PillPilot journal

Notes for the counter.

In-depth, sourced writing for independent and community pharmacy: staffing, prescription data entry, adherence, and the systems you run.

Latest

Pharmacy automation, compared by bottleneck.

Compare dispensing robots, IVR, built-in PMS tools, remote data entry, and AI agents by the pharmacy work each one actually changes.

Read the piece
  1. Robotics
  2. IVR
  3. Built-in PMS
  4. Outsourced entry
  5. AI agents
PMS field guide

Pharmacy management software: seven systems compared.

Compare deployment, ownership, positioning, migration context, and workflow fit across seven major systems. No ranking; vendor-sourced throughout.

Claims guide

Pharmacy reject codes: meanings and next checks.

Look up reject codes 70, 75, 76, 79, 88 and more. Start with the returned text, then separate a claim-data issue from a payer coverage rule.

BINPCNGROUP
Claims reference

RX BIN, RxIIN, PCN, and RxGroup: what each field means.

See where RX BIN, PCN, RxGroup, and member ID fit on an insurance card, understand routing rejects, and recover a missing route without guessing.

RX BIN003858004336610097dated routes
BIN directory

RX BIN directory: look up the published route.

Search by six-digit BIN, RxBIN/RxIIN, PCN, payer, plan, or program. Each result shows the published route and source to check against the patient's current card or eligibility response.

5 mL × 20÷ 425d
Calculation guide

How to calculate days supply by dosage form.

Use the product, directions, package, and payer convention to choose the right days-supply calculation.

0129
Claims reference

DAW codes 0 through 9: meanings and documentation.

Find the published meaning for every DAW value, then match the code to who selected the product and the payer's current instruction.

Paid 2Not covered 3Paid $0 4
Claims reference

Pharmacy other coverage codes: match the OCC to the payer result.

Start with the prior payer's result, then verify the receiving payer's OCC, reject-code, and COB-field requirements.

439+440+441
Claims reference

Pharmacy DUR codes: meaning, intervention, and result.

Look up the three response fields, what each one records, and how published state Medicaid rules and accepted combinations vary by payer.

Architecture

Why we run on top of your pharmacy system

Why PillPilot uses the pharmacy system like a technician instead of requiring a separate integration.

Workflow

Prescription data entry: the workflow and key fields.

A stage-by-stage map of the patient, product, directions, legal, clinical, prescriber, and claim decisions behind pharmacy entry.

Workforce

The pharmacy technician shortage.

Almost every technician opening is churn, not growth. Treat it as a retention problem and the math changes.

Analysis

Will AI replace pharmacy technicians?

E-prescribing, dispensing robots, central fill, and now AI have changed the tasks. The technician role keeps moving toward the work that still needs a person.

Editorial note

About the PillPilot blog.

PillPilot publishes practical, educational resources for pharmacy teams. Every post is written by the PillPilot team and reviewed by pharmacists. When a post cites payer guidance, the current payer sheet or companion guide governs live claim work.

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Let your pharmacists be pharmacists.

PillPilot installs in two weeks and runs on top of the system you already use.