DocStation and CPESN Team to Help Pharmacies Provide Medical Billing

Pharmacy software provider DocStation has launched a collaboration with pharmacy network CPESN USA designed to help pharmacies enter the medical billing space.

“Pharmacists’ roles expanded during the pandemic, leading to an increase in clinical services offered to patients,” the companies said in a Wednesday (March 13) news release.

“These services must also be billed to support the staff who offer such services. Together DocStation and CPESN USA are working to provide solutions that allow pharmacists to submit medical claims for clinical services they provide to their patients, reducing the amount of time spent on paperwork and other administrative tasks.”

According to the release, DocStation and CPSEN will team to offer guidance and education that helps pharmacies to get paid for services in provider status states such as Minnesota, Texas, California, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Tennessee and Washington.

“Medical billing for pharmacists can pose difficult scenarios in the contrast of scope of practice for a pharmacist against the scope of license allowed by the state that grants the license,” Travis Wollf, director of CPESN Medical Billing Supports, said in the release.

The partnership comes as pharmacies around the country — along with the larger health system — are contending with the fallout from the cyberattack on Change Healthcare, the nation’s largest processor of medical claims and a major processor of subscriptions.

Meanwhile, PYMNTS recently examined the way pharmacy retailers are diversifying their offerings to meet more of the day-to-day needs of modern consumers.

For example, there’s CVS, which has been highlighting its efforts to focus on the healthcare services space. Nevertheless, that report said, “its website continues to advertise everything from waffle makers to mocktails to cologne.

“Pharmacy retailers have long been a staple in communities, providing essential medications and healthcare products,” PYMNTS wrote. “However, as other kinds of retailers have begun to encroach on their territory, with supermarket and general retail chains such as Kroger and Walmart expanding their health offerings, pharmacy retailers are in turn expanding their general merchandise in an effort to hold their own.”

In addition, the advent of online shopping has led to a change in consumer expectations, with the rise of one-stop-shop digital marketplaces such as Amazon leading consumers to seek more options from their merchants.