Pharmacy Times Challenges and Opportunities in the Future of Health-System Pharmacy

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PrincessSnow

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Just sharing this post from pharmacy times. Challenges and Opportunities in the Future of Health-System Pharmacy. I was listening about 43 minutes into this video. It seems like they are just plugging pharmacist in where people are quitting. They said a doctor quit so they plugged in a pharmacist. Patients were not worried about quality but they are worried about access. They said they are doing pilot programs where pharmacist administer medications for the nurses. Is anyone doing this at other hospitals? What types of meds? Suppository, enema, IV's, po, injections (IM, SQ)?

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So pharmacists are like the illegal immigrants of healthcare; they get assigned jobs that nobody else wants to do, but as soon as they start doing that job, other people start complaining that “they took our jobs!”
 
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So pharmacists are like the illegal immigrants of healthcare; they get assigned jobs that nobody else wants to do, but as soon as they start doing that job, other people start complaining that “they took our jobs!”
Your assessment is closer to the truth than you would think, your comparison sorta hits home. As I have navigated the profession for the last 40+ years, I have noticed marked changes within the profession, and as an immigrant, I understand more clearly the shift that has been happening. I can only speak of my state and region. Back in 1986, I graduated with a Pharm.D., very proud of my accomplishment, a very lucrative future ahead of me, along with a few hundred other white guys, a small number of women, and even smaller number of minorities and immigrants. Now I am witnessing over 70% female, with a huge number of immigrants, graduating(and taking our jobs :giggle::eek::giggle:)!! I don't see any problem with the panel trying to address the "challenges and opportunities that face us in the future".
We have to adapt to survive. The one fact that overrides all, is that in immigrant families, healthcare profession is highly coveted. This was the least acceptable degree for my parents (my sister is an M.D.) and low pay/hard work is never an issue. And that's why Pharmacy Schools are still packing in the ESL kids!
 
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I’ve never really understood why RPh make themselves so accessible to the point where people just waste time with nonsense that any unskilled person could handle…some days I have to ask myself if this is a pharmacy or not. No doubt this has contributed to pharmacy losing its identity or at least watering things down to a point where there is no focus left on the actual drugs.

Can’t stand the stupid “open” atmosphere/environment of retail pharmacy (people just waste your time and devalue/dilute down the meaningfulness of interacting with an RPh from constant access/exposure to “open mic” of stupid questions that have nothing to do with drugs

Ok, charge $5 consultation fee before RPh will handle your “consultation” and maybe people will take us more seriously
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"We don't have anyone who wants to do [insert boring/tedious thing here] lets ask pharmacy." Pharmacy school selects for timid people who don't want to rock the boat and the schools encourage the same attitude. That's part of the reason we've ended up here.
 
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I’ve never really understood why RPh make themselves so accessible to the point where people just waste time with nonsense that any unskilled person could handle…some days I have to ask myself if this is a pharmacy or not. No doubt this has contributed to pharmacy losing its identity or at least watering things down to a point where there is no focus left on the actual drugs.

Can’t stand the stupid “open” atmosphere/environment of retail pharmacy (people just waste your time and devalue/dilute down the meaningfulness of interacting with an RPh from constant access/exposure to “open mic” of stupid questions that have nothing to do with drugs

Ok, charge $5 consultation fee before RPh will handle your “consultation” and maybe people will take us more seriously
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I agree but the horse as already left the barn.If someone calls a NP or PA and asks advice for a simple illness they will be told to make an appointment and pay.In retail they do neither.
 
So pharmacists are like the illegal immigrants of healthcare; they get assigned jobs that nobody else wants to do, but as soon as they start doing that job, other people start complaining that “they took our jobs!”
along these lines - when I was in charge if we ever were asked to do a new service, I had a simple algorithm
1. Is it legally required for a pharmacist to do this? if yes- ok, lets figure out the best way to do it.
2. if No - is it already being done? yes - can we do it better or cheaper than it is currently being done? Cheaper comes into play if a MD is doing it, better comes into play if a RN is doing it. If we are better, are we having outcomes that justify the expense?
If it is worthwhile, then we go to the c-suite and ask for appropriate FTE's with justification. If we don't get the FTE- we don't add a service to someone who is already doing a full job.
 
