Home Health Care As healthcare’s unsung heroes, pharmacists deserve more recognition

As healthcare’s unsung heroes, pharmacists deserve more recognition

10
0
SHARE

Patients may not realize all the ways pharmacists work with them to improve health. But in reality, pharmacists are unsung healthcare heroes who make essential contributions to the delivery of care.

Pharmacists do more than fill prescriptions – much more. In addition to dispensing prescriptions, educating patients about medications, and explaining health plan drug coverage, they regularly provide other clinical services, such as blood pressure checks, cholesterol testing, and mental health screenings. In nearly all states, they can administer flu shots and other types of vaccinations.

When a medical assistant in a physician’s office delivers similar services, payers compensate the provider. That’s not the case with pharmacists – aka Doctors of Pharmacy, who today earn advanced degrees that often are followed by clinical residencies.

Pharmacists are rarely compensated by payers for clinical services, even though their knowledge of medications and clinical training help relieve stress on the healthcare system. This isn’t right – and can make it harder for them to provide these services. That’s why pharmacists across the country are advocating for changes at state and national levels, so they can bill for their patient care services, just as other providers do. To achieve this, they are demonstrating their value to payers and patients and embracing new technologies that increase healthcare efficiencies and quality outcomes.

As we observe National Pharmacists Day on January 12, in recognition of pharmacists’ work promoting healthy patients and communities, we need to ask ourselves a critical question. Isn’t it time for them to be reimbursed for patient services and ongoing care, just like every other patient care provider?

Advocating for Pharmacists
On a national level, the American Pharmacists Association and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists advocate for pharmacists as providers within the Social Security Act, which would allow them to bill for certain types of care. Many states already have passed “provider status” legislation, particularly for clinical pharmacists working in inpatient settings. These professionals now are routinely paid for counseling patients and performing rounds, which is part of a nationwide trend. In 2019, 34 states had similar pending bills, according to Krystalyn K. Weaver, PharmD, vice president of policy for the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations.

In 2019, Ohio and Texas passed laws that help pharmacists get reimbursed for providing patient care services. Ohio authorized the state’s Medicaid plan sponsors and other health plans to pay pharmacists, and paved the way for them to have direct relationships with payers. Ohio’s law also gave pharmacists the same rights and responsibilities as other care team members. Texas passed legislation forbidding insurers from discriminating against pharmacists for payment or reimbursement of services performed within the scope of their licenses.

These are important successes, but they need to be expanded to every state – and that’s likely to take several more years.

Promoting the Value of Pharmacists
More pharmacies are taking steps to demonstrate their value to patients and payers by offering medication therapy management, in-store health clinics, and similar programs. Community pharmacies also host health fairs that provide patients with preventive care and health screenings. These efforts raise awareness about how pharmacists help improve health, lower cost and increase overall patient satisfaction. Consumers rank independent pharmacies high on courtesy and helpfulness, as well as speed and accuracy of prescriptions, according to a Consumer Reports survey.

For more than 20 years, pharmacists have been demonstrating how their work with patients can reduce the impact of diabetes, high blood pressure, and other chronic health conditions. The 1997 Asheville Project, which demonstrated the impact pharmacists can have on diabetes management, inspired a 12-week demonstration project by the Pharmacists Association of Western New York together with Independent Health, a not-for-profit health plan. In this demonstration, pharmacists worked directly with patients to improve medication adherence and health outcomes. They proactively contacted patients who may not have been taking their medicine as prescribed for chronic conditions. And they educated patients about their medications, suggested ways to lower costs, and consulted with doctors about recommended health solutions. The results were overwhelmingly positive and reinforced the value of community pharmacists.

Embracing Technology

Today’s technologies, including secure messaging, provide new ways for pharmacists to work more closely with the healthcare team and demonstrate their contributions.

Pharmacists and physicians strongly agree that better collaboration can result in improved patient adherence and outcomes. Yet, phone calls – and phone tag – between pharmacists and prescribers can waste time, decrease productivity, and lead to missed information that results in patient harm and higher healthcare costs.

Using secure messaging allows pharmacists and other healthcare providers to share critical information while protecting patient privacy. These communications help close gaps in medication histories, allowing more time with patients, and reducing communication errors that can lead to adverse drug reactions. This technology also improves medication adherence by reminding patients to pick up their prescriptions from the pharmacy and by providing educational materials. Patients of an independent pharmacy picked up prescriptions nearly 16 hours earlier after introduction of a text reminder system, according to a 2019 study. And fill rates for first prescriptions increased by 11 percent for patients who received notifications, according to a study by DrFirst and KMK Consulting. The study also showed that fill rates improved by 20 percent for patients who engaged with the messages, which included patient education materials and prescription coupons.

Too often, pharmacists are unsung heroes who make unique contributions to the care team through their clinical expertise and patient access. Pharmacists should be appropriately recognized – both in state and federal laws and regulations – so they can be paid for their value to patient care. In the meantime, their demonstration projects and advocacy, as well as the support of other healthcare providers, are critical so that patients receive consistent and effective care.

Photo: JohnnyGreig, Getty Images

 

 

 

Source link

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

5 × 4 =