Here at PDS, we take pride in highlighting some of our incredible exhibitors. We know these companies have the potential to revolutionize pharmacies just like yours through their products and services. We’re excited to introduce PioneerRx. Read on for their sponsored blog post about the importance of the Pharmacist eCare Plan.
As some of the most readily accessible health care providers, community pharmacists can capture crucial details about a patient’s health care journey that may often be overlooked. They can help in understanding the full picture by analyzing factors like demographics, socioeconomic status, education level, and access to health care. The Pharmacist eCare Plan is a vital tool used for documenting these insights and sharing them with members of a patient’s health care team.
Why Use an eCare Plan?
Pharmacists can identify a patient’s health barriers outside of just the numbers shown on a screen. An eCare Plan compiles these factors into a concrete set of goals and actions to improve a patient’s overall health outcome. Using eCare Plans streamlines communication by collecting this data in a standardized format that can be easily shared between health care providers. This way, everyone who interacts with a patient will know their full health story and be able to make more informed decisions.
eCare Plans are crucial for keeping track of a patient’s progress as part of the Pharmacist’s Patient Care Process – a method for providing patient-centered care through collaboration, communication, and documentation. The cycle flows through 5 steps:
Collect: Gather objective and subjective information on a patient including medical history, current prescriptions, lifestyle habits, and other social determinants of health.
Assess: Analyze the information to determine the effectiveness of any current medications and identify any gaps in patient care, such as opportunities for vaccination or other preventative health services.
Plan: Create a personalized plan of action by outlining a detailed list of Care Goals for the patient.
Implement: Take concrete steps to work towards achieving the patient’s goals and document all Care Actions that are taken.
Follow-Up: Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the plan and modify it as needed.
Benefits of eCare Plans
Utilizing care goals and care actions in a pharmacy is important for providing a holistic, personalized level of care. In addition, pharmacies who submit eCare Plans to CPESN can be reimbursed for their value-based clinical services. Properly documenting and tracking all the steps taken to reach a patient’s health goals makes it easier to demonstrate the true value of the additional services provided. Each eCare Plan includes a payer section that acts as a means of claims submission for the pharmacy.
The benefits of implementing eCare Plans in a pharmacy setting are valuable for both the patient and the pharmacy. Expanding the use of eCare Plans will help to improve patient outcomes and reimburse independent pharmacists for practicing value-based care.
About the Author
PioneerRx is committed to saving and revitalizing independent pharmacy. With unmatched customer support and continuous updates, PioneerRx Pharmacy Software equips pharmacies to thrive in a clinical, patient-centered future. By implementing suggestions from users and paving the way for leading industry trends, they empower pharmacies for continued success and improved patient outcomes. See why PioneerRx is the most installed independent pharmacy software:
Additional note from PioneerRx: eCare Plans are built into the PioneerRx software. You can document Care goals and actions, and then the software will automatically create an eCare Plan for you to submit it to CPESN from within your patient profile.
Here at PDS, we take pride in highlighting some of our incredible partners. We know these companies have the potential to revolutionize pharmacies just like yours through their products and services. We’re excited to introduce RxGenomix. Read on for their sponsored blog post about the importance of solution selling and showing your patients how much you have to offer.
Do you provide value for your patients? Do you save them money? Do you make your patients’ lives better? I’m sure you do. Your pharmacy services and medical knowledge are valuable. But do you enjoy selling your services to your patients? Probably not. Very few pharmacists do, but for pharmacists to advance their standing as healthcare providers, they may need to do just that. But how?
Stop Underselling Yourself
The personality of a pharmacist is rarely that of a salesperson and, unfortunately, that results in a lack of awareness of the value pharmacists bring to their patients. Value has been underappreciated and squeezed out in today’s pharmacy models, so we need to be looking for new ways to apply this value.
In Solution Selling: Creating Buyers in Difficult Selling Markets, a book by Michael Bosworth, the author points out how we can identify a latent pain in an individual and provide a vision for a solution based on our capabilities. Now, not everyone will be looking for a solution to a problem, so the key lies in identifying what services you offer that may not be well understood by your patients (MTM, durable medical equipment, pharmacogenomics, etc.), recognizing who might be in need of a solution to a problem, and starting the conversation.
