October is American Pharmacists Month, which provides an opportunity to recognize and celebrate how pharmacists support patients’ health and wellness in communities across the country.

It is no secret that the U.S. healthcare system is complex. Connecting hundreds of thousands of healthcare providers with the medicines and healthcare products that patients rely on every day — both safely and efficiently — requires coordination between a diverse set of stakeholders. 

Most days, pharmaceutical distributors fulfill their vital role largely unnoticed. Patients take for granted their medications will reach them safely and quickly. They don’t think about the systems, protocols, professionalism and technology required to make delivery seamless from manufacturer to pharmacy and, ultimately, to them.

Step into a pharmaceutical distribution center, and you will find a modern facility bustling with activity. In today’s state-of-the-art facilities, passionate employees, supported by sophisticated new technology, work around the clock to fulfill shipments to hundreds of thousands of pharmacies, hospitals and other healthcare facilities across the country.

Patients often have many questions when they are prescribed a medication by their healthcare provider for the first time. What they typically do not need to worry about, however, is how their prescription medicine got to the pharmacy, whether anything happened to it along its journey, if it was handled with care or if it was potentially compromised by illegitimate products that may have entered the pharmaceutical supply chain.