SPARTANBURG, SC--(Marketwired - October 12, 2016) - Smith Drug Company (SDC) is launching a variety of services designed to give independent retail pharmacies access to offerings and information that have previously only been available to major chains. Under the HealthWise Pharmacy^sm umbrella, these offerings include a specialty at retail pharmacy network and clinical solutions, consulting services, long term care solutions, market intelligence, OTC merchandising and branding solutions, and an intuitive predictive ordering solution to optimize inventory.

"We know that independent retail pharmacies are in an extremely competitive market position," said Jeff Foreman, RPh, President of Smith Drug Company. "With the launch of the HealthWise Pharmacy suite of solutions, we are working to give our customers access to services and tools that are not widely available to them anywhere else in the industry. We know from experience and research that these are the tools that can help ensure that our local, community pharmacies remain vibrant."

HealthWise Pharmacy Specialty Network gives local retail pharmacies access to training and programs to provide their patients with specialty pharmaceuticals, customized to the individual patient, for diagnoses including cancer, multiple sclerosis, HIV, CID and many others. Highly complex patient care is managed by pharmacists and technicians who have expertise in specialty pharmacy, while the patient stays with the pharmacy team they know and trust. Patient outcomes are improved with greater medication adherence and reduced costs for the patient.

Long term care (LTC) facilities often rely on local pharmacies to help them manage the complex medication needs of their residents. However, managing an LTC pharmacy requires very specialized knowledge, not just of pharmaceuticals, but of the rules and regulations that must be followed. HealthWise Pharmacy LTC solutions offer independent pharmacies access to experts in the LTC field, a as well as access to leading edge software solutions, programs and services that enable them to establish and grow an LTC pharmacy.

HealthWise Pharmacy Consulting Solutions has a merchandising-360 element through a partnership with a leading merchandising firm that will ensure pharmacies have the right products, in the right size categories, in the proper places within the front end of the pharmacy for the demographic mix of their communities. HealthWise Pharmacy Consulting Solutions also provides assistance to pharmacies in staffing optimization through use of an algorithm, as well as to optimize workflow, systems and automation to create the utmost in efficiencies in a pharmacy.

Analytics and predictive modeling are routinely used in large-scale retail to manage inventory, however developing an in-house solution is usually beyond the ability of most independent retailers. HealthWise Pharmacy Intuitive Purchasing System (IPS) is a next generation inventory optimization tool for retail pharmacy. IPS pharmacies will be able to determine how much and what type of inventory should be maintained so that products are readily available for patients when they are needed.

HealthWise Pharmacy Generic Solutions is a proprietary generic prescription formulary. Customers taking full advantage of this formulary have access to extremely competitive pricing on quality generic products.

HealthWise Pharmacy Clinical Solutions helps improve retail pharmacies' 5-star ratings. In this program, retail pharmacies have access to many capability partners and solutions that will help them synchronize medications of patients, do outbound refill reminder calls, identify patients who are "outliers" in terms of adherence, and other data mining assistance that can improve the performance level of their pharmacy.

"Smith Drug Company is committed to doing what is best for patient care, and we believe by offering our pharmacy customers these opportunities patient care will improve," said Foreman. "As an organization led by pharmacists, we understand the challenges in today's pharmacy market, and our collection of HealthWise Pharmacy solutions helps our customers not only meet those challenges, but excel not only today, but in the future."

About Smith Drug Company

Smith Drug Company (www.smithdrug.com) is the original division of J M Smith Corporation, and one of America's premier wholesale drug distributors. Launched in 1944, the division serves pharmacies in 23 states, the District of Columbia and the US Virgin Islands through distribution centers in Spartanburg; Paragould, AR; and Valdosta, GA.

South Carolina's third-largest privately owned company, the J M Smith Corporation is headquartered in Spartanburg and operates through multiple business units: Smith Drug Company, QS/1, Integral Solutions Group, RxMedic Systems, Inc., and Integra LTC Solutions, LLC.

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