The Responsibilities

of a Pharmacy
Procurement Officer

By Travis Leonardi

Travis Leonardi studied pharmacy at St. John's University

in New York. He went on to found Sentry Data Systems,
Inc., a company rooted in health care business technology.
Travis Leonardi has experience in a range of pharmacyrelated disciplines, including pharmacy procurement and
management.
Pharmacy procurement encompasses all activities related
to procuring and maintaining medications in a pharmacy,
including storing, taking inventory of, and managing
medications. The process begins with obtaining drugs that
meet safety and health standards. Moreover, a pharmacy
procurement officer must procure drugs that meet
standards at a reasonable price for both the pharmacy and
consumers who rely on those drugs for treatment.
To accomplish this, procurement officers write up purchase
orders for needed medications and make sure the orders

fall within the pharmacy's budget. Once the drugs arrive,

pharmacy procurement officers draft and maintain
accurate records.
From there, procurement officers move on to quality
services, a continuous phase that entails filing reports on
complaints related to medications, overseeing drug recalls,
and working with pharmacists so that patients receive
maximum benefits from their medications.