When researching service providers, do you take into account the not-so-subtle difference between price and value? Well, when considering pharmaceutical providers, this evaluation is a mustafter all, you are making decisions on behalf of your patients, not just your practice.

Price represents the monetary costs for goods and services provided; whereas value takes into account the additional features and benefits that go above and beyond the bare minimum to satisfy both wants and needs. In the case of pharmaceuticalsespecially sterile pharmaceuticalsthe greatest value is obtained when a practice receives the ideal balance of quality of, and pricing for, the medications they order. This value comes from pharmacies that exceed standards to ensure patient safety while maintaining competitive pricing.

Are you certain that you are getting the greatest value with your current provider?

Here, at Hartley Medical, we strive to be the industry leader in quality assurance while guaranteeing that our clients receive competitive prices. We meet, and in most cases exceed, USP guidelines, and we perform compounding to the highest of quality standards . . . something not all compounding pharmacies practice. Our sterile preparation areas are subjected to rigorous environmental monitoring on a weekly basis to test for potential contaminants that could compromise the sterility of your patients’ therapeutics. Additionally, our facilities include an in-house quality assurance testing lab equipped with the most advanced technologies that enable us to detect unsafe levels of pyrogens in our sterile preparations, and to verify concentrations. What does all of this mean to our doctors? It means that we have the capacity to test more frequently and more thoroughly. It means that we provide our doctors with products that are of greater purity, so that their patients receive medications that are safer. Quite simply, it means less risk for everyone involved.

We continue to be astonished at how many mistakes could have, and should have, been avoided simply by choosing to operate in accordance to the highest quality standards. Hartley Medical has a mission to promote quality and safetywhich is why we continually ask, “Do you know what your compounding pharmacy is doing?”

To guarantee confidence in your answer to the previously posed question of, “Are you certain that you are getting the greatest value with your current provider?” Hartley Medical suggests that you do the following:

1) Perform a site visit at your current provider’s location, as well as at competitors’ locations. You may be unaware of your current provider’s inadequacies until compared, visually, to another compounding pharmacy. Make sure to ask questions. And if you are unsure of what questions to ask, then see #3.

2) Re-examine your experience with your current provider. Have they made mistakes? Are these mistakes frequent, or rare? Are the mistakes resolved quickly and to your satisfaction? Your answers to these questions might expose a recurring issue. Request a list of references from your current provider, and call these references to see if others are, or have been, experiencing similar problems. A little research can go a long way in determining if you are working with the right provider.

3) Look for the right things, and ask the right questions.  Not sure what to look for, or what questions to ask, when researching a compounding pharmacy?  We have a list of FAQs to reference. Ask these questions to your current provider, as well as to its competitors. You may be surprised at the discrepancies you find from one provider to the next. Click below for the list of FAQs.

For more information on researching and choosing the right compounding pharmacy, visit Hartley Medical’s previous articles entitled, “Four Steps to Choosing the Right Compounding Pharmacy“ and “Pharmacies Can No Longer Meet Standards . . . They Must Exceed Them.”

Or visit Hartley Medical’s Knowledge Center by clicking here.