Connect with Your Patients Through Solutions
Bosworth lays out a grid to help structure a conversation that starts with diagnosing the reasons for the pain (which, in our case, could be actual pain or a negative condition such as high blood pressure). Once you can identify what causes the pain, your conversation with the patient can move into exploring the impact of the pain, how others are affected and how that pain changes the patient’s life and the lives of those around them.
Is it costing them money and causing financial stress?
Is it affecting their quality of life?
Does it limit their activity and their ability to be present and active at work or in their family life?
Finally, once the scope of the pain’s impact is clearer, the pharmacist can match their expertise to the pain and present some potential solutions. This kind of structure can help you clarify your patients’ pain, allow them to see its real impact and then present some possible solutions tied to your capabilities. It turns selling into a simple conversation initiated by a healthcare provider that has something valuable to offer.
Be Prepared, Don’t Get Discouraged
Everyone has their own process for making decisions about buying something new, so don’t take it personally if you meet resistance to something new, especially as the price tag goes up. It may take multiple attempts or offerings. You should also be aware that a buyer’s anxiety will go up the closer they get to making the decision, so don’t let that discourage you from trying to work toward a solution. And, finally, believe in yourself as someone who has something valuable to offer. Successful salespeople aren’t just smooth talkers; they are prepared. You have been preparing to help your patients from the first day of pharmacy school. Believe in your ability to make it happen and show your patients just how much you have to offer.
About the Author
Written by Cari Lalande, PharmD, Director of Clinical Pharmacogenomisc. RxGenomix is a comprehensive pharmacogenomics (PGx) solutions company created to empower pharmacists to apply PGx in their practice to improve patient care while reducing overall costs. RxGenomix provides the education, training, materials, research, in-depth analytics, connective technology, delivery tools, and laboratory support needed to easily access and effectively apply PGx testing to pharmacy practice.
https://www.pharmacyowners.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Untitled-design-26.png200300Marie Wildahttp://www.pharmacyowners.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/PDS-logo.svgMarie Wilda2020-04-23 13:48:452020-04-23 13:48:45Don’t Undersell Your Value
COVID-19, also known as the Coronavirus, has impacted the entire globe. This is a time that we must come together to help each other, support each other, and share information that will make this situation just a little more manageable. During this pandemic, PDS is here for our members, our communities, and the overall independent pharmacy industry.
Independent pharmacies have the chance to lead the charge and bring guidance, solutions and resolve for their patients and communities. As people continue to look for answers and ways to protect themselves and their families, PDS continues to compile resources and provide ideas and options so that pharmacies can help combat the spread of COVID-19 and support their communities. We are all in this together.
*Updated May 14, 2020*
An important update was released on May 13, 2020that provides clarification around how SBA will review borrowers’ required good-faith certification concerning the necessity of their loan request.
Even as some of the country starts to open, we are all still trying to navigate this situation. The last two webinars in our series have been focused on continuing to grow and improve your pharmacy during COVID-19. We discussed topics on how marketing looks different right now (but is still necessary) and best practices to lead your team and continue to drive success. The replays are available if you missed it.
How are you letting your community know that you’re open for business during the COVID crisis? Leventhal Productions is a specialized advertising agency that has established itself in the independent pharmacy community and healthcare industry over the past 30+ years. Get in touch and let us help you spread the word that your pharmacy is open and ready to serve the community.
The first iteration of the Paycheck Protection Program was funded with $350 billion and ran out of money within 13 days. The only reason it took that long was because the banks had to get their portals and systems in place. The next round of funding that will be coming, is expected to run out of funds even faster.
