U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
Skip to main content
Decorative Image of the PINS system logo

Last updated

PINS (Pharmacy Inventory Networking System)

Share Print

Created to promote the VHA's mission of being a high reliability organization by optimizing vested funds to their full potential. PINS streamlines the transfer of unused, non-returnable medications between VA sites while creating a traceable data source for cost savings. This application enhances the VHA's ability to proactively rehome products for optimal utilization and waste stream avoidance.

This innovation is scaling widely with the support of national stakeholders. See more scaling innovations.

Adoptions:

122 successful

Partners:

Pharmacy Benefits Management Services

Contact Team

Overview

Problem

Pharmaceutical waste happens at every VA site within the VHA. This occurs when purchased medications in the inventory are no longer needed and/or cannot be returned to prime vendors or utilized by new patients. Previously at their discretion, VA sites would list items that were soon to expire or unwanted via purchaser’s email groups hoping someone would tak ... See more

Solution

The Pharmacy Inventory Networking System application is an efficient solution to facilitate all aspects of redistribution for these products. Features include multiple search and filter options for listed items, barcode-enabled product lookup to assist in listing items, an automated claims process which pre-populates delivery information based on facility se ... See more

Images

A screen capture of the PINS application showing a list of available items

Screen Shot of the PINS Application

Results

Within the first two weeks, Mann Grandstaff VAMC had averted $19,299.81 in pharmaceutical waste and had utilized $102,287.53 of unwanted products from other VA sites. By the end of August 2024 Mann Grandstaff VAMC re-vested $396,246.29 worth of unusable product. $337,141.34 was utilized from other VA sites and $59,104.95 was redistributed. The power of s ... See more

Metrics

  • PINS has actualized $3 million in savings to the VHA within 9 months of operation.
  • PINS potential is exponential, currently we have 194 enrolled out of 318 eligible sites. We have a participation rate of 61%.

Diffusion tracker

Does not include Clinical Resource Hubs (CRH)

