Pharmacists are the most accessible healthcare professionals and can be a catalyst for changing societal patterns of inactivity. However, their professional focuses are primarily on drugs and diseases with limited education in wellness.
Productivity metrics can discourage pharmacists from addressing wellness with patients. The solutions we’ve uncovered address these challenges and shorten time to ROI for pharmacies.
Medication Management
Medication management involves assessing a patient’s medical history, evaluating current symptoms and needs, prescribing appropriate medications, regularly monitoring for effectiveness and side effects, and making adjustments to ensure the best therapeutic outcomes. This includes ensuring that medication is being taken as prescribed, providing information on a wide range of drug interactions, and providing education to improve health literacy.
Pharmacists are involved in the development and implementation of drug-drug interaction programs, helping patients understand how their prescriptions interact with each other and with nonprescription drugs and supplements. The goal is to help individuals optimize their use of medications, resulting in improved clinical outcomes and lower healthcare costs.
Medication evaluations also include the identification of a patient’s drug allergies, assisting with a comprehensive screening to identify underlying health issues and addressing client goals for improvement, including healthy diet and exercise, weight loss, smoking cessation and stress management. The screenings may include a health risk assessment, blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), height, and/or cholesterol levels.
Taking multiple medications can be confusing, and even when patients intend to follow their doctor’s orders, busy schedules and other factors can contribute to missed or misdosed doses. In addition, a patient’s prescriptions can conflict with each other or be affected by food or drink that could interfere with their absorption. A pharmacist can evaluate these potential complications and provide helpful tips on improving compliance with their medications. expressrx
Immunizations are another medication management service provided by pharmacists. Based on individual scope of practice regulations, pharmacists can identify patients whose disease state or current medication therapy indicates the potential need for vaccination. They can then directly immunize the patient or refer them to a physician for the necessary vaccines.
Pharmacists can play a critical role in both annual wellness visits (AWV) and comprehensive medication management (CMM). A recent study showed the benefits of having an AWV with CMM for older patients, especially with respect to completion of requisite AWV components and identifying and addressing MRPs. In addition, it demonstrates the financial benefit of providing these services to this high-risk population.
Nutritional Counseling
Nutritional counseling is a continuous process that evaluates clients or patients’ eating habits and dietary intake in an effort to improve weak dietary practices and reinforce healthy ones. It aims to educate individuals on how the body functions, what foods are best for them and helps them overcome obstacles that may prevent or impede their nutritional goals.
In this role, NNSs may provide educational resources to clients and patients regarding diet, exercise, or a combination of both. They also provide advice and support to individuals who are struggling with weight issues, identify food based allergies or have other concerns related to their diets. This is typically done at a client level through face-to-face conversations or over the telephone/video conference.
NNSs should be able to clearly explain complex nutritional processes and communicate them in everyday language to their clients or patients, as well as understand the role culture plays in health behaviors. In addition, they should have the ability to work closely with psychology services in order to help clients who may be experiencing psychological or mental health problems that could impact their nutritional counselling needs.
The Journey to Wellness Rx prescription is a non-pharmaceutical prescription that encourages healthy lifestyle behaviors (physical activity, healthy eating and tobacco prevention/cessation) to help achieve weight loss goals and manage chronic disease risk factors. It is designed to be administered to clients who are being seen for a direct service in a variety of settings, such as on-site clinical areas, mobile health care units, community health screenings and health fairs.
The prescription includes a brief overview of the Journey to Wellness program and contact information for the UPMC Health Plan health coach who will “fill” it. Upon receipt, the health coach will reach out to the client to arrange a convenient time to call and set up an appointment to discuss their Journey to Wellness goals. The health coach will also provide the client with a copy of their personalized wellness prescription to keep somewhere visible, such as taped to a bathroom mirror or computer monitor, on their nightstand or on their refrigerator, or even on their phone.
Physical Activity
There is a growing epidemic of chronic diseases in America, and many can be prevented with lifestyle changes. However, efforts in this area have been stymied by the healthcare community. The pharmacy profession is well-positioned and could play a major role in disease prevention by educating patients on nutrition, exercise, weight management and smoking cessation.
While it is commonplace for pharmacists to dispense flu vaccines and administer blood pressure screenings, there are opportunities to expand these services. For example, some pharmacies have partnered with health care navigators to identify barriers and connect people with resources. This approach addresses the underlying drivers of health and is consistent with a focus on the eighth essential service function of assuring a competent public and personal health care work force.
Pharmacists can also serve as health educators, assisting physicians, nurses and other healthcare providers in developing a patient-centered, collaborative approach to care. The use of patient-centered interventions can help to improve adherence with therapeutic regimens, increase the ability to self-manage chronic and infectious disease and reduce costs in healthcare systems by reducing hospital admissions and readmissions.
A number of studies show that patient counseling can be effective in increasing adherence with medication therapy. This counseling can be provided in a variety of settings, including community pharmacies. Pharmacists can educate and counsel patients regarding their prescription medications, the benefits of adhering to a prescribed treatment plan, and the need for regular follow up visits.
The aging population and the increasing prevalence of chronic disease are driving an increased need for preventive care and wellness services. This is an opportunity for the profession to redefine its image from “pill counter” to an integral member of a patient’s health care team. It is also an opportunity for colleges of pharmacy to include education on disease prevention and lifestyle change in their curriculum.
One barrier to implementing this type of outreach is the lack of an incentive for pharmacists to participate in health promotion activities. Productivity metrics that prioritize a pharmacist’s speed in dispensing medications can create a deterrent to performing these types of outreach activities. However, with the emergence of value-based arrangements with payers, this trend may be changing.
Mental Health
Millions of Americans struggle with mental health issues and pharmacists are in a prime position to help their patients. They can recognize symptoms, assist with triage to an appropriate care provider, closely monitor patient medication adherence, and serve as a valuable education resource.
For those with mental illness, medications can make a huge difference in how they feel and function on a daily basis. But finding the right medication can be a long and frustrating process. Many people go through multiple trials before they find the one that works for them. Additionally, some medications can have side effects that can be unpleasant or even dangerous. Arbor Wellness addresses this challenge by offering genetic testing to determine which medications may work best for a specific person. The company also works to minimize adherence barriers by making their medication available for same-day delivery.
Another way to support mental wellbeing is through building pleasure and joy into one’s life. This can be in the form of activities such as a hike, a yoga class, self-pleasure (like taking a bubble bath or eating chocolate), a more present and vulnerable act of sexual expression with a partner, or just dancing.
Lastly, pharmacies can support the mental well-being of their pharmacy professionals through the use of screening tools. These tools can be used to detect depression and encourage patients to seek help if they are struggling. Providing these screenings in-store can reduce the stigma associated with mental health issues and increase patient engagement.
By integrating these healthy living practices into their Prescription to Wellness offerings, pharmacy owners can improve patient outcomes and help make America the healthiest nation in the world. To learn more about how you can implement these tools into your pharmacy, contact us today!
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