How would you set up your own independent pharmacy club/cash discount club?

[DrIndy]

Walmart has the $4 list
Walgreens has Prescription Savings card club.
How would an independent pharmacy set up a similar club?
Say you wanted to give your club members a $10 charge on a regularly priced $34.99 medication if they are part of the club (assuming no insurance contracts) Would you simply change the price at the register, or would you have to set up an entire system where you create a bin, pcn, and ID number?

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[deleted480308]

Walmart has the $4 list
Walgreens has Prescription Savings card club.
How would an independent pharmacy set up a similar club?
Say you wanted to give your club members a $10 charge on a regularly priced $34.99 medication if they are part of the club (assuming no insurance contracts) Would you simply change the price at the register, or would you have to set up an entire system where you create a bin, pcn, and ID number?

You could just lower the price altogether

 

[BigBoss]

Independent pharmacies in this market? Good luck.


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[Dr Wario]

You could just lower the price altogether

You do not do that because insurance reimbursed you often based on your mean, customary price, that is why you have patients sign up for a "club" beyond other reasons like customer loyalty.

 

[imcallingcorp]

Walmart has the $4 list
Walgreens has Prescription Savings card club.
How would an independent pharmacy set up a similar club?
Say you wanted to give your club members a $10 charge on a regularly priced $34.99 medication if they are part of the club (assuming no insurance contracts) Would you simply change the price at the register, or would you have to set up an entire system where you create a bin, pcn, and ID number?

cash customers are a thing of the past. and good luck paying your rent on those rxs

 

[DrIndy]

cash customers are a thing of the past. and good luck paying your rent on those rxs

Well if you havent been paying attention to the reimbursement crisis, a large percentage of my scripts are being reimbursed BELOW my cost, before any DIR fees...... I'll take a $5 profit cash customer any day. Even the ones that are reimbursed above cost are only by a buck or two before DIR fees... I figure some cash customers and the a few profitable insurance customers and I might be able to stay afloat.

 

[CetiAlphaFive]

cash customers are a thing of the past. and good luck paying your rent on those rxs

Most places aren't paying $27,000 a month for a spot in Carroll Gardens. LOL

 

[CetiAlphaFive]

Well if you havent been paying attention to the reimbursement crisis, a large percentage of my scripts are being reimbursed BELOW my cost, before any DIR fees...... I'll take a $5 profit cash customer any day. Even the ones that are reimbursed above cost are only by a buck or two before DIR fees... I figure some cash customers and the a few profitable insurance customers and I might be able to stay afloat.

... You know you need to be making $10 per script, right?

 

[DrIndy]

... You know you need to be making $10 per script, right?

Yeah that would be nice, but since I'm currently making negative $10, making positive $5 is a start.

 

[BigBoss]

Why don’t you sell your pharmacy to CVS or WAGS?


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[FinallyOnTrack]

Yeah that would be nice, but since I'm currently making negative $10, making positive $5 is a start.

Assuming you know your software, create a “discount card” and run it through there.. keep a list of meds / prices beside the pc and change them before “processing” the Rx... at least that’s what I did..

Changing cash prices before processing it through could effect your U&C - although with Rx30 it didn’t effect the U&C when processing the Rx through..


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[imcallingcorp]

lol I do realize these may be more profitable than many ins reimbursed rxs but lets not start busting nuts over 5$

Well if you havent been paying attention to the reimbursement crisis, a large percentage of my scripts are being reimbursed BELOW my cost, before any DIR fees...... I'll take a $5 profit cash customer any day. Even the ones that are reimbursed above cost are only by a buck or two before DIR fees... I figure some cash customers and the a few profitable insurance customers and I might be able to stay afloat.[/QUOTE

 

[imcallingcorp]

Most places aren't paying $27,000 a month for a spot in Carroll Gardens. LOL

this guy. you’re def my biggest fan. always there. what do you suggest there be no pharmacies where rent is expensive. not everyone lives in the boonies.

 

[imcallingcorp]

... You know you need to be making $10 per script, right?

wrong. with rent of 27,000,000,000 a month that is not enough ninja

 

[imcallingcorp]

Yeah that would be nice, but since I'm currently making negative $10, making positive $5 is a start.

don’t have a business convo with this guy. hes the most successful staff pharmacist of all time. he averages 5 smart a.. comments a minute. one of the best to have ever filled rxs

 

[BidingMyTime]

The only advice I have is, location, location, location.

 

[CetiAlphaFive]

Yeah that would be nice, but since I'm currently making negative $10, making positive $5 is a start.

Bro, I'm sorry, but these are all things you should've figured out before opening a pharmacy

 

[Modest_anteater]

The only advice I have is, location, location, location.

so you are saying locate the pharmacy near high way exits / high way intersections or near NYC subway stops? or locate your pharmacy near an urgent care center ?

 

[CetiAlphaFive]

so you are saying locate the pharmacy near high way exits / high way intersections or near NYC subway stops? or locate your pharmacy near an urgent care center ?

