CASE STUDY
www.surecost.com
Empowering Long-Term Care
Pharmacies Through Smarter
Procurement Technology
INTRODUCTION AND INTENDED OUTCOME
Guardian Pharmacy Services, a leader in long-term care (LTC), provides personalized
support and technology solutions to over 50 locally-managed pharmacies across the
United States. Spanning from Maine to California, Guardian’s pharmacies serve over
7,000 facilities and 189,000 residents in assisted living, behavioral health, post-acute care,
hospice, and other complex care settings.
“We work with pharmacies by bringing them into our network and integrating them under
the Guardian umbrella,” explains William Posten, senior manager, purchasing operations
and analytics for the company’s support center. Each pharmacy is empowered to
make local leadership decisions, and purchasers continue to manage the onsite, daily
operations. “Our job is to set pharmacies up for success with behind-the-scenes support
that simplifies medication management and lowers overall costs,” says Posten.
THE CHALLENGE: COMPLEX PURCHASING AND
INVENTORY MANAGEMENT
Posten explains that researching drug availability and costs is one of the biggest challenges
pharmacies face, regardless of their size. “When I was a pharmacy owner myself, I could
lose three or four hours a day just looking up National Drug Code (NDC) numbers on various
providers’ websites to access catalogs and compare prices.” This tedious process
required jumping between multiple websites simply to gather information. That was
before even comparing products and then deciding what to purchase. “It was just incredibly
time-consuming.”
Finding the best drug prices every day is only part of the story. To maintain discounts on
popular drugs, Guardian must also meet contractual agreements with vendors. “That’s a
very tough ‘ask’ to manage across all of our locations,” says Posten. “But it’s a key factor
for purchasers to consider when placing orders.”
Maintaining accurate inventory with manual processes is another long, slow process that
can consume several hours a day. “Having a handle on inventory is more important than
ever as the industry potentially faces a new round of drug shortages,” Posten says.
William Posten
Senior Manager of Purchasing
and Analytics
~ Guardian Pharmacy Services
Delivering Long-Term Care Pharmacy Services to Support Better Care
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