Advisory Services

Benchmarking Your Pharmacy: Compare to Industry Standards

HealthGrowth’s advisory services platform empowers pharmacy owners to measure and optimize their business performance by indexing key financial and operational metrics against industry averages. With our expert guidance and advanced analytics, you gain clear insight into how your pharmacy truly stacks up—and where you have the greatest opportunities for improvement.

How HealthGrowth Helps You Index Your Pharmacy:

  • We analyze your pharmacy’s gross profit margin and compare it directly to industry averages, helping you identify if you are maximizing profitability or falling behind. Our platform highlights areas for improvement, such as buying practices and service mix, so you can focus on the most profitable segments of your business.

  • HealthGrowth evaluates your expense ratios—including overhead, marketing, and insurance costs—against industry standards. This ensures you are not overspending in any category and helps you rationalize expenses for higher efficiency and profitability.

  • We benchmark your labor costs relative to revenue, providing a clear view of your staffing efficiency. Industry best practices suggest keeping labor costs below 13% of revenue—and ideally under 10.5%—for optimal cash flow and profitability. HealthGrowth helps you assess whether your team is sized and structured appropriately, and provides actionable recommendations to improve productivity.

  • Our platform tracks your pharmacy’s growth trajectory and compares it to industry averages, revealing if you are outpacing or lagging behind your peers. This insight helps you set realistic growth targets and implement strategies to accelerate your business expansion.

  • HealthGrowth delivers monthly reports that summarize your performance across all critical KPIs, offering actionable insights and tailored recommendations. Our advisors work alongside you to interpret results, prioritize initiatives, and drive continuous improvement.

Why Benchmark with HealthGrowth?

By indexing your pharmacy’s performance against industry averages, you gain a competitive edge—identifying strengths, addressing weaknesses, and making data-driven decisions that fuel sustainable growth. HealthGrowth is your trusted partner for benchmarking, strategy, and success.

Unlocking New and Enhanced Pharmacy Revenue Streams

In today’s pharmacy landscape, relying solely on traditional PBM reimbursements is no longer sustainable for many independent pharmacies. HealthGrowth’s advisory services platform is designed to help pharmacy owners identify, launch, and optimize high-margin revenue streams that can transform your business.

How HealthGrowth Helps You Expand Your Revenue Opportunities

Strategic Diversification Guidance:

Our expert advisors analyze your pharmacy’s current operations and financial metrics—including PVA balances, branded COGS, and more—to pinpoint opportunities for growth and sustainable profitability.

Migration to Higher-Reimbursement Classes of Trade:

We guide you through the transition to more profitable business models, such as:

Compounding Pharmacy Services - Offer customized medications that command premium pricing.

340B Program Participation - Access discounted drug pricing for eligible patients, increasing your margins.

Long-Term Care (LTC) Pharmacy - Serve skilled nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and IDD CLAs with specialized services.

Home-Based Long-Term Care - Extend your reach to patients receiving care at home, a rapidly growing market.

Supply Chain Optimization:

Leverage our expertise in the pharmaceutical supply chain—including relationships with wholesalers, distributors, and advanced EDI systems—to streamline operations and reduce costs, freeing up resources for new revenue initiatives.

Comprehensive Business Planning:

We help you develop and execute a tailored business plan, ensuring a smooth transition into new classes of trade and maximizing your return on investment.

Why HealthGrowth?

With HealthGrowth, you gain a dedicated partner committed to helping your pharmacy not just survive, but thrive. Our platform provides the insights, tools, and support you need to migrate away from low-margin PBM prescriptions and start earning a living again in higher-reimbursement markets.

Long Term Care at Home

HealthGrowth has helped hundreds of pharmacies substantially increase their profitability by implementing a Long Term Care at Home strategy for their eligible patients. Complete this form now and one of our consultants will respond promptly:

Maximizing Pharmacy Gross Profit: The HealthGrowth Advantage

HealthGrowth’s Advisory Services platform is designed to help independent pharmacy owners unlock the full potential of their business by implementing proven strategies that drive higher gross profit. Our expert-led approach combines financial analysis, strategic planning, and hands-on support to ensure your pharmacy thrives in today’s competitive market.

Key Strategies for Maximizing Gross Profit:

  • HealthGrowth analyzes your purchasing patterns and leverages relationships with multiple wholesalers and distributors to help you secure the best pricing and rebates. By optimizing your buying practices, you reduce the cost of goods sold (COGS) and improve your margins.

  • We help you diversify your revenue streams by identifying and expanding into high-margin services and products. This includes promoting over-the-counter (OTC) items, bundled packages, and specialty services that command higher reimbursement rates.

  • HealthGrowth guides you through the transition to more profitable business models, such as long-term care (LTC) pharmacy and home-based long-term care. Our platform helps you implement billing strategies that maximize reimbursement for eligible patients, ensuring your pharmacy earns a sustainable living.

  • Our platform indexes your pharmacy’s performance against industry KPIs, providing actionable insights into your gross profit and highlighting opportunities for improvement. We help you focus on profitable scripts while minimizing exposure to unprofitable scripts that erode profitability.

  • HealthGrowth’s advisors work alongside you to develop and execute a tailored plan, ensuring your pharmacy is positioned for long-term success. We provide ongoing guidance, real-time analytics, and access to a network of industry partners to support your growth.

Why Choose HealthGrowth?

With HealthGrowth, you gain a trusted partner committed to helping you maximize gross profit through smarter buying, innovative service offerings, and strategic business planning. Our platform empowers you to adapt, grow, and thrive—even in challenging reimbursement environments.

