Continued innovation in pet pharmacy processes leads to quality advancements and decreased error rates, and a focus on sustainability keeps packaging out of the landfill.
PORTLAND, Ore., Oct. 25, 2022 — Vetsource®, a pet health company that offers industry-leading pharmacy, technology and business services to those who care for pets, has named Leatha Lynch as Director of Regulatory Affairs and Pharmacist in Charge. Lynch, who joined Vetsource in June, 2022, ensures the state and federal regulatory compliance of pet prescription medications and diets dispensed out of the company’s west and east coast pharmacy locations, located in Portland, Ore. and Harrisburg, Pa., respectively.
Leatha Lynch, Director of Regulatory Affairs and Pharmacist in Charge
Lynch brings 12 years of pharmacy experience to her role ensuring Vetsource pharmacies achieve operational production metrics and service levels, and develops technologies and operational and competency standards to ensure cohesive regulatory compliance and quality across pharmacy facilities.
“Leatha is a seasoned industry leader with extensive pharmacy and regulatory experience,” said Kurt Green, Vetsource President and CEO. “She brings strong leadership qualities and deep insight that will allow us to continually evolve the way we anticipate and respond to our customers’ needs in a rapidly changing marketplace, and continue to pave the way for innovation in our pharmacy facilities today and into the future.”
Lynch joins Vetsource at a time when the companion animal industry still lacks a formal pharmacy training program, but the need is greater than ever – some 84.9 million families in the United States own at least one pet.
“When pet medications are dispensed through a human pharmacy there can be varying standards and the possibility of a higher margin for error,” said Lynch. “We put our pharmacists through specialized training to be able to better serve the pet industry specifically, answer basic drug questions, and ensure proper dosage based on pet-specific factors. The result of this investment is proven by our exceptionally low 0.002 percent error rate. Our goal is to ensure the pet receives exactly what the veterinarian has prescribed, and the process for the pet owner is fast and easy.”
Pharmacy operations at Vetsource, which were restructured in 2021 in response to the global pandemic, followed by the company opening an additional pharmacy located on the east coast, play a critical role in the Vetsource’s prescription management ecosystem. As a result, impactful efficiencies, packaging innovations, and a commitment to sustainable community practices have led to drastically decreased error rates, less waste, and the ability to provide critical medications to pets who may not otherwise be able to receive them.
A streamlined prescription review, validation and approval process, without sacrificing service quality or accuracy, has resulted in a decreased error rate from 1-in-20,000 to now 1-in-50,000. Frequent cross-training has led the company to minimize loss of productivity and successfully fill over 90 percent of prescriptions the same day they are received.
Due to the urgent and lifesaving nature of many pet medications, such as refrigerated insulin, failproof cold chain shipping is critical. To mitigate the risk of temperature excursions, or shattered glass vessels, Vetsource performs certified temperature testing annually and ships all cold chain orders overnight. The Styrofoam packaging, coated with reflective foam and destined for the landfill, was traded in July 2022 for recyclable plastic packaging made in the U.S. from repurposed materials, significantly reducing the risk of supply chain backups and potentially keeping more than 10,000 packages out of the landfill in just the first 14 weeks.
Because animal welfare suffers when human welfare suffers, the pharmacy team donates reusable returned or package-damaged medications quarterly to PAW Team, a local Portland nonprofit that provides pet medications to pet owners experiencing homelessness. On average, over 60 various medications that would otherwise be discarded chemicals are donated per quarter, each containing hundreds of doses of flea-and-tick meds and other critical medications.
“As a pioneer in the pet pharmacy home delivery space, it is gratifying to know that every day we ship tens of thousands of important items to pet owners across the country, thus playing a small part in keeping pets happy and healthy,” said Green.
