27°c Partly cloudy
18°c Cloudy periods
Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Automating your prescription
Manitoba machine a pharmacist fill-in
Dave Huston, president of Providen Pharmacy Logistics in Carman. He stands beside his drug-dispensing opti-fill. (RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS ARCHIVES) Photo Store
A new player in the pharmacy industry is hoping to level the playing field for mom-and-pop shops in their never-ending battle with their big-box competitors.
Carman-based Providen Pharmacy Logistics has created a conveyor-belt system that fills recurring prescriptions automatically - and much more - quicker than can be done by hand behind the pharmacy counter.
David Huston, president of Providen, said its opti-fill II technology also does strip packaging as part of its back-end fulfilment services to make prescription sourcing more efficient. Nearly three-quarters of all prescriptions are "maintenance" or "chronic care" medications, he said.
"Our role is to proactively call the patient and say, 'Do you need your medication refilled and it's due in five days? That's no problem, we'll get that ready and it will be available at your pharmacy tomorrow.' It takes the burden off the community pharmacy to prepare it and have it ready for patient pickup," he said.
Providen's services could come in handy if the profitability of pharmacies, particularly smaller and rural outlets, continues to fall.
"I believe their company offers some solutions," said Darren Murphy, owner of Broadway Pharmacy. "They should allow for a cheaper way of filling and processing prescriptions. Margins are shrinking due to price cuts. We need to look at ways of reducing the dispensing process."
Murphy said if Broadway wanted to provide strip-packing services -- which is used in providing pharmaceuticals to personal care homes and jails -- it would have to spend $200,000 to $300,000 on machinery. But if Providen did it for him, he could email the files over and just wait for the shipment.
"It would save me having to go buy that automation and I can offer a full range of services," he said.
Pharmacists are increasingly moving toward providing consulting services and medication review, he said. If they start getting paid by the government for such work -- as has been happening in Ontario recently -- pharmacies might have to start up a separate business to oversee it, Murphy said.
"Having the filling done by a company like Providen would take the dispensing off of our hands," he said.
Much of the industry's price pressure is coming from in-store pharmacies at Costco and Walmart. Smaller players simply can't afford to match prices with the giants on anything more than a short-term basis.
The industry has been in consolidation mode for many years as bigger players such as Shoppers Drug Mart and Pharmasave have either bought out smaller players or forced them out of their business with their big-box stores. Pharmacies' profitability is also threatened by dwindling rebates from generic drug manufacturers, he said.
Communities where pharmacists have already closed down could be served by a Providen pharmacy technician, Huston said.
"It's like a distance-care program. The product could go to a remote dispensing location; the technician would enter the prescription and get it checked by a central pharmacist," he said.
geoff.kirbyson@freepress.mb.ca
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition July 6, 2012 B4
History
Updated on Friday, July 6, 2012 at 12:59 PM CDT: Corrects typo.
More Business
- Back to Top
- Return to Business
More Business
(1 of 50 articles for today)
Icahn proposes $14-per-share Dell stock buyback as latest bid to thwart Michael Dell buyout
6:20 PM 0NEW YORK, N.Y. - Activist investor Carl Icahn on Tuesday proposed a $16 billion share buyback in his latest effort ...
Poll
Most Popular Business
- McMunn & Yates absorbs five McDiarmid locations
- Shark Club opens in citiplace
- Daycare-subsidy rules bad for business
- Magellan signs MOU to produce F-35 tails
- NY, Va. 7-Eleven stores raided as US accuses owners and managers of exploiting immigrants
- Carriers turned off by Canada's wireless law
- Local business incubator gets new name
- St. Vital Centre's energy savings help managers snag BOMA awards
- Passenger: Man who disrupted Hong Kong flight ranted about CIA, was not stable
- U.S. hedge fund increases its ownership stake in Tim Hortons to 5.5%
- Sobeys expanding reach in Western Canada with Safeway acquisition
- McMunn & Yates absorbs five McDiarmid locations
- Aircraft maintenance engineer taking off
- Shark Club opens in citiplace
- Two CBC reporters freed after being detained in Turkey
- St. Vital Centre's energy savings help managers snag BOMA awards
- Toronto condo market poses economic risk to Canada
- Daycare-subsidy rules bad for business
- New owner for lumber stores
- Fund helps entrepreneurs fly
- New owner for lumber stores
- Earls Pembina says goodbye after 18 years
- Sobeys expanding reach in Western Canada with Safeway acquisition
- Grove Pub to take over former home of Papa George's
- New rules let customers cancel phone contracts without penalty after two years
- MTS to sell Allstream to Egyptian investment group, focus on Manitoba market
- Where is easy street? Survey of city's richest routes may surprise
- McMunn & Yates absorbs five McDiarmid locations
- Custom-made suits no longer just for the ultra-wealthy
- Eateries brace for Blue blitz
- McMunn & Yates absorbs five McDiarmid locations
- Daycare-subsidy rules bad for business
- Warren Buffett -- Winnipeg-style
- Knights riding in with cash to spend
- Transcona transformation
- Target exceeds sales goal at Canadian stores
- The $2-million question
- Oil more lucrative than mining
- NY, Va. 7-Eleven stores raided as US accuses owners and managers of exploiting immigrants
- Bombardier wins German locomotive rail order potentially worth US$2 billion
- Sobeys expanding reach in Western Canada with Safeway acquisition
- McMunn & Yates absorbs five McDiarmid locations
- Toronto condo market poses economic risk to Canada
- Cutting edge, made-in-Manitoba tech finds buyer -- in Manitoba
- Google unveils Internet beaming balloons launched into stratosphere
- Warren Buffett -- Winnipeg-style
- Fund helps entrepreneurs fly
- St. Vital Centre's energy savings help managers snag BOMA awards
- Daycare-subsidy rules bad for business
- New owner for lumber stores
- New owner for lumber stores
- Snowbirds: It's that time of year again
- Sobeys expanding reach in Western Canada with Safeway acquisition
- Custom-made suits no longer just for the ultra-wealthy
- New rules let customers cancel phone contracts without penalty after two years
- Where is easy street? Survey of city's richest routes may surprise
- Value Partners cracks $1-B mark in assets
- MTS to sell Allstream to Egyptian investment group, focus on Manitoba market
- Manitoba Movers
- Grove Pub to take over former home of Papa George's
Ads by Google
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is be a Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscriber to join the conversation and give your feedback.
You can comment on most stories on winnipegfreepress.com. You can also agree or disagree with other comments. All you need to do is be a Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscriber to join the conversation and give your feedback.
Have Your Say
New to commenting? Check out our Frequently Asked Questions.
Have Your Say
Comments are open to Winnipeg Free Press print or e-edition subscribers only. why?
Login SubscribeHave Your Say
Comments are open to Winnipeg Free Press Subscribers only. why?
SubscribeThe Winnipeg Free Press does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comment, you agree to our Terms and Conditions. These terms were revised effective April 16, 2010.