Statuses

AK: Colonel Mary Louise Rasmuson Campus of the Alaska VA Healthcare System (Anchorage) AL: Birmingham VA Medical Center (Birmingham, Alabama) AL: Tuscaloosa VA Medical Center (Tuscaloosa) AR: Fayetteville VA Medical Center (Fayetteville, Arkansas) AR: John L. McClellan Memorial Veterans' Hospital (Little Rock, Arkansas) AZ: Bob Stump Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Prescott) CA: Chico VA Clinic (Chico) CA: Fresno VA Medical Center (Fresno) CA: Martinez VA Medical Center (Martinez) CA: McClellan VA Clinic (McClellan Park) CA: Palo Alto VA Medical Center (Palo Alto, California) CA: Redding VA Clinic (Redding) CA: San Francisco VA Medical Center (San Francisco) CA: Sepulveda VA Medical Center (Sepulveda) CA: Tibor Rubin VA Medical Center (Long Beach) CO: Grand Junction VA Medical Center (Grand Junction, Colorado) CT: Newington VA Clinic (Newington) CT: West Haven VA Medical Center (West Haven) DC: Washington VA Medical Center (Washington, District of Columbia) DE: Wilmington VA Medical Center (Wilmington, Delaware) FL: James A. Haley Veterans' Hospital (Tampa, Florida) FL: Lake Baldwin VA Clinic (Lake Baldwin) FL: Lee County VA Clinic (Lee County-Cape Coral) FL: New Port Richey VA Clinic (New Port Richey) FL: Sergeant Ernest I. "Boots" Thomas VA Clinic (Tallahassee) FL: South Hillsborough VA Clinic (South Hillsborough) FL: The Villages VA Clinic (The Villages) FL: West Palm Beach VA Medical Center (West Palm Beach) GA: Augusta VA Medical Center-Uptown (Augusta Uptown) GA: Carl Vinson Veterans' Administration Medical Center (Dublin) GA: Charlie Norwood Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Augusta Downtown) HI: Spark M. Matsunaga Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Honolulu) ID: Boise VA Medical Center (Boise) IL: Bob Michel Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic (Peoria) IL: Captain James A. Lovell Federal Health Care Center (North Chicago) IL: Jesse Brown Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Chicago, Illinois) IN: Adam Benjamin Jr., Veterans' Administration Outpatient Clinic (Crown Point) IN: Jackie Walorski VA Clinic (Mishawaka) IN: Terre Haute VA Clinic (Terre Haute) KS: Colmery-O'Neil Veterans' Administration Medical Center (Topeka) KY: Robley Rex Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Louisville) LA: Alexandria VA Medical Center (Alexandria, Louisiana) LA: Overton Brooks Veterans' Administration Medical Center (Shreveport) MA: Brockton VA Medical Center (Brockton) MA: Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans' Hospital (Bedford) MA: Edward P. Boland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Central Western Massachusetts) MA: Worcester VA Clinic (Worcester) MD: Baltimore VA Medical Center (Baltimore) MD: Perry Point VA Medical Center (Perry Point) MI: John D. Dingell Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Detroit) MI: Lieutenant Colonel Charles S. Kettles VA Medical Center (Ann Arbor) MI: Oscar G. Johnson Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Facility (Iron Mountain) MN: Minneapolis VA Medical Center (Minneapolis, Minnesota) MO: Harry S. Truman Memorial Veterans' Hospital (Columbia, Missouri) MO: John J. Cochran Veterans Hospital (St. Louis John Cochran) MO: Kansas City VA Medical Center (Kansas City, Missouri) MO: St. Louis VA Medical Center-Jefferson Barracks (St. Louis Jefferson Barracks) MS: Biloxi VA Medical Center (Biloxi) MS: G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Jackson, Mississippi) MT: Fort Harrison VA Medical Center (Fort Harrison) NC: Charles George Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Asheville) NC: Durham VA Medical Center (Durham) NC: Fayetteville VA Medical Center (Fayetteville, North Carolina) NC: W.G. (Bill) Hefner Salisbury Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Salisbury) NC: Wilmington VA Clinic (Wilmington, North Carolina) NE: Omaha VA Medical Center (Omaha, Nebraska) NH: Manchester VA Medical Center (Manchester) NJ: Toms River VA Clinic (Toms River) NM: Raymond G. Murphy Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Albuquerque) NV: Ioannis A. Lougaris Veterans' Administration Medical Center (Reno) NV: North Las Vegas VA Medical Center (North Las Vegas) NY: Buffalo VA Medical Center (Buffalo, New York) NY: Castle Point VA Medical Center (Castle Point) NY: Franklin Delano Roosevelt Hospital (Montrose, New York) NY: James J. Peters Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Bronx) NY: Margaret Cochran Corbin VA Campus (Manhattan) NY: Samuel S. Stratton Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Albany, New York) NY: Syracuse VA Medical Center (Syracuse) OH: Carl Nunziato VA Clinic (Youngstown) OH: Chalmers P. Wylie Veterans Outpatient Clinic (Columbus, Ohio) OH: Chillicothe VA Medical Center (Chillicothe) OH: Dayton VA Medical Center (Dayton) OH: Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Cleveland, Ohio) OH: Parma VA Clinic (Parma) OH: Toledo VA Clinic (Toledo) OK: Oklahoma City VA Medical Center (Oklahoma City) OR: Portland VA Medical Center (Portland, Oregon) OR: Roseburg VA Medical Center (Roseburg) OR: White City VA Medical Center (White City) PA: Butler VA Medical Center (Butler New Castle Road) PA: Coatesville VA Medical Center (Coatesville) PA: Corporal Michael J. Crescenz Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) PA: James E. Van Zandt Veterans' Administration Medical Center (Altoona) PA: Lebanon VA Medical Center (Lebanon) PA: Pittsburgh VA Medical Center-University Drive (Pittsburgh) PA: Wilkes-Barre VA Medical Center (Wilkes-Barre) PR: San Juan VA Medical Center (San Juan) RI: Providence VA Medical Center (Providence) SC: Ralph H. Johnson Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Charleston, South Carolina) SD: Royal C. Johnson Veterans' Memorial Hospital (Sioux Falls) TN: Alvin C. York Veterans' Administration Medical Center (Murfreesboro) TN: James H. Quillen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Mountain Home, Tennessee) TN: Nashville VA Medical Center (Nashville) TX: Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans' Hospital (San Antonio, Texas) TX: Charles Wilson Department of Veterans Affairs Outpatient Clinic (Lufkin) TX: George H. O'Brien, Jr., Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Big Spring) TX: Harlingen VA Clinic (Harlingen) TX: Lubbock VA Clinic (Lubbock) TX: North West San Antonio VA Clinic (North West San Antonio) TX: Thomas E. Creek Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Amarillo) VA: Richmond VA Medical Center (Richmond, Virginia) WA: Jonathan M. Wainwright Memorial VA Medical Center (Walla Walla) WA: Mann-Grandstaff Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Spokane, Washington) WA: North Seattle VA Clinic (North Seattle) WA: Seattle VA Medical Center (Seattle) WI: Clement J. Zablocki Veterans' Administration Medical Center (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) WI: Tomah VA Medical Center (Tomah) WI: William S. Middleton Memorial Veterans' Hospital (Madison) WV: Hershel "Woody" Williams VA Medical Center (Huntington, West Virginia) WV: Louis A. Johnson Veterans' Administration Medical Center (Clarksburg) WY: Cheyenne VA Medical Center (Cheyenne) WY: Sheridan VA Medical Center (Sheridan)

