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Saving Money Through Prescriptions
Pharmacy UBT reduced the number of high-cost prescriptions filled outside KP pharmacies and saved over $108,000 in 2021.
Details
Why This Matters
- When health plan members use KP pharmacies, the cost is lower for them and for the organization.
Test of Change
- Team members contacted Kaiser Permanente patients who filled prescriptions outside KP pharmacies and explained the benefits of ordering their medications within KP.
Teamwork Keeps Inventory in Check
This pharmacy team reduced the cost of expired medications by 90 percent after partnering with data specialists to identify and remove outdated drugs from the shelf.
Details
Why This Matters
- Keeping outdated medications in stock is a waste of money and a potential safety hazard if dispensed to patients.
Test of Change
- Unit-based team members worked with pharmacy analysts to identify slow moving medications and monitored the inventory to avoid over-stocking them.
Costco and Goldilocks Inspire Savings
This outpatient pharmacy team saved more than $1 million in five months by increasing bulk purchasing and ordering just the right amount—no more, no less—of high-cost medications for members.
Details
Why This Matters
- By ordering the right amount of drugs, the pharmacy saved money and helped keep KP affordable for our members.
Test of Change
- Working with pharmacists to better manage the ordering of specialty drugs
An Rx for Efficiency
Overtime use dropped by 75 percent, with an initial cost savings of $180,000.
Details
Why This Matters
- Patients need to get their medication quickly and easily. The Central Refill Pharmacy found a way to make that happen more efficiently.
Test of Change
- Expand the night shift to prevent big backlogs