ASCRx: Formulary and Confused Names
Before adding a medication to your formulary, take a moment to check for potential Confused Names.
Look-alike and sound-alike medications can contribute to serious medication errors. A quick review during the formulary process can help identify risks, support safer medication use, and protect patients. This edition’s tip highlights a simple approach to evaluating formulary changes for Confused Names.
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Evaluating Remote Pharmacy Costs
In today’s healthcare landscape, remote pharmacy services are becoming a vital part of how hospitals, pharmacies, and ambulatory surgery centers operate. These services offer convenience, efficiency, and the potential to improve patient care. But one of the biggest questions on everyone’s mind is: What are the costs involved? Understanding the financial side of remote pharmacy services is essential for making smart decisions that benefit both your organization and the patients you serve.
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Margin Under Siege: How Small Hospitals Can Reclaim Financial Stability in 2026—Without Compromising Access
Small and rural hospitals face a structural margin gap: input costs (labor, drugs, supplies) are rising faster than payment rates, while administrative friction drains resources. In 2025, total hospital expenses grew 7.5%—more than twice the rate of price growth—with drugs up 13.6% and supplies up 9.9%; hospitals also spent an estimated $43B just to collect payment for care already delivered [1]. Nearly half of rural hospitals are in the red and hundreds are at risk of closure, with OB and chemotherapy service lines shrinking across the map [2–3]. Leaders who stabilized in 2025 did so by protecting core access services, redesigning low-volume lines, and scaling what works [4].
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Revolutionizing Nursing: Eliminating Strain and Burnout Through Technological Efficiency
Nursing burnout and related turnover needs to be addressed as the patient population increases as baby boomers need more care. This article explores practical ideas to reduce the day to day burden on the nurses that take care of our patients in the stressful hospital setting.
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Structured Agendas for Productive Hospital Leadership Meetings with Free Sample
In the fast-paced and intricate world of healthcare, seamless coordination between various departments is crucial to ensure quality patient care and effective administration. One pivotal collaboration exists between the hospital president or administrator and the director of the pharmacy. To maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of their interactions, a well-structured agenda is essential.
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When Fargo Calls | A Pharmacist's Journey
A callback to what led a relief pharmacist to begin this company, while helping to lead a hospital pharmacy department in Fargo as an Interim DOP. This pharmacist journey is only looked back on with gratitude.
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Working as a Pharmacy Staffing Professional
What advice do staffing pharmacists and pharmacy technicians have regarding working with a staffing agency? How can others be successful working as a relief pharmacy professional within a staffing agency?
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Telepharmacy Optimizes Pharmacy Budgets, Operational Efficacy, and Patient Outcomes
Telepharmacy is a smart business decision financially, it increases access to pharmacists, which can help patients and their providers make sound medication therapy choices and alternatives
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Employee Spotlight: Stephanie Everard Pharmacist
Stephanie, an Indispensable Health Pharmacist in our new ASCRx Program discusses her role at Indispensable Health, how she discovered our pharmacy service company, and the job responsibilities that’ve changed during throughout the years. Thank you for being Indispensable Stephanie!
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Employee Spotlight: Paula Styer Pharmacy Technician
Our first Employee Spotlight is Paula, a Licensed Pharmacy Technician (LPhT)! Learn about her role at Indispensable Health, how her responsibilities changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, and hear what she enjoys outside of work. Thank you for being Indispensable Paula!
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Controlled Substance Inventory Regulations
The U.S. DEA Regulates Controlled Substances Within Multiple Healthcare Settings. These regulations require every healthcare setting to complete a biennial controlled substance inventory. Learn how to maintain compliance within your pharmacy.
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Confused Drug Names
The list of Confused Drug Names, formerly known as look-alike sound-alike (LASA) medications, has been expanded by the Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP). What are some best practices for ensuring patient safety and reduce medication errors whenever these medications are administered?
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Optimizing Automatic Dispensing Cabinets For Cost-Savings
Staffing models and labor costs often come to mind first, as executives struggle to reduce overhead. However, there are more subtle cost-savings measures that often go unnoticed. Such as the inventory reduction of medications sitting in automatic dispensing machines.
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How to Provide Reprieve From Pharmacy Staff Burnout
Contending with the COVID-19 pandemic leaves many pharmacy professionals grappling with additional stressors at work and in their personal lives. How can pharmacy managers and employers prevent their pharmacy employees from experiencing, or provide reprieve from, burnout to retain their valued employees?
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