Pharmacy—Home Infusion

Challenge

In 2012, Go2Delivery was approached by a prominent health care provider that specializes in Home Infusion therapy for patients. They were searching for ways to reduce delivery costs, optimize their intake and mixing room procedures, and minimize their exposure to risk and liability caused by errors in the delivery process. At the time, this pharmacy employed its own drivers and owned an aging fleet of vehicles. In Discovery, we found the following challenges:

  • Lacked systems to manage the delivery and routing of orders to patients
  • Spent an inordinate amount of time fulfilling orders based on priorities causing delays getting the product out with drivers waiting around
  • With the fleet of vehicles, they spent a lot of administrative time managing the maintenance
  • Incurred high labor costs with out of control over time
  • Orders were often late
  • Medications and supplies were incomplete orders arriving to patients

Solution

Upon examining the historical delivery data provided by the client, Go2Delivery placed a member of their leadership team on site at the infusion pharmacy for three days. During this time, the employee conducted a thorough review of the daily practices and routines. They accompanied the company’s drivers on deliveries, sat in the intake department and shadowed the delivery coordinator. When the review period concluded, they compiled an analysis for review with the branch management team and the Vice President of Procurement.

The solution after our analysis was:

  • Created a web based tracking application that helped with the communication between departments including
    • Pharmacy technicians fulfilling orders based on priorities
    • Daily order flow and routing
    • Document management of status of returned signed paperwork for health insurance billing
  • Created a customized cost metrics weekly report detailing what was driving the costs and how to impact cost reductions based on planning
  • Reduced employee labor cost and lowered the deliver cost by outsourcing the delivery
  • Create strategic deliver zones and pick up times based on trends
  • Structured delivery windows to optimize the delivery density
  • Created an outbound audit process to validate correct items per order

Outcome

  • Eliminated clients fleet of owned vehicles
  • Exceed goals on pricing reduction—They had an initial goal of 21%cost reduction; they achieved a 58% cost reduction through the implementation of Go2Delivery’s recommendations.
  • Increased stops per hour from 1.5 on average to an average 3.25 per hour
  • Reduced re-deliveries by 75% (related to patients not home or missing items)

Go2Delivery was then called upon to replicate this process in two more markets. The relationship between Go2Delivery Courier and this health care provider remains intact. Go2Delivery continues to recommend cost saving measures, as well as process improvements, and conducts monthly business reviews with this client.

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