If you haven't yet taken action to meet your organization's Drug Supply Chain Security Act requirements, we can recommend a place to start: taking a realistic look at the rest of 2023. You can get a lot done in six months, but consider that you’ll want time to work with your provider to ensure that all of your DSCSA requirements are covered, coordinate with your trading partners to onboard EPCIS (this can take weeks to months), distribute access for everyone in your organization who needs it, and coordinate SOPs and training.
Then, account for summer vacations within your organization and those at your partners, usually making July and August dicier times for coordination; the Q4 push starting in September, including renewals, budget, and the careful planning needed for the winter holidays; the Thanksgiving holiday in November that immediately precedes the DSCSA deadline, plus Cyber Monday, which is, in fact, the day itself.
Taken together, your window for success is likely to favor spring into summer, meaning that your team will have time to roll out and adapt to changes at your own pace. Setting your timing for DSCSA at this point in the year will assure some flexibility, which is never a factor to underestimate –it can be the difference between a smooth, coordinated launch, and a rushed, stressful one.
Indeed, with just six months – almost to the day – left before the FDA’s final enforcement deadline, our team has been seeing incredible interest from pharmacies across the industry. There’s strong recognition that DSCSA compliance is essential, and this is fueling urgency to get DSCSA implementation done now rather than(as some may have been planning previously) later in 2023.
In just the last few weeks, we’ve heard from many businesses that their deciding factor was a realistic look at the timeline, taking into account both DSCSA and seasonal business factors. Many have a palpable sense of urgency, feeling that they’re reaching the last minute to get DSCSA done; nobody wants to have to make significant changes to their systems, internal operations, communications, training, and procedures with zero turnaround time and heavy consequences for failure. Fortunately, there’s enough time remaining – for those who start now or soon – to not only implement DSCSA, but see the benefits of optimization.
In many cases, pharmacies realize the task is actually lighter than they assumed, thanks to OneScan Pharmacy Pro, our premier solution for dispensers. Sometimes, it replaces software that isn't complete enough; often, it’s the first such compliance solution that a business adds. As we show in our monthly onboarding and training webinars, getting started with scanning, tracking, and verifying EPCIS orders through our cloud-based system can take just a few minutes.
From local independent pharmacies to chains, dispensers can now easily implement DSCSA without replacing any systems. Importantly, the solution goes beyond compliance, optimizing supply chain operations to bringdown costs — so that, beyond avoiding expensive pitfalls, OneScan Pharmacy Pro makes DSCSA a chance for dispensers to save money.
The suite is quickly becoming the most adopted DSCSA compliance solution in the industry among national chains, as well as the preferred solution for many regional and national group purchasing associations(GPOs). We’ve also worked to ensure that cost isn’t a barrier to adoption, offering OneScan Pharmacy Pro at prices any dispenser can afford.
OneScan Pharmacy Pro provides simple and affordable tools to receive, track, manage, and verify EPCIS data, while automating expiry management, trading partner licenses, serial verification, data retention, FDA reporting, and more. Its elegant cloud design lets it work seamlessly with any dispensing or pharmacy management software; integrations are fast and effective, and teams can get started rapidly via an intuitive, easy-to-use interface.
Additionally, OneScan Pharmacy Pro features access to LSPedia’s industry-leading Investigator technology, which automatically alerts suppliers to EPCIS errors and guides the resolution process, saving hours or days of problem-solving while ensuring that good products flow to the patient rather than being needlessly delayed or destroyed. These capabilities help pharmacies operate with efficiency, accuracy, and confidence, reducing the risk of slowdowns, disruptions, and audits.
Learn more about LSPedia's dispenser solutions, or contact us for more information.
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