Supply Chain World - Volume 7, Issue 3 - 74

healthcare comprehensive pharmacy services
cpspharm.com / HQ: Memphis / Specialty: Pharmacy management / Dr. Marvin Finnefrock, divisional president, clinical and purchasing services: "The faster the
information flows, the faster we can have an outcome, and we want to help as many sites as we can."

Optimization and Safety
Comprehensive Pharmacy Services helps pharmacies manage drug
shortages and improve operational efficiencies. By Staci Davidson
Managing the supply
chain of a hospital pharmacy is not easy, but Comprehensive Pharmacy Services
(CPS) has the experience
to keep everything in line.
DR. MARVIN
With more than 30 years in
FINNEFROCK
divisional president,
business, CPS understands
clinical and
it is a life-or-death situapurchasing services
tion if hospitals can't get
the correct medications to their
patients. This is why, when hurricanes hit Puerto Rico and Houston
in 2017, CPS initiated its disaster
management procedures to keep
its client pharmacies functioning
and patients protected. This involved ordering extra medications
ahead of time.
CPS takes pride in assisting
pharmacies in operating efficiently, in emergencies and any other
day. Based in Memphis, Tenn., CPS
is the nation's largest provider of
pharmacy services to more than
800 hospitals and healthcare
facilities. Focusing on driving
cost, quality and safety improvements, CPS helps clients deal with
hyper-inflated drug costs, retail
strategies, operational effectiveness and staffing efficiency.
"We offer complete pharmacy
management," says Dr. Marvin Finnefrock, divisional president, clinical and purchasing services. "We
specialize in the hospital sector, in
anything related to the pharmacy
or pharmacy services. That can
be anything from a small, 10-bed
74

Supply Chain World VOLUME 7, ISSUE 3

hospital to 800-bed hospitals. We
also help with hospital systems,
telepharmacy services, specialty
pharmacies and retail. We maintain and work on infusion centers,
surgery centers and anything on the
hospital campus with a pharmacy,
we help optimize and manage that."
With such a comprehensive
offering, everything CPS provides
is turnkey. Instead of simply
consulting with hospital pharmacies, CPS brings solutions to
help its clients ensure efficiency.
One key area where its services
are of importance is the issue of
drug shortages. Any given day, a
pharmacy could have about 100
drug shortages.

CPS is the nation's largest
provider of pharmacy services.
It helps more than 800 hospitals
and healthcare facilities.

Explaining this is "fully a supply chain issue," Finnefrock notes
shortages could happen because
manufacturers have issues with
their suppliers, quality issues
could arise, older drugs may not
be as profitable, wholesalers'
inventory control or there is
competition in a market. There
could be a shortage on the East
Coast but not the West Coast, or
policies at a particular pharmacy
could impact supply.
"All through this, there is no
one inventory system and no
one software is used across the
board," Finnefrock explains.
He adds that "communication
and issues around technology

Supply Chain World - Volume 7, Issue 3

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Supply Chain World - Volume 7, Issue 3