Providing a differentiated pharmacy experience through patient-centered care

Personalized, accessible care is crucial for all patients, especially vulnerable populations including those experiencing severe mental health issues and individuals in long-term and post-acute care facilities.

What’s more: This type of community-based care, which allows for easy and direct access to clinical professionals, including providers and pharmacists, can lead to increased medication adherence rates and lower hospital readmission rates.

At Genoa Healthcare and PharmScript, part of Optum Rx, pharmacists are a critical part of the care team and work hand in hand with providers to deliver high-quality, convenient patient-centered care.

Between the lines: Genoa’s pharmacies are located in the same facility as providers, many in community mental health clinics. This model allows for patients to simply travel down the hallway to get their medication – and enables the pharmacy team to collaborate closely with providers to help patients navigate their treatment plans. In addition, Genoa pharmacists are trained to work with patients within medically underserved communities who often experience transportation barriers, housing instability and other factors that inhibit their ability to access the care they need.

Pharmacists are part of the patient’s holistic clinical care team, and have helped people like Antonio*, a patient who experienced life-changing results with the help and support from a pharmacist at Genoa.

After a series of challenges forced Antonio to move out of his group home, he moved into a homeless shelter and found himself without pharmacy care. His group home was providing medication management services but without that support, he was having a difficult time living in a shelter without medication.

Through community resource services provided by one of Genoa’s clinic partners, Antonio was connected with the Genoa team to help him get back on track. His pharmacist, Jeannie, put his medication into prefilled pill organizers with color-coded bubbles to separate the medication by time of day, making it easier for Antonio to remember when to take his medication.

“We could tell he really wanted to be better,” said Jeannie, who had Antonio visit the pharmacy every morning to check out his medication for the day. “He was so diligent about his schedule and doing his part.”

After a while, Antonio started opening up ─ first by saying hello to the pharmacy team and then by telling them about his weekend and favorite kind of cookies. As Antonio’s recovery continued, he got a job and told Jeannie that he felt ready to pick up his medication for longer periods of time. The pharmacy team started providing him with two weeks of medication at a time, and when that went well, they worked up to a monthly supply.

Pharmacists like Jeannie are ensuring patients have direct access to care. PharmScript, which partners with long-term and post-acute care facilities, supplies medications to residents and patients, many of whom are seniors and patients recovering after a hospital stay, and those who are not able to receive care at home. Pharmacists and pharmacy technicians ensure the timely delivery of medications, including in care facilities and in patients’ homes after they are discharged. PharmScript contracts with skilled nursing facilities to meet the needs of patients across 26 states. As a long-term care pharmacy, PharmScript fills more complex prescriptions than a traditional retail pharmacy, with patients averaging about 11 prescriptions per month. The dedicated pharmacy staff ensures accuracy, timeliness and accessibility.