Technology and the independent operator

For Tom Davis, co-owner of Kiowa Health Mart Pharmacy, in Eads, Colo., technology has always been critical to the operation. “We put in our first pharmacy system in 1982. At the time, we may have been one of the first systems in Colorado, to be honest,” Davis told DSN.

Davis, a 38-year pharmacy veteran — 25 years with Health Mart — essentially organizes technology into 1-of-3 buckets:

• Technology that makes it easier for the patient — today, there are eight different ways for a prescription to reach his store, versus just two, when he first opened in 1982;


• Technology that improves store operations — Davis uses McKesson’s Reimbursement Advantage program to stay compliant with Medicare and PBM requirements, and recently added PatientLink, which provides patient information on all medications and helps boost adherence; and


• Technology that improves profits — Davis puts a lot of focus on driving front-end profitability. He uses sales reports generated by department, which he can compare against purchase orders in McKesson Connect to better manage front-end profitability per sq. ft. — much like the big chains do.