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I agree but the horse as already left the barn.If someone calls a NP or PA and asks advice for a simple illness they will be told to make an appointment and pay.In retail they do neither.
I have seen some places now charging (and I have no problem with it) for an email / EPIC message to a doc if they are getting medical advice.
 
Original thead on this:

 
ASHP Foundation Pharmacy Forecast 2023 states the following: The stressors on pharmacy practice models in the next few years could be compounded by projected shortages of nurses, physicians, and hospital staff across the healthcare continuum, which could require pharmacy personnel to perform cross-functional duties traditionally managed by other departments. FPs overwhelming agreed (89%) that pharmacy departments will likely be required to perform cross-functional duties (such as patient medication education, care coordination, and diabetes education), further stretching pharmacy departments to do more with less. Pharmacist involvement in telepharmacy will likely grow considerably, particularly in the areas of medication therapy monitoring, transitions of care, and patient consultations.

Pharmacy Practice News had this article:
Pharmacists as Essential Team Members Support Patient Care at Rochester Regional Health
Pharmacists are front and center as critical members of the team in a new patient care model developed at Rochester Regional Health, in New York, to alleviate a nursing shortage on inpatient medical-surgical units. The results from a pilot version of the program were described in a poster (Sun-29) presented at the 2022 ACCP Global Conference on Clinical Pharmacy.

In Rochester Regional Health’s standard care model, one registered nurse (RN), one unit clerk, and if staffing permitted, one licensed practical nurse (LPN) and one patient care technician supported every five patients. Under a new multidisciplinary collaborative care model, the RN serves as the primary coordinator for patients, with several other clinicians contributing to their care. Under this plan, one RN, one LPN and one patient care technician support every 10 patients with the collaboration of a pharmacist and food and nutrition service staff.

Pharmacists are responsible for obtaining the patient’s medication history and performing medication reconciliation at the time of admission, Joshana Goga, PharmD, MBA, BCPP, the system director of clinical pharmacy programs for the health system, told Pharmacy Practice News. They also provide all patient medication education throughout the length of stay, complete discharge medication counseling and coordinate meds to beds.

A three-month pilot of the model, launched in March 2022 at Rochester Regional Hospital, was so successful that it is being rolled out to other institutions in the nine-hospital health system, Dr. Goga said. Patient experience surveys conducted by Press Ganey before and after the pilot demonstrate the impact of pharmacists’ work. Approximately 60% of patients reported understanding the purpose of a new medication before the pilot, compared with 75% after it. About 36% reported they understood medication side effects before the pilot, compared with 50% afterward. Additionally, the percentage of nurses reporting that their patient load prevented them from completing work before the end of their shift decreased from 24% to 17%, and 79% of nurses said their workload was better under the new model.

Pharmacists were “absolutely thrilled” to step up, Dr. Goga said.

“We had the support of our executive-level team from day 1,” she said. Nurses initially were more hesitant and uncertain about the change, but they quickly appreciated having some responsibilities taken off their plates, Dr. Goga added.

“Pharmacists are the medication experts and should practice at the top of their license, particularly at a time when we are in the midst of a healthcare workforce crisis,” she said. “We have been trained with these skill sets and are ready to support our colleagues to provide the best possible patient experience.”

I am a pharmacist and a registered nurse but my pharmacy manager says that I need to get board certified to have a job at at! If anyone is qualified to do this it is me!
 
“Pharmacists were “absolutely thrilled” to step up, Dr. Goga said.”

LOL no we’re not. We have a golden ticket to ask for better pay and working conditions, instead when they ask us to jump we’re saying “How high?”
 
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Let’s see the financials… sustainable (not grant, externally funded or discounted labor by means of resident) programs that produce a net positive impact to the system have no reason not to take off. Unfortunately depending on what reimbursement models are involved… costs mitigated by rph can also translate to revenues reduced by rph… which is great for the patients financials but could be terrible for the health systems.
 
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