as possible? We've discussed the advantages at length in our last couple of blog posts. In our previous blog post discussing employee turnover and retention of pharmacists and pharmacy technicians in all types of pharmacy settings in general, we then took a good look at the economic impact and other consequences of turnover in perhaps the hardest hit area of the staffing shortage in the pharmacy business - the Independent Community Retail Pharmacy.Yet, let's consider another aspect of searching for, and then interviewing pharmacy staffing firms - Are the prospective staffing agencies that you're considering aligning with additionally capable of offering your pharmacy expert advise in regards to Pharmacy Consulting? In other words. will you need two separate companies as partners, both a pharmacy staffing agency to help you and your staff relax during a staffing shortage, PLUS a separate experienced pharmacy consulting firm to answer your business questions and needs?

Why Hire A Pharmacy Staffing Firm That Offers Expert Consulting?

To answer this question, we need to look at three different scenarios as examples:1. Larger pharmacy business operations2. Starting up a new pharmacy business3. Operating an established independent pharmacy

Healthcare Systems, Large Hospitals, Government and Institutional Pharmacies -

Most of the larger major healthcare systems and hospitals already utilize third-party pharmacy consultants. They realize that in certain business situations they may need help with two important factors in order to make the right decisions: objectivity and specialization. Having larger budgets, they are much more likely to seek outside experts who are experienced in specialized areas to meet both their immediate and future needs. Additionally, they are open to an objective and unbiased review of their business operations in order to maximize both efficiency and profitability.Usually larger organizations will realize that they have a very specific need or a project that requires specialization and they simply don't have the in-house staff member or experienced specialist on their staff. They also don't see the long term need to hire such an individual, so reaching out to a consulting firm is the obvious solution. Additionally, in time sensitive situations, they lack the time to seek out, interview and vet the specialist - so again hiring an experienced and multi-faceted pharmacy consulting firm is the perfect solution (saving them both time and resources).

Pharmacy Startups -

Perhaps no other type of business start-up requires both experience and specialization as does the opening up of a new pharmacy. Taking into account the "normal" business decisions and challenges that are faced when opening up any new business, pharmacy startups come with a long list of additional complexities. All new retail business owners must deal with the typical issues of choosing the best location, leasing the required office space, choosing contractors and vendors, hiring employees, obtaining financing and selecting accounting and/or payroll systems. However, the opening of a new pharmacy practice also entails the following expertise:- DEA and State Board of Pharmacy application processes- Mandatory Policy and Procedure manuals- Required Continuance Quality Improvement (CQI) manual- Purchasing of specialized equipment- Board of Pharmacy required internal signs and postings- Final State Board inspection of the facility- Security considerations- Hiring of a Prescription Department Manager (PDM) for both the application process and the inspectionThen you must take into consideration that the various types of pharmacies that are being started up will sometimes require a different expertise or an individual with specialized experience. Just some examples include:- Retail community pharmacy startups- Specialty pharmacy startups- Compounding pharmacy startups- Mail-Order pharmacy startups- Internet pharmacies- Infusion pharmacies

Established Independent Retail Pharmacy -

In all established community retail pharmacies, the pharmacy owners, Prescription Department Managers (PDM) and Pharmacists in Charge (PIC) at the moment face perhaps the most critical problem of all - staffing their pharmacies with both qualified pharmacists and pharmacy technicians during a national shortage of workers.  Yet additionally, they should always be asking the following questions: "Maybe there's a better way of doing things?  Perhaps I should get some expert advice on the business decisions that I'm making?". The answer is most often times a YES. No one runs their business perfectly. Getting an objective evaluation from an expert who is distanced from any emotional business ties and can offer complete objectivity is the best opportunity to honestly evaluate your pharmacy operation. Simply stated, having an objective third party expert taking a hard look at your current practices can make the difference between growing your business or eventually closing it down.Start thinking about all the facets of knowledge and specialization that are required to run an efficient and profitable pharmacy.- Technology changes so rapidly in the pharmacy profession that it is nearly impossible to stay current. And what about emerging technologies that are in the near future? When one simply considers the never ending acronyms that have emerged in just the past couple of years in pharmacy and healthcare, it's staggering how proficient in technology we all must be. Just a few examples include:- PDMP- EPCS- RTBP- ePA- MTMThese few examples are simply the "tip of the iceberg" as HIT (Health Information Technology) continues to evolve and to expand exponentially.When you add in understanding and keeping up with the never ending changes in federal and state laws, plus the regulatory agencies such as the DEA, FDA and State Boards of Pharmacy, it seems pretty clear that some assistance from an expert consulting firm may be necessary. Lastly, just look at a short list of additional areas that a pharmacy must comprehend and make decisions about and it's pretty easy to see why a pharmacy consulting firm makes sense:- PBMs and insurance networks- Sterile and non-sterile compounding <USP 795 & 797>- Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs)- Customized Policy and Procedure Development (and review of existing policies and procedures)- Integrated Delivery Networks- Compliance Audits- Pharmacy Expansion and/or Integration of New Service Lines- HIPAA- Security- VIPPS

About Healthcare Consultants Pharmacy Staffing & Consulting

HCC is known to be a national leader in pharmacy consulting. Since 1989, in addition to our first-class pharmacy staffing services, our in-house specialists and pharmacy consultants have provided expert evaluations, solutions and guidance across all sectors of the pharmacy industry. From every size of pharmacy businesses – community drug stores to national healthcare systems – we strive to improve your pharmacy’s business operations, efficiency and profitability. In addition to offering our clients the "typical" staffing solutions such as Temporary "fill-in" Pharmacists and Technicians to help reduce workloads, stress, and burnout among your workers, permanent full-time placement to help find new team additions that fit your needs, plus Temp-to-perm options, some of the other possible services we commonly provide to our clients include:

• Pharmacy Performance Assessments
• Regulatory Compliance Audits, Gap Analysis and Corrective Action Planning
• Strategic Pharmacy Business Planning
• Pharmacy Performance and Efficiency Enhancements
• Custom Policy and Procedure Development
• Compliance Review
• Licensing Services for all 50 states for application processes
• Experienced Pharmacy Consultants with specialties in every area and niche of Pharmacy for those special projects or opportunities (including Non-sterile (795) and Sterile (797) Compounding)
• Assisting both buyers and sellers on how best to fix, prepare, or position their pharmacy to best maximize its value

HCC has been the nationally renowned pharmacy staffing agency & consulting firm of choice for over three decades now. We urge you to contact us today to see how both our Pharmacy Staffing services and Pharmacy Consulting services can help you improve your business right now, plus be ready for the future. With a full-time staff of in-house Pharmacy Consultants and Pharmacy Staffing specialists, HCC can answer any questions that you may have in all areas of your business. Contact us online or call us today at 800-642-1652 for a free consultation.