Profitability and Compliance: SiCompounding’s All-in-One Solution

Direct Access | Alexander Pytlarz, Pharm.D., VP of business development at Isak Computing, sheds light on the company‘s SiCompounding platform and its features tailored to enhance pharmacy operations.

In this interview with PTMR’s Maggie Lockwood, Alexander Pytlarz, Pharm.D., VP of business development at Isak Computing, sheds light on the company‘s SiCompounding platform and its features tailored to enhance pharmacy operations. Drawing on his operational insights from the long-term care pharmacy sector, coupled with his 16-year immersion in compounding pharmacy, Pytlarz recognized SiCompounding’s potential to empower pharmacists by integrating their business acumen with their clinical expertise.

PTMR: Alexander, we’re eager to learn more about SiCompounding. Could you elaborate on its development and the built-in operational efficiencies?

Alexander Pytlarz: SiCompounding aims to revolutionize the prescription-filling process by embedding automations that minimize manual steps. For pharmacy owners, our software’s scalability is a key advantage. Features like AI-driven tools, prescriber reports, and B2B API [application programming interface] integrations automate tasks, enabling a pharmacy to handle a significant increase in prescription volume without a proportional rise in staffing. This is fundamental for achieving growth while preserving profitability.

Our tagline, “all-in-one,” truly encapsulates the platform’s value. Many pharmacists currently juggle multiple systems for prescription processing, payments, and deliveries, leading to inefficiencies. SiCompounding consolidates these functions into a single, integrated platform, streamlining workflows and providing the scalability essential for sustained growth.

PTMR: What are some of the core benefits of this all-in-one approach?

Pytlarz: A standout feature is our Prescriber Portal, a dedicated integrated EMR [electronic medical record] site. Prescribers can log in to manage patient profiles, input prescriptions, including directions, quantity, days’ supply, refills, payment, and shipping, and even view the pharmacy’s existing compound inventory. This encourages the utilization of common compounds, reducing the need for one-off preparations and enhancing efficiency for scalability and growth by minimizing manual processes. Instead of compounding an item once a month, you might find yourself making it 15 times due to increased prescriber selection.

“Our tagline, ‘all-in-one,’ truly encapsulates the platform’s value. Many pharmacists currently juggle multiple systems for prescription processing, payments, and deliveries, leading to inefficiencies. SiCompounding consolidates these functions into a single, integrated platform, streamlining workflows and providing the scalability essential for sustained growth.” - Alexander Pytlarz, Pharm.D.

The portal also fosters seamless bi-directional communication with prescribers. Instead of relying on faxes or phone calls, the pharmacy can send secure messages directly to the doctor, triggering a pop-up alert for immediate review. This facilitates quick resolution of refill requests, clarifications, and other inquiries. The portal’s ease of use for prescribers translates to a more convenient pharmacy to work with, strengthening relationships and driving business.

On the dispensing side, patients receive notifications on prescription status. And perhaps one of the most important notifications is address confirmation. When a prescription is ready to ship, the patient receives a text to confirm the address on file. That patient communication becomes more engaging, and the pharmacist feels better connected to their patients.

PTMR: Reporting is critical. What business intelligence capabilities are integrated into SiCompounding?

Pytlarz: The software provides various reports. Managers or leadership can view cashflow reports, for example, to track profitability. A dashboard offers quick access to daily metrics like prescription volume, sterile versus non-sterile counts, shipping costs, and revenue. The doctor’s prescribing history can identify trends or new therapies a physician is using, providing marketing opportunities for the pharmacy.

PTMR: How does SiCompounding handle quality control and compliance documentation?

Pytlarz: A significant benefit for owners is the built-in quality management part of the system, which helps identify, categorize, and prevent errors, nonconformities, or outof-spec issues. This quality improvement focus is deemed as important as sales for improving operations. It aids in compliance with regulatory requirements like USP [U.S. Pharmacopeia] guidelines by helping identify hazardous ingredients and preparations. For hazardous compounding, the system can force the user to confirm they are working in the appropriate room, appropriately gowned, and provides access to SDSs [safety data sheets], SOPs [standard operating procedures] and safety requirements within the system.

The system automatically captures quality improvement data through its functionality, tracking prescriptions sent back for correction or compounds that are canceled — for example, to identify specific teaching opportunities or systemic issues. This data capture mechanism eliminates the need for staff to manually report every incident.

The software documents everything, which is essential because if you don’t have it documented, you know, where’s the proof? A great example is the scale integration. Each morning someone has to calibrate the scale, and the system links every compound that was made to that calibrated scale. Using the technology to drive certain expectations or requirements makes everyone more efficient. It reduces errors or opportunities for errors because of the settings that are built in.

PTMR: With compounding largely a cash-only business, what implications does this have for a pharmacy’s future?

Pytlarz: While insurance played a larger role a decade ago, it has significantly decreased. Today, I estimate that only about 10% of compounding pharmacies bill insurance, and that often depends on whether commercially available products are used in the compound. However, there are always opportunities for growth and innovation within this model.

PTMR: How does SiCompounding support this opportunity?

Pytlarz: From a technological perspective, our primary goal is to maximize operational efficiencies and ensure the consistent quality of compounded preparations. Our reporting capabilities and automated workflow documentation free up pharmacy staff from tedious data entry. The prescriber portal is probably the best example. A prescriber who has a pharmacy that’s using the portal versus a pharmacy that doesn’t have a portal, more times than not, because of the ease of use and the ability to select the product, the doctor’s going to lean toward the prescriber portal.

Pharmacists are able to produce better products for the doctors, and they are happier because you’re taking care of the patients in a better way and you’re communicating in a better way. With two-way text, it’s faster and easier to communicate with the patients. All these customer service aspects, whether it’s the patient or the doctor, whether it’s with your own employees, you are creating an environment where people will want to be there and will thrive. PTMR

Read More… Alexander Pytlarz on the Top 10 Features to Look for in Compounding Software that first appeared in the January/ February 2025 issue of PTMR.