Friendship Pharmacy LTC Transforms Operations with FrameworkLTC

Company Overview

Friendship Pharmacy LTC is a small, family-owned long-term care (LTC) pharmacy based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Originally dating back to 1976, the family expanded from retail into long-term care in 2005. While Friendship Pharmacy LTC initially focused on personal care and group homes, over time its focus has shifted to skilled nursing facilities (SNFs) and assisted living facilities (ALFs). These days, Friendship Pharmacy LTC leverages advanced technology to work more efficiently and reduce costs. The SNFs the pharmacy serves use a combination of Omnicell cabinets and a JBM dispensing machine for fast, accurate medication dispensing—just one example of the critical role technology plays for long-term care pharmacies.

The Challenge: Outdated Systems and Inefficient Processes

Despite success over the years, Friendship Pharmacy LTC was not without challenges. One of the pharmacy’s biggest hurdles was effectively managing on-site dispensing. The previous pharmacy management system, QS1, couldn’t fully support remote automated dispensing, an essential component of Friendship Pharmacy LTC’s business model that allowed some medications to be dispensed directly onsite at care facilities rather than from the central pharmacy.

The pharmacy also faced challenges with billing processes, struggling with QS1’s limited flexibility in handling unit-dose billing. The system didn’t allow the pharmacy to separate claims into different increments, which made it difficult to manage unit-dose dispensing effectively. The nursing home billing module was both expensive and inefficient.

Document management was another issue. Because it lacked an electronic document management solution at the time, Friendship Pharmacy LTC relied on paper sign logs without barcodes—an inefficient and outdated process that basically served as a glorified fax machine.

And then there were packaging obstacles. Previously, Friendship Pharmacy LTC used 800 cards in a 28-day cycle for facilities with on-site dispensing. This resulted in excessive waste, operational inefficiencies, and higher costs to the business.

The Solution: FrameworkLTC for Streamlined Operations

Faced with these limitations, Friendship Pharmacy LTC sought a better solution. After researching various pharmacy management systems, the pharmacy explored FrameworkLTC (as well as accompanying solutions FrameworkECM and FrameworkPOD), which came highly recommended by Swisslog due to robust integration capabilities.

Friendship Pharmacy LTC’s decision to move forward with FrameworkLTC was largely driven by the need to streamline on-site dispensing and improve billing processes—and the decision wasn’t taken lightly. Francis Al. Rubino, PharmD— who is VP of Pharmacy Services at his family business— explains: “We said if we’re going to do this, we want to do it right, and we want to have the best tools we can. All of our research showed that FrameworkLTC was the best option.”

The Results: Improved Efficiency and Reduced Costs

Adopting FrameworkLTC has been nothing short of transformative for Friendship Pharmacy LTC, helping to significantly enhance daily operations. Packaging efficiency is one of the most noteworthy changes. “We’ve decreased packaging by more than 90 percent for facilities that use onsite dispensing,” Rubino said. “They’ve gone from 800 cards to 90 cards in a 28-day cycle, which is really big.”

Then there’s pharmacy billing. Robust billing tools have made it much easier for the pharmacy to bill with accuracy and efficiency. Friendship Pharmacy LTC can now separate claims by insurance carrier using FrameworkLTC, a big timesaver for busy pharmacy staff.

Document management has dramatically improved as well. With FrameworkECM in its digital toolbox, Friendship Pharmacy LTC has gone from outdated document management processes to an electronic content management solution with centralized, real-time information. Now everything has a barcode that automatically connects the sign log to the order, which will be invaluable for auditing purposes.

In addition to all these benefits, FrameworkPOD offers seamless, real-time delivery and accountability—a huge win for Friendship Pharmacy LTC, and the pharmacists and pharmacy staff behind the operation are well aware.

“Looking back on it, this would never have been possible without switching to FrameworkLTC,” Rubino explains. “We love that it’s built for long-term care and includes everything LTC pharmacies need on a daily basis. It’s very seamless.”

The future is bright for Friendship Pharmacy LTC, and with FrameworkLTC on deck, there is no doubt they’ll continue growing and providing high-quality services to their long-term care facilities—all while maintaining efficiency and reducing costs.

Getting Started

Transform your operations with FrameworkLTC, industry-leading pharmacy management software specifically designed to support the unique needs of long-term care by optimizing workflows and streamlining pharmacy operations. To see if FrameworkLTC is a fit to help achieve your pharmacy goals, connect with us or email sales@softwriters.com. We look forward to speaking with you!