Post by lindy on Nov 9, 2014 0:32:34 GMT
The larger issue is that pharmacists are trained health care providers -- many have ambulatory-setting training and disease management training -- and are not recognized as such. No one in their right mind would tell a physician he needed to compromise patient safety to meet a quota. You can try, but most docs will tell you to Ef Off. Pharmacists should not be pushed like trained monkeys either. In this day and age of complex pharmaceutical regimens for complex patients, pharmacists need to have more influence in patient care in the immediate care setting and not as an afterthought.
The second issue is that pharmacy should not be blended with traditional retail outlets. The pressure on pharmacists to conform to customer service in the same way that a clerk does is wrong. It's time to elevate prescription drugs into a separate retail arena so patient safety and not volume is the priority.
Another issue is that docs are prescribing meds they do not know jack about. (I have personal experience with this recently.) All physician practices should embed a pharmacists in their clinical care teams for routine med reconciliation on high-risk and catastrophic-risk patients as well as those patients with a recent hospital discharge. Pharmaceutical reps should never meet with a doc or the staff -- they should meet with the practice pharmacist who can ascertain what they are really selling.
One solution I've seen is physician practices creating collaborative care agreements with independent community pharmacists. The docs agree to refer patients and the pharmacists agree to watch costs/safety for the patient as well as notify the PCP if the patient shows up with scripts not issued by the practice. This solution won't work through the Costcos and Rite-Aids in the world, but that again brings me back to separating dispensing prescription-only drugs away from traditional retail situation.
The second issue is that pharmacy should not be blended with traditional retail outlets. The pressure on pharmacists to conform to customer service in the same way that a clerk does is wrong. It's time to elevate prescription drugs into a separate retail arena so patient safety and not volume is the priority.
Another issue is that docs are prescribing meds they do not know jack about. (I have personal experience with this recently.) All physician practices should embed a pharmacists in their clinical care teams for routine med reconciliation on high-risk and catastrophic-risk patients as well as those patients with a recent hospital discharge. Pharmaceutical reps should never meet with a doc or the staff -- they should meet with the practice pharmacist who can ascertain what they are really selling.
One solution I've seen is physician practices creating collaborative care agreements with independent community pharmacists. The docs agree to refer patients and the pharmacists agree to watch costs/safety for the patient as well as notify the PCP if the patient shows up with scripts not issued by the practice. This solution won't work through the Costcos and Rite-Aids in the world, but that again brings me back to separating dispensing prescription-only drugs away from traditional retail situation.
Thanks for your input!
