Caring Beyond Prescriptions: The Pharmacy Connection

Posted by seoexpert131 on August 30th, 2023

Michael takes great pride in his business and in helping his community. He believes that pharmacists have a tremendous opportunity to make a significant impact in their local communities and health care system.

However, many factors inhibit community pharmacies from moving toward this vision. For example, productivity metrics in retail settings can serve as a disincentive for pharmacy-led clinical services.
Medication Therapy Management

For patients with chronic conditions, a medication therapy management (MTM) program can improve outcomes and lower medical costs. This service is provided by pharmacists who collaborate with patients to manage their drug regimens. The goal is to ensure that patients understand their medications, and that they take them properly. It can also help to prevent adverse events such as hospital admissions. rx express

A MTM program typically begins with a comprehensive medication review (CMR), during which a pharmacist or health care provider reviews a patient’s current list of medications and reasons for taking them. It may include an explanation of how the medications work and potential side effects, and a discussion of any questions or concerns a patient might have. It can also identify any opportunities to optimize a patient’s drug regimen.

MTM programs can also be offered through community pharmacies, as well as in collaboration with physicians and other health care providers. According to the National Community Pharmacy Association, the majority of pharmacists offer MTM services in some form. Providing these types of clinical services can boost revenue for independent community pharmacies. They are especially attractive to insurance companies and employer-sponsored benefit plans that value better outcomes, reducing overall medical costs.

As more patients have multiple medications and complex diseases, many healthcare professionals recognize that medication adherence is key to achieving optimal outcomes for each individual. By improving patient adherence, MTM can help reduce the risk of costly unwanted hospital readmissions and preventable deaths.

For Michael Watt, pharmacist at The Pharmacy Connection in Bath, Virginia, a commitment to the communities they serve extends beyond filling prescriptions. He specializes in helping low-income, chronically ill patients obtain the drugs they need to stay healthy. He has worked closely with local churches, community organizations and pharmaceutical manufacturers to provide free brand-name and low-cost generic medications through the Virginia Health Care Foundation’s The Pharmacy Connection (TPC), a HIPAA-compliant, web-based software program that streamlines everything from determining eligibility to ordering, tracking and reporting for over 300 free and discounted medication assistance programs in Virginia.

Currently, it is rare and inconsistent for pharmacies to be compensated for clinical services that are not related to dispensing and delivering prescription drugs. It is a gap that could be closed through the use of pharmacist e-care plans, which document enhanced clinical services and results.
Patient Education

Providing pharmaceutical care requires pharmacists to educate and counsel patients to prepare and motivate them to follow their pharmacotherapeutic regimens. This includes counseling individuals, patient groups, and families to promote compliance and assist in managing medication side effects. It also involves educating medical staff and other caregivers on a patient’s pharmacotherapeutic profile, including potential adverse drug interactions and adherence barriers.

Education is most effective when it is tailored to the needs of each patient. Understanding a patient’s cognitive abilities, learning style, sensory and physical status enables pharmacists to adapt information and educational methods to each patient’s unique circumstances. For example, a patient with impaired vision may find it difficult to read labels on medication containers or markings on syringes and require the use of written handout materials that provide clear instructions for proper administration. Similarly, an individual with dementia may find it challenging to remember or understand medication schedules and dosages. Educating these patients on how to self-administer their medications can help them avoid medication errors and improve their outcomes.

Many pharmacies offer additional patient education services in conjunction with their MTM programs, such as a medication history review. This is an important component of any patient education program, and can be used to identify potential errors and prevent their recurrence. In addition, some pharmacies may offer MTM services that bridge the gap between pharmacy and anesthesia by leveraging real time interface messages to ensure that medications administered during surgery are accurate and consistent with their prescriptions.

MTM services can be enhanced through community-based outreach programs that connect pharmacists directly to health systems and communities, allowing them to provide more hands-on clinical support. The MTM team at Good Neighbor Pharmacy, for instance, works with a large local primary care practice to provide high-touch MTM services that address the most complex patients. These programs are an important way for health system stakeholders to leverage community-based pharmacies and to demonstrate that enhanced pharmacy care results in improved outcomes and reduced overall medical costs.

