Inside this Blog:
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Independent and community pharmacies are navigating challenge after challenge, including widespread industry staffing shortages
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As technicians face burnout and pharmacists are pulled away from clinical work, there are hidden costs: financial, emotional, and mental
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With payroll no longer within pharmacy owners’ control, inventory can transform pharmacy teams’ time
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From automating time-consuming tasks to creating clear, easy-to-follow workflows, pharmacy inventory management technology can give pharmacies time back to breathe and re-focus on patient care
Independent and community pharmacies have always been built on resilience, but even the toughest teams have their limits.
With ongoing staffing shortages and rising operational demands, many pharmacy owners, pharmacists, and staff are experiencing a troubling shift. What once felt like meaningful, people-centered work is increasingly overshadowed by long hours, burnout and emotional exhaustion, and a growing sense that there simply aren’t enough hands to get it all done.
This is coinciding with the growing spread of pharmacy deserts, and an increase in demand at the remaining pharmacies, who must absorb new patients as neighbors close and even large chains like Rite Aid's shutter.
Your care is needed more than ever, and you want to be able to rise to meet the occasion.
But when hiring more staff isn’t an option, how can you maintain high-quality care and keep your team afloat?
The answer lies in rethinking how the work gets done. This starts with inventory, one of the last levers within your control.
The Hidden Toll of "Getting It All Done"
If you’ve ever found yourself staying late just to place an order, dig through shelves for expired stock, or second-guess what’s actually on hand, you’re not alone.
Manual and outdated inventory management practices are costing pharmacies more than time; they also cost energy, cash flow, and morale. In fact, pharmacists spend an average of one hour per day on inventory tasks. Multiply that by current average wage rates and you’re looking at over $16,000 a year just in inventory time for one pharmacist.
And it’s not just about the cost. When you or your pharmacists are pulled away from clinical responsibilities to wrestle with spreadsheets or paper-based processes, the entire pharmacy suffers from workflow slowdowns to reduced patient engagement.
Reclaiming Control in an Uncertain Environment
There’s an old adage for pharmacy owners: you can only control two things—payroll and inventory.
In today’s climate though, even payroll is unpredictable. Technicians are leaving the field at alarming rates, citing low pay, limited growth, and unmanageable workloads. With widespread staffing shortages, the remaining team carries a heavier weight.
In response, many pharmacies are shifting focus to the area they can control: inventory.
But the solution isn’t doubling down on hard work. It’s working smarter, through technology designed specifically to optimize and streamline pharmacy inventory management.
Tech that Lightens the Load
Modern inventory management platforms can transform your entire approach to inventory. By automating key tasks like ordering, cycle counting, and surplus returns, technology helps reduce the repetitive burden that contributes to burnout.
Done well, it doesn't add complexity, it removes it.
User-friendly tools like Datarithm® give pharmacy teams clear, daily tasks to follow, eliminating the guesswork. Instead of asking, “What needs to be done today?”, your techs can log in, follow their task list, and complete inventory responsibilities quickly and confidently.
Benefits that Go Beyond the Back Office
When inventory is no longer a time-consuming chore, everyone wins:
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Technicians are empowered by systems that are easy to use and require less oversight. By supporting staff members in this way, you provide new opportunities for professional development and growth while, at the same time, achieve your inventory goals.
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Pharmacists gain back time to focus on patient care and clinical responsibilities.
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Managers and owners gain visibility into inventory trends, reduce waste, and protect cash flow.
And perhaps most importantly: the pressure starts to lift.
Pharmacies that adopt inventory automation report smoother daily operations, fewer errors, more predictable workflows, and a renewed sense of team stability, even amid limited staffing.
From Burnout to Balance
The emotional toll of doing more with less is real. Reports show that 1 in 4 pharmacists describe themselves as "very stressed," and many experience what experts now call “moral injury”—the distress that comes from knowing what care patients need but being unable to provide it due to time or resource constraints.
By reclaiming time through automation, pharmacies are starting to relieve this pressure. Technology can’t solve every challenge, but it can make a noticeable difference in how your day feels.
And that’s no small thing.
A Smarter Way to Manage Inventory
Whether you’re using the Visual or Periodic method, chances are your current approach requires a lot of manual input, long hours, and subjective decision-making. The Perpetual Method, powered by automation and real-time technology, offers a new path forward:
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Inventory levels are updated automatically with each delivery or dispense.
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Reorder points are calculated and adjusted based on actual usage trends.
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Expirations and surplus are flagged proactively, before they become a problem.
Technology That Works with Your Team
Even positive change can feel risky, especially when your team is already stretched. That’s why the most effective technology partners act not just as software providers, but as an ally in pharmacy management, offering hands-on training, live support, and guidance tailored to your unique needs.
Datarithm doesn’t just hand you a dashboard and walk away. Managers receive a 1:1 virtual training session, plus 24/7 access to a complete catalog of end-to-end training for the entire team. Courses are organized by activities like returns, transfers, cycle counting, and reporting, so your staff can get the right guidance at the right time. Support is never far away as creating a help ticket is just a click from your dashboard, and Datarithm’s expert team is always ready to answer questions. With training and support built into every step, your workflows run smoother, adoption sticks, and results grow.
Instead of firefighting stockout issues or tying up cash flow in unnecessary inventory, you get a system that works in the background, keeping you informed and in control.
Inventory Optimization Gives You Back Time and Cash
Inventory represents your pharmacy’s largest investment and largest expense. Therefore, it’s your pharmacy’s largest area of opportunity for time and cost optimization.
Even small changes in inventory management, like automating ordering or streamlining cycle counts, can free up hours per week. That’s time your team can use to rest, reconnect, or focus on what really matters: your patients.
And according to PBA Health, “every 1 percent change in an average pharmacy’s costs of goods can shift profits by 20 percent.” Improving your profit margins also gives your pharmacy a better chance of sustaining, so you can continue to provide care for years to come.
Your patients and your community are the heart of your pharmacy work. Optimizing your inventory may be the most impactful move you can make for them right now.
Ready to Learn More?
Download our full guide, Automate to Elevate: How Pharmacies are Using Technology to Overcome Staffing Shortages and Take Back Time, to see how pharmacies like yours are transforming their operations without burning out their teams.
Caring for your community starts with caring for your team. And with the right tools, we believe balance is within reach.
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