Oklahoma County staff report strong first month for county pharmacy; budget transfer to benefits planned

County staff updated the Oklahoma County Budget Board on early operations and staffing for the county-run pharmacy and asked the board to recommend a planned budget transfer.

"We've already done a hundred thousand first February. So that's $1,200,000 a year in pharmacy going through there. We can triple that doing most excellent. That's our goal," Speaker 1 said, describing first-month volume and growth expectations.

The presenter told the board the pharmacy currently uses nonstandard procurement arrangements and a low-cost provider but expects purchasing power to improve after roughly six months of retail volume. "Once we get about 6 months volume on the retail side, we can prove our numbers. Our purchasing power goes way up and we have access to different pharmacy vendors for medication," Speaker 1 said. Staff said that with higher volume the county could obtain GLP‑1 drugs at much lower prices; the transcript records an annual county spend on those drugs of about $3,500,000 but does not specify projected savings.

Staff described software as a near-term requirement. "But the software is 1 of the crucial pieces because you imagine working off a 20 something year old software program that has to meet insurance requirement. It just doesn't work right now," Speaker 1 said; the transcript records a line-item of $8,500 for a new computer system associated with the pharmacy.

Financial details discussed in the meeting included an exchange of figures for budget differences and overall county impacts. The presenter said "there is still $1,300,000 going back into overall county budget." The board discussed two numbers for the budget variance ($615,004.02 and $676,003.89); staff clarified the figure in the record as $676,003.89.

Staff also explained current payroll responsibility and the planned July 1 change: "Right now, they're paid out of the social services budget... 07/01, we would be buying them. And this is what this is, kind of the combination of the pharmacy and then the benefits and retirement department... once the new fiscal year starts, we switch them all over to those." The presenter identified pharmacy personnel as "a chief pharmacist, 3 pharmacy techs, a business manager, and then we have 3 part time pharmacists as well."

Separately, the board heard that $160,000 in funding for senior daily living services has continued under the pharmacy-related budget and that staff members urged preserving that support for caregivers and service recipients.

Action: A member moved and another seconded a motion "to recommend approval." The board recorded the motion and the chair called for the vote; the transcript shows the motion carried with the board responding "Aye. Aye." The motion was recorded as recommended for approval.

Why it matters: The item moves personnel and ongoing pharmacy operating costs to the county benefits budget and could materially change procurement access for medications once volume grows. Board members asked for midcourse evaluations beyond the initial six months to verify volumes and savings.

What’s next: Staff said they will report pharmacy performance metrics as volume accumulates and incorporate software and vendor changes into future budget and procurement discussions.