As healthcare shifts to a more value-based model, it is critical that the public recognize that pharmacies are key partners in achieving the goals of this new paradigm. With medical insurers now owning PBMs, there is a real opportunity to create a financial model that compensates pharmacies for their unique and valuable clinical services. The emergence of these models could finally bring the long-held dream of a more holistic approach to medical care one step closer to reality.
Counseling

Aside from dispensing medications, pharmacists must also counsel their patients on proper medication use. This includes educating them on the risks, warnings and instructions for each of their prescription drugs. It also involves assisting them in managing their chronic health conditions through counseling and adherence support programs. These services help their patients feel confident about their treatment regimens and ensure that they are getting the maximum benefit from their medicines.

As a community pharmacist, Michael takes a personal interest in helping his patients. He believes that his pharmacy can be a hub for community-based care and he wants to do all that he can to make sure that his patients are healthy and well.

One of the ways that The Pharmacy Connection has been able to expand its patient services is through an innovative collaboration with a local community foundation and a large pharmaceutical manufacturer. This partnership allows them to help low-income patients access medications and other essential medical items. It’s a win-win for both the community and the pharmacy, and it has proven to be an excellent model for demonstrating how independent pharmacies can provide value-based care.

The Pharmacy Connection’s counseling efforts include working with patients to enroll them in drug manufacturer patient assistance programs. This helps them get free brand-name medications and reduces costs for other vital medical equipment, such as CPAP masks, nebulizers and eyeglasses. It’s an important component of the program and Michael is proud that it is now part of his pharmacy’s regular offering.

Despite the demands of their daily work, the pharmacy team is committed to providing high-quality patient service. Michael knows that the best way to do this is by having a solid clinical relationship with each of his patients. This includes making himself available outside of traditional hours and by offering his expertise via phone, email or text. He has found that many of his patients appreciate the additional contact, which can make a huge difference in how they manage their health and wellness needs.

Using product enhancements like Video Consult, ScriptCenter allows pharmacists to maintain a strong clinical relationship with their patients from anywhere in the pharmacy. According to a UCI/UCSD study, this has helped patients to feel connected to their pharmacist even when they’re not at the counter.
Referrals

A growing number of ambulatory health care providers are referring patients to community pharmacists for medication consultation and advice. Patients can be referred for prescription review, medicine optimization, counseling on drug-drug interactions or even a simple supply of an over-the-counter alternative. This service is a valuable addition to the health care team, can be conducted in an outpatient setting and may improve patient satisfaction by allowing patients to receive their medications more quickly and in an environment that is familiar to them.

The first pilot of this kind was launched by a North Carolina pharmacy network in 2016. The program offered community pharmacies an opportunity to receive reimbursement for conducting comprehensive initial pharmacy assessments (CIPA) of patients prescribed chronic disease medications and offering additional services like patient counseling and medication adherence support.

Pharmacists can also help their communities by collaborating with community-based social programs to provide outreach and referrals to people living in poverty, such as those who are homeless or experiencing food insecurity. These community-based pharmacist navigation models have demonstrated significant impact on reducing barriers to clinical and social services in these at-risk communities.

Another way that community pharmacists can connect with their patients is by partnering with local government and organizations to promote and implement programs that offer access to health education, vaccinations, screenings and other social services. This collaborative approach can be especially effective in underserved areas where there is a shortage of healthcare professionals and high demand for care.

Patients can also benefit from the support offered by community pharmacists by navigating payer related barriers, such as prior authorizations and insurance denials. A well-trained and informed staff can help patients with their medications, understand their coverage, and assist them in overcoming denials by appealing to the payer to reverse their decision.

Using an electronic system to enable two-way communication between prescribers and pharmacists can further help to alleviate the burden on GPs and allow for a more proactive role in patient care. One example of this is an e-consent platform that can be accessed through a link sent via email, text or verbally during the welcome call or shipment set up process. Once the patient has agreed to the request, their e-consent and demographic information is auto-populated into a stand-alone consent form template for documentation purposes.