Expense Rationalization - Smarter Spending for Pharmacy Success

At HealthGrowth, we empower independent pharmacy owners to optimize every dollar spent—so you can maximize profitability without sacrificing quality of care or service.

How HealthGrowth Helps You Rationalize Expenses:

  • HealthGrowth indexes your pharmacy’s operating performance against key performance indicators (KPIs) to determine if your staffing levels and wage costs align with the number of prescriptions you dispense and your business mix. This ensures you’re not overpaying for labor and helps you make data-driven decisions about your team.

  • We assess the productivity of your team compared to industry standards, identifying opportunities to improve efficiency and ensuring your staff is as effective as possible. This helps you get the most value from every payroll dollar.

  • HealthGrowth reviews all major expense categories—including group health insurance, business liability insurance, and marketing investments—to confirm you are paying competitive rates. Our advisors help you negotiate better terms and identify cost-saving opportunities across your operations.

  • Our platform provides monthly reports that highlight critical trends, such as missing refills, drugs sold at a loss, and questionable claims. We recommend specific actions to lean into your most profitable business segments and rationalize unnecessary expenses.

  • With HealthGrowth’s guided approach, you gain access to expert advice, proprietary financial tools, and real-time analytics—all designed to help you maintain a lean, efficient, and profitable pharmacy.

Why Choose HealthGrowth for Expense Rationalization?

HealthGrowth combines deep industry expertise with advanced financial technology to help you reduce costs, improve productivity, and drive sustainable growth. Let us help you turn financial hindsight into actionable insight—so you can focus on what matters most: serving your community and growing your business.

Navigating 340B

The 340B program is becoming increasingly challenging and less profitable for independent pharmacies due to a combination of regulatory complexities, manufacturer restrictions, financial pressures, and competitive disadvantages. Key factors include heightened compliance burdens, reduced access to discounts, and operational constraints that disproportionately impact smaller pharmacies.

Independent pharmacies face stringent and evolving 340B program rules, requiring meticulous oversight to avoid audit failures or penalties. Ensuring patient eligibility, preventing drug diversion, and managing Medicaid duplicate discounts demand significant administrative resources, which strain limited operational capacities. Smaller pharmacies often lack dedicated compliance teams, escalating risks and costs.

Regulatory and Compliance Burdens

Manufacturer Restrictions on Contract Pharmacies

Drug manufacturers have imposed aggressive limitations on 340B discounts, particularly through contract pharmacy arrangements:

  • Single-Pharmacy Mandates: Many manufacturers now require covered entities (e.g., hospitals) to designate only one contract pharmacy for 340B discounts, excluding independent pharmacies from partnerships.

  • Proximity Rules: Discounts are often restricted to pharmacies within 40 miles of a hospital campus, limiting opportunities for rural or distant independents.

  • Specialty Drug Exclusions: Manufacturers increasingly deny 340B pricing for high-cost specialty drugs, a critical revenue source for pharmacies. These restrictions reduce discounts accessible to independents, directly eroding profitability.

Fluctuating reimbursement rates and rising operational costs squeeze margins:

  • Cash-Flow Pressures: Independent pharmacies must absorb upfront drug costs while awaiting reimbursement, creating liquidity challenges—especially when stocking negotiated Medicare drugs under the Inflation Reduction Act.

  • Competition with National Chains: National chains are negotiating contracts with FQs that are leaving independents with lower-fee arrangements and reduced revenue share.

  • Declining 340B Revenue: Manufacturer restrictions have slashed 340B savings for covered entities, leading to fewer partnerships and lower fees paid to contract pharmacies.

Financial Instability

Operational and Market Disadvantages

  • In-House Pharmacy Shift: Hospitals increasingly build onsite specialty pharmacies to retain 340B eligibility, bypassing independent contract pharmacies altogether.

  • Mail-Order Competition: Growth in digital and mail-order pharmacies diverts patients from brick-and-mortar independents, reducing prescription volume.

These factors collectively diminish the viability of 340B partnerships for independent pharmacies, forcing many to reconsider participation amid rising costs and falling returns. If you need help reevaluating your current 340B activities, HealthGrowth has the answers!

How HealthGrowth Advisory Services Improve Pharmacy Cash Flow

HealthGrowth Pharmacy Solutions offers a comprehensive advisory services platform designed to empower independent pharmacy owners with the tools, insights, and strategies needed to optimize and sustain healthy cash flow in your pharmacy.

Key Ways HealthGrowth Supports Your Cash Flow:

  • Our experienced advisors work closely with you to diagnose financial bottlenecks, identify revenue opportunities, and implement tailored strategies that enhance your pharmacy’s cash position—so you can focus on patient care and business growth.

  • Access real-time analytics and innovative financial technology that provide actionable insights into your pharmacy’s cash flow, helping you make informed decisions quickly.

  • HealthGrowth helps you negotiate better terms with wholesalers and distributors, accelerating favorable payment cycles and securing discounts that improve your bottom line.

  • HealthGrowth Capital connects you to flexible financing options—including PharmLine lines of credit, asset-based lending and small business loans—that ensure you always have access to the working capital you need… when you need it.

  • Benefit from our network of industry-leading partners who provide inventory management, business intelligence, and staffing solutions—all designed to maximize efficiency and profitability.

Why Choose HealthGrowth?

With HealthGrowth, you gain a trusted partner committed to your pharmacy’s financial health. Our guided approach ensures you have the support and resources to navigate industry challenges, capitalize on new opportunities, and keep your cash flow strong—so your pharmacy thrives in any market.