Question

SKILLED CARE PHARMACY

Skilled Care Pharmacy, located in Mason, Ohio, is a $25 million dollar privately held regional provider of pharmaceutical products delivered within the long-term care, assisted living, hospice, and group home environments. The following products are included within this service:

Medications and related billing services

Medical records

Information systems

Continuing education

Consulting services to include pharmacy, nursing, dietary, and social services

The key customer groups that Skilled Care provides services to include the senior population housed within the extended and long-term care environments. Customers within this sector depend on Skilled Care to provide their daily pharmaceutical needs at a competitive rate. Because of the high risk factor of its business, these needs require that the right drug be delivered to the right patient at the right time. Moreover, depending on the environment being served, different medication dispensing methods may be used such as vials, multidose packaging, or unit dose boxes. Also, depending on the customer type, specific delivery requirements may be implemented to better serve the end user.

Skilled Care’s dedication and commitment to continuous quality improvement is evident throughout its internal and external operations. By reflecting on the principles needed to attain quality success across all levels of customers, Skilled Care adopted the quality policy statement shown in Figure 1.7.

Skilled Care’s employee population includes 176 culturally diverse associates committed to a substance-free workplace. The team includes associates with all levels of educational training representing many of the following disciplines: pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, medical data entry, accountants, billing specialists, nurses, human resources, sales/marketing, purchasing, administrative and administrative assistance, delivery, customer service representatives, and IT certified personnel. At times, multifaceted work teams are formed through cross-functional approaches to complete the task(s) at hand.

Skilled Care’s deliverables are generated from its sole 24,000-square foot location in Mason, Ohio. The pharmacy, which is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, is secured by a Honeywell alarm system. The company’s primary technology rests within its pharmacy software, Rescot. This system enables Skilled Care to process, bill, and generate pertinent data critical to the overall operations of the company. Other partnerships have also been established within Skilled Care’s multidosed packaging capabilities and wholesaler purchasing interface.

SCP utilizes the Internet for publishing pertinent information and news as well as hosts a Web-enabled customer service application called Track-It to report specific information about customer issues for companywide resolution. Advantages of e-commerce include quicker customer service response time for all areas of service including placing the order, pharmacist’s review, delivery, and billing of the product.

Skilled Care Pharmacy faces key strategic challenges from the rapidly evolving financial structure of health care, a shortage of licensed pharmacist personnel, the constant evolution of medical practice, and employee retention at all levels. These, as well as future challenges, are always balanced with the responsibility to the stakeholders.

How are the six quality perspectives reflected in Skilled Care's policy and operations?

Answer 1

The skilled care pharmacy serves their customers with the best in class services in order to achieve their organisation's desired goal.

The six quality perspectives reflected in Skilled Care's policy and operations are:-

1. Skilled and Efficient Staff: SCP comprises of 176 skilled employees who are dedicated to help their customers day in day out, The staff is very co-operative and certified and they have an expert in every department such as nurses, delivery team, customer service personnel, billing staff in order to assist the customers.   

2. Special app development: The company specially developed an application named Track-It to make sure that the customers get their medicines/delivery at the right place and at the right time. This application also helps the customers to review their purchase and get the billing details and other necessary information.

3. Round the clock availability: Customers can avail the services from the Skilled Care Pharmacy 24/7, 365 days a year. The benefits of the offering by the company include wider options in the ranges of transportation of their supplies such as medicines and include policies that ensure the safety of the goods and insurance in case the goods are damaged in any way possible.

4. Healthcare Quality: Healthcare quality can be defined as the prospect of Healthcare service providers i.e. SCP to expand the degree of current healthcare to meet the requirements set for achieving a favourable outcome. In plain English, we can call it the measurement of the value that it holds i.e if something is good enough and it is suitable to serve the required purpose.

5. Safety: Which refers to avoid harm to the lives of the patient by providing proper medications via educated staff.

6. Effective: Which means providing the best solution to the patients with full utilization of all the current standards.

7. Time: Which means the time spent gathering the solution and providing it to the patient.

8. Patient-centric: Which means providing an atmosphere where the cutomers/patients feel safe and relaxed.