ArcherRX (Onsite Pharmacy): Frequently Asked Questions

How onsite pharmacy works, what it costs, and why it's one of the highest-ROI components of an employer healthcare program.

The Basics

What is ArcherRX?

ArcherRX is Archer Health's onsite pharmacy program. It dispenses commonly prescribed medications directly to employees at the clinic, eliminating the trip to a retail pharmacy and dramatically reducing medication costs for both employees and employers.

How does ArcherRX work?

When an employee receives a prescription from the onsite clinician, the medication is dispensed at the same location — often during the same visit. There's no separate trip to a pharmacy, no insurance claim to navigate, and no copay surprise. The medication is in hand before the employee leaves the clinic.

Is this a full retail pharmacy?

No. ArcherRX maintains a curated formulary of the most commonly prescribed medications — covering the bulk of what an onsite clinic actually prescribes. For specialty medications, complex compounds, or anything outside the formulary, prescriptions can still be sent to a traditional pharmacy.

What's Available

What medications are typically stocked?

The ArcherRX formulary typically includes generic medications for hypertension, diabetes, high cholesterol, asthma and allergies, common infections, mental health treatment, and acute care needs. Specific formularies are designed around each employer's workforce and prescribing patterns.

Can the formulary be customized?

Yes. We work with each employer to design a formulary that fits their workforce's actual prescription patterns, with the goal of capturing the highest-volume, highest-impact medications onsite.

What about brand-name or specialty drugs?

Brand-name medications and specialty drugs are typically prescribed through the employer's existing pharmacy benefit, since the savings model on those medications looks different. ArcherRX focuses on the generics where the savings are largest and most immediate.

What about controlled substances?

Most controlled substances have specific regulatory requirements that affect how they can be dispensed onsite. We follow all federal and state regulations and design each program accordingly.

Cost Savings

How does ArcherRX save money?

The savings come from a few specific places. Generic medications are dispensed at or near cost, eliminating the markup that traditional pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) layer on top of acquisition cost. The administrative complexity of running prescriptions through insurance is avoided. And medication adherence improves dramatically when there's no friction between the prescription being written and the medication being in the employee's hand — which translates to fewer downstream complications and claims.

How much can we actually save?

Savings vary based on the employer's current pharmacy spend and prescription patterns, but onsite pharmacy is consistently one of the highest-ROI components of an employer healthcare program. For self-funded employers with significant generic medication spend, ArcherRX often delivers savings that meaningfully offset the cost of the broader onsite clinic program.

Does the employee save money?

Yes. In most ArcherRX programs, employees pay little or nothing out of pocket for onsite-dispensed medications, compared to copays of $10 to $50 (or more) at a retail pharmacy. For employees managing chronic conditions with multiple monthly prescriptions, this can mean hundreds of dollars in annual out-of-pocket savings.

Is this only for self-funded employers?

The financial case is strongest for self-funded employers, where the savings from bypassing PBM markup flow directly to the employer's bottom line. Fully insured employers can still see operational benefits — better adherence, less hassle for employees — but the dollar savings are captured by the carrier.

How It Affects Care

Does onsite pharmacy improve health outcomes?

Yes, particularly for chronic conditions. Medication adherence — the percentage of prescribed doses that patients actually take — is one of the most consistent predictors of clinical outcomes for conditions like hypertension, diabetes, and high cholesterol. National adherence rates are surprisingly poor; roughly half of patients with chronic conditions don't take their medications as prescribed. Onsite dispensing dramatically improves adherence by removing the friction that causes most non-adherence — the unplanned trip to the pharmacy, the cost surprise, the prescription that gets lost in the shuffle of a busy week.

How does this fit with the onsite clinic's broader care model?

ArcherRX is most powerful when integrated with onsite primary care. The clinician identifies a condition, prescribes a medication, dispenses it on the spot, and follows up at the next visit. This kind of closed-loop care — diagnosis to treatment to follow-up, all in the same setting — is something the traditional fragmented healthcare system simply can't replicate.

What if the employee needs a refill?

Refills can typically be processed through the clinic, picked up onsite, or delivered through the same workflow. The clinician maintains continuity of care and can adjust prescriptions as needed.

Logistics and Compliance

Is ArcherRX licensed and regulated?

Yes. Onsite pharmacy operations are regulated by state pharmacy boards and follow all applicable federal and state requirements. Our pharmacy operations include licensed pharmacist oversight and full compliance with dispensing regulations.

Do employees still use their pharmacy benefit?

Yes, for any medication outside the ArcherRX formulary or any prescriptions written outside the onsite clinic. ArcherRX complements the broader pharmacy benefit rather than replacing it.

What about insurance and billing?

Most ArcherRX programs operate outside the traditional insurance billing model — employers fund the program directly, and employees receive medications at little or no out-of-pocket cost. This bypasses the entire PBM-pharmacy-insurance complexity that drives up costs in the traditional model.

Getting Started

How do we add ArcherRX to our program?

ArcherRX is typically added as a component of a broader onsite clinic program, though it can sometimes be implemented independently for employers with existing clinical infrastructure. Reach out at hello@archerhealth.com or 601-565-0075 to discuss what would work for your situation.