Most health systems are leaving pharmacy revenue on the table. Here's how to find it.

Pharmacy is one of the most complex — and most underleveraged — financial assets in a health system.

Most CFOs and CNOs think about pharmacy primarily as a cost center. The health systems that have transformed their financial performance tend to think about it differently: as an enterprise asset with meaningful revenue potential.

Here's what that looks like in practice:

Specialty pharmacy programs, when properly structured, can generate significant net revenue while improving patient access and adherence. Most health systems have the patient population to support a high-performing specialty program — but haven't built the infrastructure to capture it.

340B program performance varies enormously. The difference between an optimized 340B program and an average one can be several million dollars annually — often more for systems with significant Medicaid and indigent populations.

Revenue cycle in pharmacy is a specific competency. Billing complexity, prior authorization management, and denial prevention in the pharmacy setting require expertise that most general revenue cycle teams don't have.

MDR’s pharmacy optimization solution Partner focuses exclusively on health system pharmacy performance — to bring this expertise to our clients. Their work spans 340B optimization, specialty pharmacy development, pharmacy revenue cycle, and supply chain.

If your organization hasn't done a structured pharmacy performance review in the last two years, there's likely opportunity you haven't quantified.

What's your health system's pharmacy strategy — and how integrated is it with your overall financial plan?