Medication Adherence and Prescription Drug Revenue Calculator

This calculator is designed to determine the changes in gross profit for a pharmacy after encouraging a higher medication adherence rate. Please input values in the boxes below then scroll down for analysis.

Gross profit per prescription

In 2010, the average gross profit per prescriptoin drug was $13.80

Number of different drugs prescribed per average patient for chronic conditions.

The average patient with a chronic condition consums approximately 3 different chronic medications.

Number of days it takes the average non-adherent patient to refill a 30 day medication.

This number must be greater than 30. For many non-adherent patients it will take 40 to 45 days to refill a 30 day medication.

Number of existing patients recruited each business day to join an adherence program.

A very good goal is to identify 2 patients each business day that are on maintenance medications. The purpose of an adherence program is to have the pharmacist work with these identified patients to promote perfect adherence beginning on the day the patient is recruited into the program.

For further analysis, please make sure all inputs are completed above.

The calculator assumes that the pharmacy is open 365 days a year, and recruits patients for an adherence program on each work day.

Without an Adherence Program

Without an adherence program, each patient over the next 12 months consuming different medications each represent under current adherence standards:

a potential gross profit of: before tax

After Implementing an Adherence Program

Hypothetically, if the pharmacist was able to work with existing patients to promote perfect adherence so that recruited patients refilled all their medications on a monthly basis, then each patient measured over a 12 month time frame represents:

in gross profit to the pharmacy before tax

Because patients currently have perfect adherence, there is no room to increase profit through an adherence program.

Thus, each patient enrolled into an adherence program over a 12 months represents the potential for:

in additional gross profit before tax

Business Case

A brief business case based on the input values you provided above.

Assume that there are patients each on an average of different chronic medications. Without an adherence program, these patients over the next 12 months will bring in:

in gross profit

If the pharmacy has an adherence program and is able to recruit of these patient(s) each business day and once recruited the patients practice maximum adherence so that each patient refills all their chronic medications every month, then starting today, over the next 12 months these adherent patients will bring in:

in gross profit

The increase in gross profit would be:

greater than what would occur under current adherence practices

The long term increase in gross profit that would result in promoting maximum adherence for patients each day would be:

over 2 years

over 5 years

Refill Reminder Calls

For a simple calculation to estimate the cost and break even analysis of conducting refill reminder calls, input values in the boxes below and scroll down for analysis.

Hours per day making phone calls to remind patients to refill their medications.

As part of an adherence program, some pharmacies may consider utilizing a technician, clerk, or other staff personnel to make daily refill-reminder calls to patients.

Hourly wage of employee that will be making phone calls to remind patients to refill their medications.

An existing employee working hours per day, for per hour, to make phone calls and remind patients to refill their medications will cost the pharmacy per day, or per week. To break even, the pharmacy would have to dispense additional prescriptions each day, or each week to pay for the time spent by this employee making phone calls to patients.

Read The Business Case for Adherence for more information about the Adherence Impact Calculator and how to use it.