Smarter Pharmacy Procurement: How Sentinel Uses Cost Insights to Drive Lasting Savings
Every dollar counts—especially when you’re managing medication costs across multiple facilities, each with its own challenges. Whether supporting 340B or non-340B operations, pharmacy leaders are under pressure to do more with less. Even the most experienced teams struggle when data is fragmented and systems are disconnected.
That’s where Sentinel® can help. Powered by The Craneware Group’s enterprise-level analytics and compliance capabilities—and now enhanced with embedded cost intelligence from Bluesight®--Sentinel helps hospitals take control of dug spend with unmatched visibility and actionability.
The Reality: Drug Purchasing Is Getting Harder to Manage
Procurement should be strategic. But for many hospitals, it’s a juggling act. One team is chasing down NDC mapping. Another is working through outdated charge data. And leadership is left wondering if they’re leaving money on the table.
We’ve heard this story repeatedly:
- “We’re not sure we’re buying as efficiently as we could.”
- “We don’t have time to analyze what we spent—let alone optimize it.”
- “We know savings are out there, but we can’t see where.”
The challenge isn’t a lack of effort—it’s a lack of insight.
What Hospitals Need: One View, Smarter Decisions
To truly control drug spend, hospitals need more than reports. They need:
- A consolidated view of purchasing activity across all sites
- The ability to quickly identify cost-saving opportunities—before decisions are made
- Confidence in data that’s current, complete, and actionable
Shifting from hindsight to foresight—and from cost containment to strategic savings—Sentinel delivers the unified view hospitals need, blending deep pharmacy-specific analytics, operational control, and no embedded cost-saving intelligence from Bluesight to support real-time decisions.
The Shift: From Fragmented to Fully Informed
Here’s how that shift looks in practice:
Imagine a five-hospital system, with only three participating in 340B. Without the right tools, tracking spend, identifying savings, and managing compliance across these sites becomes a patchwork effort.
With Sentinel as the centralized analytics and procurement platform, all five hospitals—regardless of 340B status—can align on a single source of truth. Bluesight’s embedded insights enhance this ecosystem, delivering real-time cost intelligence within Sentinel’s robust workflows.
That means:
- Centralized data, unified decisions
- Less time spent pulling reports, more time spent acting on insights
- Cost-saving opportunities that don’t go unnoticed
Unlike standalone tools that provide limited visibility or focus only on 340B, this approach—led by Sentinel-- brings value across the board. Because the goal isn’t just compliance. It’s strategic, systemwide procurement optimization.
The Outcome: Data-Driven Savings That Last
With Sentinel’s intelligent automation and operational analytics at the core, hospitals gain real-time visibility into every purchasing decision. And with Bluesight’s cost-saving recommendations now embedded directly within Sentinel, those insights are immediately actionable—without jumping between applications.
Hospitals using this integrated approach report:
- “Fewer missed savings”
- “Smarter purchasing decisions across all facilities”
- “Stronger collaboration between pharmacy, compliance, and finance”
- “Less time spent chasing data and more time improving performance”
As Abhilesh Gandhi, Chief Technology Officer at The Craneware Group, puts it:
“Technology should help teams work smarter, not harder. Sentinel has always delivered the analytics and control hospitals need to optimize pharmacy spend. With Bluesight, we’re making it easier for hospitals to act on the data they already have—without adding extra steps.”
Conclusion
Controlling drug spend shouldn’t feel like guesswork. Hospitals deserve a strategic solution. That combines powerful analytics, intelligent automation, and embedded cost insights—all within one platform.
Sentinel from The Craneware Group delivers that foundation. Want to take a smarter approach to Pharmacy Revenue Cycle? Visit Trisus® Business of Pharmacy Suite.