Case Study: IndyScripts Pharmacy

Bottleneck Analysis & Process Optimization

The Challenge: During the COVID-19 pandemic, my brother's independent pharmacy was overwhelmed. Prescription requests surged, but despite operating virtually and everyone working overtime, they couldn't serve more patients. Something was slowing them downbut what?

The Approach: I stepped in to map their entire process from the moment a patient called to the moment they received their prescription. What we discovered: the bottleneck wasn't where they thought. It was at the very beginning the initial call intake.

The person handling patient calls often needed multiple follow-ups to gather complete information, which created a domino effect of delays throughout the entire fulfillment process.

The Solution: 

We restructured the intake process:

• Created a streamlined checklist to capture all essential patient and prescription information in the first call

• Trained the call handler to use the system consistently

• Established clear guidelines for call duration and follow-up procedures

The Results:

• Reduced prescription fulfillment delays significantly

• Increased the number of patients served daily

• Improved customer satisfaction during a critical time when people needed reliable access to medication

The Lesson:

 Sometimes the biggest impact comes from optimizing one small but critical step. You don't always need to overhaul everything you need to find the right lever to pull.