If you didn’t get funded during Round 1, here is what you need to know to be ready for Round 2:
If you have an approved loan that is not funded yet, there is nothing you need to do
You can apply at a different institution with no penalties. Many members have expressed frustration with the “big banks” so you can move your application to another institution
Ensure your application is filled out completely and correctly and submit your application to the bank of your choice
Once the next round of funding is approved, get a confirmation of approval from your bank
Proceed with Caution on Antibody Tests
(This is from our friends at NCPA but we wanted to share here in case you missed it). Companies selling SARS-CoV-2 antibody tests are coming at pharmacies from all directions. Before you perform a test on a patient, verify that the test is deemed to be authorized for the CLIA-waived setting by checking the list of test kit manufacturers with an FDA emergency use authorization. There must be a “W” in the column titled “Authorized Settings” for any test to be performed in a CLIA-waived laboratory. This includes test kits that are part of a telehealth bundle. Pharmacies that purchase antibody test kits in anticipation of the product becoming authorized for use in CLIA-waived settings do so at their own risk.
*Updated April 16, 2020*
COVID-19 Testing and Resources
With the recent HHS announcement surrounding COVID-19 testing by pharmacists, we are sharing information and where to purchase testing kits. Please understand that PDS is only relaying information as it is developed, and during this pandemic time, pharmacies and pharmacists need to follow state and federal law while ensuring they are testing in accordance within all applicable guidelines.
Updated CLIA Certificate Waiver Requirements
As of 4/16/2020, it was announced that pharmacies will need a CLIA Certificate of Waiver in order to participate in testing: if you plan to offer COVID-19 testing in your store, you will need to have a CLIA Certificate of Waiver. For most, this is a very easy process. Fill out the application and mail it in to your state. The form is used for different types of labs, so NCPA has a short video to show you how a pharmacy would likely want to complete the form. You’ll find the video link near the top of the NCPA Coronavirus Information Page.
COVID-19 Rapid test kits are becoming available through different channels. This is not a diagnostic test, but a test to determine if the patient has developed antibodies against the infection.
The COVID-19 Rapid 10-minute test kits are also still available for pre-order through Drugstore2Door. Results are available in 10 minutes and are 98.6% accurate. Drugstore2Door has provided additional test information for you to learn more.
The COVID-19 POC test kit is NOT a take home test kit, and the FDA has specific guidelines for pharmacists to follow.
A Pharmacist must screen (see CDC guidelines) for an active virus infection before a test may be administered
The testing sites can be inside, drive-thru or set up outside
Screening and test results must be documented and reported
Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)
The Paycheck Protection Program Application is now available. This program authorizes forgivable loans to small businesses to pay their employees during the COVID-19 crisis. Funds can also be used to pay interest on mortgages, rent, and utilities. We encourage you to speak to your financial advisor and take advantage of this opportunity.
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, passed Friday by the House. The act makes small businesses with 500 or fewer employees eligible for emergency grants and a forgivable loan program. There are also changes to rules for expenses and deductions meant to make it easier for small businesses to keep employees on the payroll and open for business. The legislation helps small business pharmacies’ employees as well, which is important as they are serving on the front lines of care during this pandemic. NCPA created a summary of the relevant provisions to help independent pharmacies.
PCCA has developed four simple steps for the donation of hand sanitizer to first responders. This is an amazing way for local pharmacies to give back to their communities!
Webinar: Pharmacy Financial Health in Time of Crisis
With this pandemic, high demand, inventory turns, and changes in operational procedures are all impacting your pharmacy. This webinar features tips and advice from PDS financial experts about maintaining your pharmacy’s financial health.
We are focused on ways to help you keep your pharmacy and your patients healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our most recent webinar featured solutions to help you better serve your patients and communities. Discover products to help combat the spread the virus, and direction on where to find high-demand disinfectants, test kits, and more.
*Updated March 20, 2020*
Updating Your Store Policy During COVID-19
It is important that during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic, independent pharmacies have guidance about new, short-term store policies. We have created a store policy document that many of our members are already implementing in their stores. We hope this will help give you some organizational structure and procedures in a time when things are constantly changing. Please feel free to use some or all of it and adjust according to your specific business needs.
Special Edition Webinar – COVID Disinfecting Agents and Where to Buy
Sourcing hand sanitizer, masks, and cleaning supplies is getting harder by the hour. PDS has vetted and found some suppliers that will have many high demand products available. Watch the following webinar to learn more.
