Pharmaceutical Distribution Software

What is Pharmaceutical Distribution Software?

Pharmaceutical distribution software is designed to ease the movement of regulated medications and controlled substances along the supply chain. Unlike generic distribution systems, pharmaceutical software takes regulations set by the U.S. Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), and international regulatory agencies into account in order to remain compliant during the packaging and shipping process.

A type of healthcare supply chain software, this solution specifically optimizes the distribution of medication from pharmaceutical companies to the suppliers and healthcare centers responsible for prescribing them to patients. Using pharma software keeps companies compliant with ever-changing laws while also managing supply chain business operations, like product traceability and inventory control.

Pharmaceutical Distribution Software Functionality

• Traceability: Traceability is incredibly important when it comes to knowing where potentially dangerous drugs are at all times. Use barcode scanning and serial numbers to keep accurate records of all patient prescriptions.
• Medical Inventory Management: Track real-time medication inventory levels and automate purchase orders when the stock is running low. Automatically adjust your needs based on expiry dates.
• Warehouse Management: Control where your medical supplies are stored and distributed. Streamline retrieval operations when new orders or refills are placed.
• Supply Chain Management: Automate the flow of goods and services between locations as efficiently and as cost-effectively as possible
• Refill Management: Use forecasting tools to automate medication refills electronically, in person, or over the phone. Notify vendors when refills are running low to avoid running out.
• Electronic Signature Capture: Record signatures electronically to establish a clear chain-of-custody of all medications in your possession.
• Recall Management: With traceability tools, safely manage any recalls of pharmaceutical products, medications, drugs, and controlled substances.
• EDI Applications: Electronic Data Interchange tools keep documents compatible across different agencies. Standardize shipping statuses, invoices, purchase orders, inventory documents, and customs information for your B2B manufacturers and suppliers.
• Purchasing Reports: Generate reports to track vendors, prices, and shipping information. Strong purchasing controls are especially important for pharmaceutical manufacturers.
• FIFO/LIFO/FEFO Tools: Utilize first-in, first-out sorting, along with popular variation, to ensure medication moves in and out of your pharma facility before it has a chance to expire.

Pharmaceutical Distribution Management Benefits

The pharmaceutical industry can enjoy a multitude of benefits when using software:

Traceability from the Manufacturer to the Patient

All pharmaceutical manufacturers need traceability modules to keep track of pharma products at all times. While some pharma companies manually keep tabs on products through Excel spreadsheets, this can lead to miscounts and human error. Fortunately, pharma software with automated tracking methods can instantly update product lists. This is particularly useful for pharmaceutical distributors in the event of a product recall.

As part of these safety measures, pharmaceutical distribution software includes tools for barcode scanning to continue tracking medications from the manufacturer to warehouses and distribution centers. These traceability tools work with inventory control applications to show where medications are in the supply chain at any given time, along with real-time stock levels.

Quality Control and Recall Management

During manufacturing, packaging, and shipping processes, medication can be compromised in many different ways. In order to keep prescriptions safe, configurable quality control modules to perform customized checks on your medical inventory to ensure safety and compliance.

In the event a drug does not pass quality control or is in any way deemed unsafe for consumers, you can initiate a real-time response with recall management applications. Individual lot tracking lets you identify the real-time movement of recalled meds so you are fully aware of which are still in your inventory and which have been dispensed to patients.

FEFO Management to Reduce Expirations

Pharmaceutical goods cna expire just like food and beverages. However, expired medications can be a far greater health risk to patients than moldy bread or sour milk. Distribution systems designed specifically for pharmaceutical manufacturers will allow you to set inventory picking using a FEFO (first expiring, first out) process. The FEFO approach can minimize the amount of products or materials expiring before they are dispensed to patients.

Pharma distribution software can integrate with hardware such as handheld barcode scanners to further optimize your FEFO inventory practices. By regularly scanning inventory, you can automate updates to your records, flag products based on expiration dates, and remove them to stay in regulatory compliance with local requirements.

ERP Solution Integration for Data Reporting

Many pharmaceutical distribution systems are compatible with both on-premise and cloud-based ERP solutions. As a result, you can easily categorize analytical data about your pharmacy performance in order to make better business decisions. Keep your distribution business on top of order management and invoicing charges with ERP applications.

Controlled Substance Compliance

Since 2013, the United States has had the Drug Supply Chain Security Act (DSCSA) to make pharmaceutical distribution more accountable for product tracing. This legislation, along with regulations set by the FDA, DEA, CDC, and other agencies, controls who can and cannot have access to dangerous pharmaceuticals. Whether you operate an independent pharmacy or work within a larger health organization, you need to remain compliant with all regulations.

The DSCSA is aimed at manufacturers, 3PL providers, wholesale distributors, dispensers, and all related pharmacy businesses. If you operate anywhere on the pharmaceutical supply chain, you need to follow procedures and protocols set out by this legislation to remain compliant and protect patients. Since these regulations can change at any time, it’s important to have a robust pharmaceutical distribution software which can adapt to any new requirements.