Product Prices

logic

Note: Adding a link to the original Google document for reference since there are a number of notes and comments there. This is currently very much a rough draft as the feature is in development.

Price management for dispensable medication can be managed via the Product Prices section of the Dispensing Dashboard. The Product Prices page includes settings and management for pricing rules, which include various conditions and logic for where and how pricing is applied to each form of dispensable medication. It is also possible to manage discounts via this section as well.

Pricing rules and discounts may vary depending on the type of medication, the drug form, or even the type of client purchasing the medication, such as a B2B contract versus an individual patient. Likewise, multiple rules or discounts may apply to any specific fill or order, depending on the most relevant criteria matched in each applicable rule. For more information on how pricing rules are determined, as well as errors or overrides in special cases, refer to the relevant section(s).

Product Prices and Discounts

Dispensable medication prices and discounts are managed via the Product Price page in the Dispensing Dashboard. The product price refers to the cost of the dispensed product, whether the payor is an individual patient or a B2B contract. Pricing rules are set and managed via the Product Price page and determine the total price that appears for orders in the Order Queues.

Discounts may be layered on top of product prices. Discounts, like pricing rules, may apply to just one type of payor (e.g. B2B or patient), pharmacy, or drug form. Some discounts may be marked as “Exclusive,” in which case only that discount will be applied to an order's total cost. 

The app provides logic to determine both the product price and discount, using the following process:

  • Use pricing rule(s) to determine the cost for each fill in an order

  • Run discounts to determine which, if any, apply to the order

  • Check discounts for exclusivity

    • The lowest cost for the payor will be automatically selected or recommended

    • If the lowest cost option also includes an exclusive discount, no other discounts will be applied

[Insert flowchart]

When checking for discounts, the app will determine which discounts have the closest match to the related fill. If more than one discount matches equally, the app will present the current user with the option to select which discount(s) to apply. 

Note that some dispensable medications may have a minimum price. When applying discounts, the app will also check against the medication's minimum price. If a minimum price exists, the total cost will never go below that amount, even if discounts applied would make it lower. For example, if the total cost of a fill is $90, discounts bring the price to $65, and the minimum price is $70, the payor would be charged $70.

Managing Product Prices

Product prices may be viewed or managed via the Product Prices section of the app. When visiting the Product Price Management page, there are two primary sections: Product Price Search and Price List.

The Product Price Search section offers a variety of search fields that allow you to filter the price results listed in the table below. By default, this section allows you to search for product prices by the rule name, the practice the price applies to, set IDs, and the medication name. 

Clicking the Advanced Search Options button offers additional search fields that can be used to filter the results that appear in the Price List table.

By default, the Price List table displays all pricing rules, listed in order of ID number, which is automatically generated by the system. It is possible to customize the table view and sorting options, as described in Table Options and Sorting. 

The actions menu on the Price List includes the following options:

  • Details: Selecting Details opens a pop-up window with all related information about the product price rule.

  • Record Logs:

  • Edit: 

  • Delete:

Create a Product Price

When creating a new product price, selecting Price Based on Another Rule allows you to build additional pricing settings based on another existing, active rule in the system. 

Pricing Rules

For all product prices, the following information is required:

  • A name or ID. This ensures that pricing rules can be more easily managed by users in the system.

  • The “audience” scope, which means the price can apply to a specific pharmacy, provider, company, or patient.

  • The medication criteria, including which medication the price applies to, as well as other specific such as brand, dosage, amount, and/or device.

  • The validity of the price, including the start date and end date, if applicable. 

For prices that reference an existing price rule, there is a check in place that prevents circular referencing, meaning that a rule cannot reference itself.

Managing Discounts

Create a Discount

Discount rules

  • Minimum price enforcement

  • Discounts are applied sequentially, based on start date

    • In the case that two discounts start on the same day, the time is used. 

Exceptions and Overrides

  • If more than one discount applies, the user must select.

Errors and Troubleshooting

If an error occurs, the price will need to be manually set in the payment process. 

To do:

  • Confirm pricing structure

    • Is there an algorithm (e.g. based on pricing rules + cost to make) or can this all be set manually?

  • Confirm technicality level

    • Similar to the order queues, do we want to include any technical examples of the logic being applied here? 

  • Incorporate evaluation logic, e.g. numbers are only rounded at the end to avoid cumulative errors