A doctor owned pharmacy offers personalized and convenient solutions to health problems. Physician owned compounding pharmacies allow doctors to use a compounding pharmacy to produce and distribute medications. A compounding pharmacy is a when a doctor or a pharmacist working for a pharmacy has the freedom to create a prescription that is uniquely tailored to fit the patients needs.
Compounding pharmacies are expensive and most hospitals and large chain pharmacy tend to use medicine produced by large pharmaceutical companies. Unfortunately, large scale drugs are not for everyone. That is why many physicians are investing in pharmacies. These offer doctors another revenue stream, and it provides convenience for patients.
What are the benefits of owning a compounding pharmacy? Have you ever wonder why it takes so long to see the doctor when you have an appointment? Most days, doctors spend their time on the phone with a pharmacist to make sure that the pharmacist has their patient’s prescription correct. A doctor owned compounding pharmacy cuts out the middle man. Doctors cannot act as a pharmacist, but they can have a pharmacist working for them on their on-site pharmacy. This cuts out time away from examining their patients. It is more efficient and the decreases the room for error. In a traditional doctor’s office, the doctor’s only have access to enough medicine to treat the patient while they are in the office. They have to undergo state licensing and other regulations to have more medicine and pharmaceuticals on hand. If a doctor has a physician owned pharmacy located in their office, they can
This can create a drug that has been discontinued by a pharmaceutical company due to lack of profit. Pharmaceutical companies are about the bottom line. This is about putting the patient’s health first. Therefore, if the medicine you need is no longer available, the on-site pharmacist can make it for you. This is a great option for people suffering from a rare non-profitable disease. Most pharmaceutical companies stop manufacturing the drugs that can save people’s life because of the lack of demand. Doctors can also prescribe alternatives to certain pills. For example, instead of prescribing an opiate based pain bill, a doctor can use the physician compounding pharmacy to make sure his patients have access to a clinical alternative.
Another benefit of this is that it is on-site. As mentioned earlier, this is beneficial to the doctor, but it is more beneficial to the patients, especially patients without their own transportation. Many elderly people rely on public transportation or senior citizen transport to help them run errands. With an on-site pharmacy, they do not have to worry about how they are going to pick up their prescription. One trip to the doctor is the only trip they will need.
Pharmacies owned by doctors are a great way for doctors to turn their practice into a point of care practice. This means they are able to control compliance about Stark Laws and monitor any alternative treatments they prescribe. It is better for the health of the patient and for the efficiency of the doctor’s care.
