How we helped Sulzbacher find a short- and long-term solution to their administrative overhead
Since December 1995, Sulzbacher, a non-profit organization, has provided a continuum of care, addressing all aspects of homelessness including housing, income and healthcare. Over more than two decades, these services have grown to include street outreach, primary health, behavioral health and dental care for all ages, permanent housing, job placement and early learning.
One of the critical services the Sulzbacher healthcare clinics offer is the operation of two onsite dispensaries, providing low-cost medications for patients Sulzbacher healthcare providers see. To provide medications free of charge or at a significantly reduced cost, Sulzbacher also participates in Prescription Assistance Programs to patients who meet the required guidelines.
Operating the dispensaries is not without its challenges. Dispensing medications ordered by the prescribing Sulzbacher healthcare provider in addition to no full-time pharmacist onsite created barriers to meeting the regulatory requirements necessary for integrating their dispensing software to the patient’s electronic health record prescriptions and allergies.
As a result, staff have to manually enter prescription information, allergies and patient demographics in the dispensing system, resulting in high risk for medication errors and decreased clinic hours available for patient care. The amount of administrative overhead caused significant staff frustration as well as impacted staff recruitment and retention.
To decrease staff attrition and dissatisfaction, as well as improve safe medication dispensing processes, Sulzbacher needed a partner who could assess their current state and identify immediate and long-term dispensing process issues as well as provide recommendations to accomplish strategic objectives.