Urgent care is trash

 

[Modest_anteater]

Urgent care is trash

wym? wouldn't being near an urgent care get you a lot of their patients leaving with scripts in hand looking to fill them? plz educate me sir

 

[CetiAlphaFive]

wym? wouldn't being near an urgent care get you a lot of their patients leaving with scripts in hand looking to fill them? plz educate me sir

They write for tons of low profit prescriptions, usually for time consuming Medicare/caid patients.

 

[CynicalIntern]

They write for tons of low profit prescriptions, usually for time consuming Medicare/caid patients.

"I'm going to make a fortune on amoxicillin and prednisone!" - Nobody, ever.

 

[BidingMyTime]

"I'm going to make a fortune on amoxicillin and prednisone!" - Nobody, ever.

Yeah, but surely it would be better than losing $-10/RX paying $27,000/month (is that monthly rent for real???)

I know most small businesses fail, but how does someone get the loan necessary to open up a pharmacy, without having a solid business plan? Or did they lie/fudge numbers to get the bank to approve, figuring they would be smart enough to figure it out later?

 

[CetiAlphaFive]

Yeah, but surely it would be better than losing $-10/RX paying $27,000/month (is that monthly rent for real???)

I know most small businesses fail, but how does someone get the loan necessary to open up a pharmacy, without having a solid business plan? Or did they lie/fudge numbers to get the bank to approve, figuring they would be smart enough to figure it out later?

Trust me, most urgent care Rx have reimbursements that don't even pay for the bottle and label, not even taking payroll into consideration.

It sounds very much like OP probably didn't do any analysis before opening and bought an existing pharmacy on the poor side of town.

The rent is a joke based on nyc prices.

 

[Modest_anteater]

Trust me, most urgent care Rx have reimbursements that don't even pay for the bottle and label, not even taking payroll into consideration.

It sounds very much like OP probably didn't do any analysis before opening and bought an existing pharmacy on the poor side of town.

The rent is a joke based on nyc prices.

Not OP but what are the most profitable drugs to sell? I heard that HIV positive and DM2 patients can be the most profitable patients due to their expensive or extensive meds.

 

[ExpressMaiL]

wym? wouldn't being near an urgent care get you a lot of their patients leaving with scripts in hand looking to fill them? plz educate me sir

First of all, opening a new independent pharmacy with no existing/transferred patients is the dumbest thing an aspiring owner could do these days. PBMs and mail order already killed your chances of making any profit. Second, the rx you will get from urgent care are absolute trash. No patient visiting an urgent care wants to pay for a prescription, so they will attempt to bill insurance. There will be a member ID# issue, not covered issue or copay too high issue. You're already at a loss. Eventually you sell at a cash price below the copay and guess what, you spent 20 minutes and the time of your technician to make a negative profit on a prescription!! This is not a viable business model. Oh, and because you fill so many controlled medications from tylenol #3 and norco 5, your purchasing volume with your wholesaler isn't proportionate and the board wants to investigate you for potential fraud since your prescriptions are flagging as cash and because you're purchasing 40% in scheduled drugs.

 

[ExpressMaiL]

Yeah, but surely it would be better than losing $-10/RX paying $27,000/month (is that monthly rent for real???)

I know most small businesses fail, but how does someone get the loan necessary to open up a pharmacy, without having a solid business plan? Or did they lie/fudge numbers to get the bank to approve, figuring they would be smart enough to figure it out later?

Well if you lie and put bull**** numbers and your business does fail, do you really want to file for insolvency because you either can't or don't want to pay back the loan?

 

[ExpressMaiL]

Not OP but what are the most profitable drugs to sell? I heard that HIV positive and DM2 patients can be the most profitable patients due to their expensive or extensive meds.

Put it this way, if there is any profitable medication out there, there are other pharmacies or health systems already taking advantage of it. If you do a HIV patient, it's tough to compete with someone like AHF. Also, in the retail setting, approximately 15% of your prescriptions will be reimbursed at below cost and well below cost + overhead.

 

[Modest_anteater]

Put it this way, if there is any profitable medication out there, there are other pharmacies or health systems already taking advantage of it. If you do a HIV patient, it's tough to compete with someone like AHF. Also, in the retail setting, approximately 15% of your prescriptions will be reimbursed at below cost and well below cost + overhead.

At a pharmacy I was at they would lie to the patient and tell the patient that the pharmacy was out of inventory for a drug that lost the pharmacy too much money to avoid filling it. I'm pretty sure refusing a med that you have in stock is not only immoral but also violates they contract with the patient's heath insurance company and if they found it they could terminate your contract.

 

[ExpressMaiL]

At a pharmacy I was at they would lie to the patient and tell the patient that the pharmacy was out of inventory for a drug that lost the pharmacy too much money to avoid filling it. I'm pretty sure refusing a med that you have in stock is not only immoral but also violates they contract with the patient's heath insurance company and if they found it they could terminate your contract.

That's an old tactic to try and avoid filling. There are many more practical problems to sending the patient off somewhere else because you don't want to fill a loser rx.

 

[Modest_anteater]

That's an old tactic to try and avoid filling. There are many more practical problems to sending the patient off somewhere else because you don't want to fill a loser rx.

Like if the patient is a regular and you don't want to lose them?