June 3, 2014 – Curant Health COO, Marc O'Connor, in MedCityNews - "Pharmacists are in the ideal position to help with adherence in terms of explaining the purpose of medications, how to take them, and the importance of staying on them. They are in a sense the most accessible providers in the health care system, but often are underutilized as a resource for improving medication adherence plans.”
My colleague Vickie Andros, director of clinical services for Curant Health, explained how pharmacists can help patients stay on a treatment plan. Having the right people in place is a key to success. But how do you make such an adherence plan work from an operational perspective? Here are the five components that have worked for us.
Patient onboarding and discovery
Medication triage is the foundation for long-term success, and identifying and communicating with all care providers is step one. The goal at this stage is taking action to reduce unnecessary or contradictory medications, reduce the number of physicians a patient must see (if possible), and reduce the number of patient visits. Because access and transportation to physicians, clinicians, and pharmacies is often a significant barrier to adherence, these steps and the associated goals form the foundation of an effective adherence program for chronically ill patients.
Intake coordinators, who should be licensed pharmaceutical technicians, are the first to communicate with new patients. They acquire information related to patient demographics and the patient’s professional care team to identify any issue that may present a barrier to adherence and then immediately brief one of our pharmacists on the case. Medication reconciliation is the next step and occurs via outreach to, and consultation with, physicians, specialists and other pharmacists involved in the patient’s care history.
To read Marc's full article, visit MedCityNews.
To learn more about Curant Health, contact Kristin Lindsey, Marketing Director, at klindsey@curanthealth.com.