JM Smith Corp. specializes in pharmaceutical products, data support, prescription-related services and network development, which it manages through four subsidiaries.

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More than 80 years ago, JM Smith Corp. started out as a small pharmacy in South Carolina. With a little innovation and a lot of hard work from the company’s team of employees, it has blossomed into one of the largest privately held corporations in the Carolinas.

JM Smith Corp. was the vision of founder James M. Smith in 1925. Smith opened a small pharmacy in Asheville, N.C., that year, and over the next two decades, he established 16 other pharmacies throughout the Carolinas and Georgia. Then, in the 1940s, he sold his interest in all the stores to establish Smith Drug Co. in Spartanburg, S.C.

Eventually Smith’s son, James M. Smith, Jr., joined the family business and expanded into data processing and computer services. His interest in healthcare paired with his knowledge of computers helped to establish the corporation’s success. Four separate entities make up JM Smith Corp. today: Smith Drug Co., QS/1 Data Systems, Smith Premier Services and Integral Services Group.

Top Supplier
Smith Drug Co. says it is considered one of the top-10 wholesale drug companies in the United States. The company supplies independent, locally owned pharmacies throughout the central and eastern United States with pharmaceutical products, health and beauty aids and home medical equipment.

“Our growth coupled with our distribution expertise has allowed us to branch out into the hospital arena, offering the hospital the same superb service that has been offered to the community pharmacy for many years,” Smith Drug says.

IT at its Best
In 1977, QS/1 Data Systems was added to JM Smith’s portfolio to provide comprehensive pharmacy software and hardware to pharmacies throughout North America and the Pacific Rim. Data Systems provides support to more than 8,000 pharmacies in these regions.

“QS/1 provides products, services and support to a variety of healthcare providers with a primary focus on providing the industry’s best pharmacy management software for community pharmacies, chain pharmacies, long-term care pharmacies, and home medical equipment providers,” it says.

In addition to its corporate headquarters in Spartanburg, QS/1 operates several regional offices and numerous data and support centers in strategic areas of the country. Smith Data Processing group also provides software and services for state and local governments, law enforcement departments, judicial offices, municipal utilities and other offices.

In February, the company released a new multi-site management (MSM) platform geared toward pharmacy chain operations. MSM integrates with the company’s NRx pharmacy management software, and helps pharmacies centrally control data from multiple locations. In addition to data control, the platform allows multiple operations to share data, including drug information, pricing, price plans, patient profiles, prescribers and store employee security access.

Finding Solutions
Developed in 2004, Integral Solutions Group is the newest addition to JM Smith Corp. Integral Solutions is a network solution provider that provides its clients with products and services including network consulting, design, integration, installation and maintenance. The division caters to government, education, financial, manufacturing, entertainment, healthcare and hotel/hospitality industries, which it services through a network of 16 offices across the United States.

As building automation systems become more prevalent in the business community, Integral Solutions has developed a system that can manage normal voice, data and video, as well as establish more efficient building management systems. In many cases, the company says, combining systems such as voice, data, video, security, fire control, lighting and HVAC can actually lower operating and cabling costs.

Helping Clients
Smith Premier Services is the pharmacy benefit management arm of JM Smith Corp. Established in 1997, it provides comprehensive prescription-related services for employers and insurance companies. According to the company, it remains the “market leader in the prescription drug benefit industry, providing online prescription benefit management services through more than 50,000 pharmacies throughout the United States and Puerto Rico.”

Saving its clients time and money is a top priority. “Our most important duty is to help our customers maximize their prescription benefits while minimizing overall costs, a task we accomplish by providing efficient pharmacy claims processing at the point-of-sale, backed by attentive account management and personal service,” Smith Premier Services says.