Disinfectants
Hand Sanitizers
Masks
Tuzistra Cough Syrup
1st Defense Nasal Screen
COVID-19 Resources
We have compiled information related to COVID-19. Please see below for resources related to operations, procedures, sanitation, best practices, and policies.
Pharmacists will play a key role in access to healthcare during this outbreak. PDS suggests that you familiarize yourself with your state’s statutes that become enacted during declarations of health emergencies. These statutes often times allow you to refill prescriptions without doctor authorization or temporarily broaden your scope of practice. The best resource is your SBOP website along with your state pharmacy association.
For PDS members, log into PDSadvantage to find the applicable resources in the Knowledge Library that can help you navigate this difficult time such as access to product opportunities and financial resources. Please contact your Performance Specialists and Coaches – they are here to answer your questions and address your concerns.
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Here at PDS, we take pride in highlighting some of our incredible partners. We know these companies have the potential to revolutionize pharmacies just like yours through their products and services. We’re excited to introduce Physician 360. Read on for their sponsored blog post about the importance of telemedicine and point-of-care testing.
With the recent outbreak of COVID-19 (the global coronavirus pandemic), telemedicine has seen a surge in both popularity as well as deregulation. As Americans, and the majority of the world, are all practicing social distancing in an effort to “flatten the curve,” telemedicine has been given a chance to prove it’s utility to a record number of consumers who may previously have been reluctant for any number of reasons.
Telemedicine
Telemedicine is the use of telecommunication and information technology to provide clinical health care from a distance. Telehealth is an umbrella term that includes, but is not limited to, telephone calls, remote patient monitoring, video consults and store-and-forward imaging (capturing an image or video for review by a healthcare provider at a later date). The global telemedicine market was valued at $40.11B in 2018 and is expected to reach $148.32B by 2025. While the number of patients using telemedicine services is rising, only about 8% of the US population has ever tried it. With 92% of the market still untapped, the potential for telemedicine is immense. Below are some of the many benefits of using telemedicine:
Increases access to care – Distance and travel time between patients and care providers can limit access to care. Telemedicine can overcome geographic barriers to healthcare and be particularly beneficial for patients in medically under-served communities or rural geographical locations where clinician shortages exist.
Reduces healthcare costs – Telemedicine can increase efficiency of care, reduce expenses of caring for patients, and can even keep patients out of the hospital.
Improves patient engagement and satisfaction – Telemedicine makes it easier and more convenient for patients to stay healthy and engaged in their health care. Patients love the convenience and flexibility with their providers.
Improves provider satisfaction – Telemedicine can improve job satisfaction by making it easier for providers to meet with patients. This makes it easier for them to balance their work and family life.
Point-Of-Care Testing (POCT)
“Point-of-care” testing, also known as remote testing, rapid diagnostics, near-patient testing, and satellite testing, is any kind of medical test that is not done within a laboratory setting. Point-of-care testing might be done at a health clinic, at home, in an ER room, in an ambulance, at an accident scene, on an airplane…or most importantly, at your pharmacy! Many point-of-care tests can give a patient results (and in some cases diagnoses) in very little time so that treatment or a consultation can be provided quickly.
Your independent pharmacy is the perfect place to offer these point-of-care tests, as patients will often visit their local pharmacy at a time when they are symptomatic and need care the most.
POCT and Your Pharmacy
Pharmacists interact with patients more than any other stakeholder in the healthcare system and in many cases, you are the healthcare safety net for your community. Therefore, it is very important to provide the services and guidance that your patients need and deserve. Point of Care Testing kits are top of mind and Physician360, has a wide array of testing kits you can offer your patients. The latest news is their flu telemedicine kits now come with a complimentary COVID-19 screening to patients during their flu consultation. Patients get 2 in 1: a full evaluation for flu AND a screening for coronavirus (COVID-19) during their telemedicine/video consultation.
Physician 360 now offers a Rapid COVID-19 Test for the qualitative detection of IgG and IgM antibodies to SARS-CoV-2. A member of your pharmacy team can perform the simple finger-stick test for your customers, then walk them through connecting to a Physician 360 medical provider, who can interpret their results during their telemedicine consult.
