(Management Case Study) Implementation of Retail Pharmacy Dispensing Kiosk Technology Across an Academic Health System

Purpose: Considering increasing pressures of decreased reimbursement and shrinking operating margins, health-systems strive to find innovative opportunities to increase revenue. One area of growing focus in retail pharmacy is prescription capture to provide additional revenue to the organization. However, increasing prescription capture requires balancing operating costs and customer convenience. Utilization of dispensing kiosk technology allows for increased customer convenience by expanding service hours while keeping operating costs low. This case describes the methods of implementing dispensing kiosk technology to increase prescription capture across the health-system.

Methods: Sites were selected for implementation of dispensing kiosk technology based off patient geographical density, pharmacy dispensing volume and growth capacity, and revenue capture. A pro forma was developed to present to senior leadership that outlined what the potential margin would be for each of the sites and obtain strategic funding for the project. Stakeholders across different departments were engaged to understand the impact of implementing technology on marketing, security, facilities, and information systems. With the marketing team, discussions on targeted media campaigns were had to ensure target populations were reached and aware of the new pickup location(s). Security reviewed what 24/7 access would look like at each site and what additional measures would be needed to ensure safety for the patient and buildings. The facilities team evaluated each installation site to ensure that it would not violate building codes and were in accessible locations. Build was completed within the retail pharmacy dispensing software, point of sale system and patient access portal to support dispensing through the new technology. Policies and standard operating procedures were updated to include the new workflows. Staff educational materials were created prior to implementation of the kiosk technology. Primary outcomes of kiosk implementation were the number of prescriptions dispensed and revenue generation from prescriptions sold through the kiosk. Outcome data was extracted from the kiosk and accounts receivable software.

Results: Dispensing kiosk technology was chosen based off its compatibility with current retail pharmacy dispensing software and ability to offer ambient and refrigerated storage options. Employees and specialty patients were chosen for targeted media campaigns to utilize the dispensing kiosk technology due to their current prescription capture volume and potential revenue margin. Staff education was provided to pharmacy and interdisciplinary teams to ensure comfortability in both workflows and patient discussions. Prescription capture at all three sites hit pro forma capture rates immediately at 33.8 average prescriptions a day across all three sites, with revenue capture being an average of $770 per prescription. Survey results from patients showed that patients ranked the new service offering and times of operations as a 4.5 out of 5.

Conclusion: The use of dispensing kiosk technology can increase prescription capture and revenue, while also resulting in high staff and patient satisfaction, and increased patient convenience.