There are no in-progress adoptions for this innovation.

There are no unsuccessful adoptions for this innovation.

Implementation

Timeline

  • October 2023
    Concept and prototype created by Pharmacy Procurement Supervisor at Mann Grandstaff VAMC.
  • November 2023
    Prototype presented to PBM Supply Chain Pillars in hopes of a partnership. Concept was found agreeable and was adopted by PBM for further development.
  • January 2024
    PINS (Pharmacy Inventory Networking System) went live as a teams-based power application under the umbrella of PBM's Pharmacy Community Supply Chain Group.

Departments

  • Pharmacy

Core Resources

Resource type Resource description
PEOPLE
  • Pharmacy Procurement Specialist, required for application participation.
PROCESSES
  • Pharmacy Procurement Specialist registers to their pre built facility from the PINS application after joining the Pharmacy Community Supply Chain Group.
TOOLS
  • In it's current state no additional resources are required to use this system. PINS uses existing software and VA issued hardware.

Support Resources

Resource type Resource description
PEOPLE
  • The Pharmacy Supply Chain Community is here to support all sites actively using this application and can assist any new sites looking to implement PINS.

Contact

Comment

Comments and replies are disabled for retired innovations and non-VA users.

VA User (Pharmacist(clinical Spec)) Innovation adopter posted

We use it here and really like it! Very easy to use

Email

Email with questions about this innovation.

About

Origin story

The idea for a national trading platform was sparked by VISN-level product saturation. When dealing with the All Hazards Emergency Cache, soon-to-expire products are released into circulation en masse making it difficult to distribute among VISN peers. We needed a way to network effectively with added visibility to broaden our outreach. PINS became that fi ... The idea for a national trading platform was sparked by VISN-level product saturation. When dealing with the All Hazards Emergency Cache, soon-to-expire products are released into circulation en masse making it difficult to distribute among VISN peers. We needed a way to network effectively with added visibility to broaden our outreach. PINS became that finalized vision.

Original team

Tamara Goins

Pharmacy Procurement Supervisor

Ronald Major

Program Manager Education and Training

Ann Jacovelli

Pharmacy Technician, Clinical Supply Chain

Zita Schmitt

Pharmacy Technician

Krystal Cameron

Pharmacy Program Specialist

Marian Daum

Clinical Pharmacy Specialist

Brian O'Quinn

Pharmacy Program Specialist