I feel that CVS pharmacy fulfillment be better suited for a more evolutionary, less “radical” process

improvement effort
I do not recommend many but a few changes to the layout of the pharmacy fulfillment process;
however, I would like to see other improvements within certain steps as well.
 I would like to see an implementation of a better IT system, a system in which prescriptions are
also defined by start and end dates to minimize needless DUR hard stops created by conflicts of
drugs. The IT system must increase the speed of the initial data entry and verification of
customer information.
 Inform remaining refills explicitly with the customer and on easy to read drug cases. Ask the
patient if CVS should contact the doctor at each instance of the last refill.
 As customers drop off their prescriptions, have a form ready to be filled out. This form should
ask questions regarding changes made to insurance carriers, jobs, weight, date of birth, or any
other significant or pertinent data that would disrupt the flow of the production. If the IT system
could perform the check of insurance, this would allow the customer to be notified upfront of
the cost and eliminate cost surprises at the pickup.
 A system could notify the customer when their prescription was ready for pick up either through
a message, call, or email and this would in turn eliminate the problem of miscommunication of
the pickup time.
We can largely divide the task and fulfill the same in three broad categories.
Short-term Objective- Design a flowchart of the new fulfillment process where customer information,
including contact information, is entered into the system when they drop off their prescription.
Technicians would be able to communicate any issues about third party payments and obtain customer
approval for another brand immediately from the customers. If the doctor’s approval were required, the
customer could be made aware of a possible delay and a more appropriate pick-up time could be
scheduled and informed immediately. This would avoid many of the hold-ups and delays at the pick-up
window. We can add a drop-off window and shift staffing to the drop-off window during the three
different peak times of the day as mentioned. Processing the required information into the system
earlier in the process will also allow the system to check for low stock immediately and the product can
be ordered quicker and we can work on the inventory. The new fulfillment process will be presented to
regional representatives at CVS who can provide input about how the newly proposed fulfillment
process would work at their locations.
I would then recommend CVS to implement a customer service team. The customer service team would
deal directly with doctor calls concerning the number of refills allowed, DUR hard stops, and checking on
insurance with providers. The team of customer service workers would deal with the more detailed
questions that CVS’s newly implemented system could not, such as what prescription would be viable if
a hard stop were true. By implementing a linkage of databases between CVS, the prescribing doctors,
and insurance providers and having a customer service team dedicated to resolving problems that could
not be resolved, CVS would save the customer ample amounts of time. Any pushback by staff can be
addressed by emphasizing that the goal is to reduce customer issues and to ease the tension at the
pickup window. The immediate goal would not be to reduce staff or cut anyone’s hours but to add value
to the customer and address issues at the front end of the fulfillment line.
Mid-term objective: Implement the new procedures starting with pilot locations throughout each
region to test the process and identify any new issues that might be caused and correcting them. Other
stores will adopt the new fulfillment procedures once the pilot stores are showing significantly fewer
issues at the pick-up window and no new significant issues at the drop-off window. Ensure that training
for supervisors is provided by managers and staff who worked in the successful pilot locations and
training time is given to all staff across each store.
We can commence looking for the ERP system that would interface with the new fulfillment process and
doctor’s offices, health insurance companies, and product suppliers. This system would reinforce the
benefits of the new fulfillment process by making customer information easy for staff to access and
input at the drop-off window. The system will improve stock availability, communication with 3rd
parties, utilize customer data to prevent duplication in the data entry process. The ERP system would
reduce phone calls and faxes by allowing doctors and insurers to input patient information viewable by
pharmacy techs.
Long-term objective: The purchase and implementation of the ERP system will take more time since it
involves more than just CVS operations. We can begin by working with the regional CVS representatives
and representatives of various third parties who interface with CVS to be sure the new system will add
value to all parties involved. Once there is buy-in, purchase the system and begin implementation at
pilot locations building the system out across all locations in the same way that the new fulfillment
process was implemented.