With the COVID-19 pandemic your patients may also be experiencing other ailments such as Strep, flu, UTI and anemia all of which have available test kits that come with telemedicine consults. At a time when your patients are social distancing and can eliminate one more trip to a provider’s office, these test kits are an excellent solution.
Thank you for being on the front lines and serving your community passionately in a time of need. Now is the time to add to that excellent service with point-of-care testing and telemedicine.
About the Author
At Physician 360, we are working tirelessly to provide your pharmacy with the tools you’ll need to weather this global storm. Partnering with Physician 360 allows your pharmacy to increase access to care, reduce healthcare costs, and improve patient engagement and satisfaction. You can completely rebrand your pharmacy as an urgent care equivalent all while making your community healthier and happier. By joining efforts with Physician 360, you can provide your customers with telemedicine, point-of-care testing, and convenience all in one. If you haven’t already, join us on the front lines of this telemedicine revolution!
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Here at PDS, we take pride in highlighting some of our incredible exhibitors. We know these companies have the potential to revolutionize pharmacies just like yours through their products and services. We’re excited to introduce Optavia. Read on for their sponsored blog post about creating new habits.
Why are your habits important? The answer is self-evident. We are the product of our daily choices that over time, become our habits. The accumulation of our choices and habits determine not only our health trajectory, but the trajectory of our life as well. Never were habits more important than in these turbulent times when we have been challenged to learn new ones that can be life-saving.
We can change if we want to, by learning new choices and habits. The power is in the choices we make: the fully conscious choices that serve our best interest. Importantly, we will only make new choices and create new habits if we want to. We begin by asking ourselves what we want and then making what we want a priority.
This sounds simple enough so let’s use an example of creating a new healthy habit: Taking a walk for 15 minutes a day. To create anything new it is essential to do four things and write them down! This is how you keep yourself accountable.
Steps to Creating a Healthy Habit
First: my Current Reality (CR) which in this case is no daily walks.
Second: my goal or Desired Outcome (DI) is to walk for 15 minutes a day, before work.
Third: the choices I will make, the Action Steps I will take to reach my goal.
Fourth: A timeline. The time I give myself to reach my goal and that can vary of course depending upon the goal. In this case, you may start with walking for 5 minutes. This is what my plan would look like:
Desired Outcome: Walk 15 minutes a day before work
Timeline: 1 week
Action Steps:
Head out the by 6:10 and walk for 15 minutes
Put sweatpants and sweatshirt in bathroom
Put walking shoes by my bed (this is a cue, a reminder)
Set alarm for 6:00 am
Current Reality: I’m not taking walks currently. I usually get up at 6:30 am, get ready and go to work.
This is called a Structural Tension Chart (we’ll explore this more next time!). It can be very helpful to help you prioritize what it is that you want to achieve or create.
When you are clear about your current reality, what you want to create and know the action steps to take to reach your goal, you can. Whether that goal is walking more, losing weight and creating a healthier life and strengthening your immune system or creating more revenue options for your pharmacy that are independent of PBMs and ICD-10 codes, you can reach those goals by creating new habits and using structural tension to help you.
About the Author
Dr. Mark Nelson & Dominic Tarinelli are PDS Partners and share a virtual (no contact) evidence based weight loss and wellness program that creates health for your patients and revenue and profits for your #pharmacy. No PBMs, no billing, no ICD-10 codes, and no inventory. Our program and business are done completely virtually, without in-person patient contact. While at home, patients lose weight, improve their overall health and strengthen their immune system. Our program is evidence-based, and meals and program materials are delivered to your patients’ door. Learn more at pharmacywellbeing.com.
https://www.pharmacyowners.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Untitled-design-21.png788940Marie Wildahttp://www.pharmacyowners.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/PDS-logo.svgMarie Wilda2020-04-02 14:02:232020-04-23 13:05:43How to Create a New Habit
Why are your habits important? The answer is self-evident. We are the product of our daily choices that over time, become our habits. The accumulation of our choices and habits determine not only our health trajectory, but the trajectory of our life as well. Never were habits more important than in these turbulent times when we have been challenged to learn new ones that can be life-saving.
Timeline: 1 week
