Staring an Amb Care Clinic

[RHannosh]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hi guys,

First, FYI I'm a very business oriented person - full on retail/outpatient, totally against residency/slave labor. I'm constantly thinking of new ideas/products to get rich in and outside of pharmacy. I'm a 4th year student ready to graduate and working.

My question is.... What's stopping me (in California) from going out there and starting my own amb care Coumadin/hypertension/diabetes clinic/Pharmacy. Offer the same amb care services that they would at the VA/Naval Medical Center/Kaiser etc... After all - isn't that the future of CVS/Wags starting to try out amb care pharmacist services?

I do not think I need any further education to do this? Is it a money thing? How do Amb care services get paid? Do they only make money by COST-SAVINGS in the long run for these big health systems? Can I bill insurances directly? (i.,e. SB493 in California). I mean I know I can probably partner up with a doctors office that is over burdened with seeing these follow up DM, HTN, Anticoag/Birth Control patients and take off some of their load- but how does that translate financially?

Basically, I am wondering why this has not been done already? I've been trying to do research but come up empty but as far as I can tell, there is no law restricting me from offering such services as a pharmacist, so maybe its financial woes?

 

[Dred Pirate]

what is stopping you is the ability to be reimbursed for your services

 

[PharFromNormal]

Your notion on cost savings is correct. Those institutions likely have tied incentives to capture value through these services and to them pharmacists likely represent a favorable cost benefit return. This may or may not actually be measured internally but if you wanted to do it outside of that im sure you will need to be very articulate in how you'll get paid and what they expect of you.

 

[Dred Pirate]

my first response was snarky - but in all honesty the only way I have ever seen this model works is if you are paired up with a hospital system who employs the MD's and this is used a cost avoidance, works with a school of pharmacy and uses students as a revenue source, or most likely a combo of the two.

 

[deleted462159]

Dred Pirate is correct. Alternatively, I've seen a pharmacist-led clinic set cash prices for certain services. See here: https://pharmacistsclinic.setmore.com/

As you see, however, the clinic is only offered for limited hours each week. The pharmacist who runs it has work arrangements elsewhere. So take it as you will.

 

[zelman]

I agree with other posters, but to further dash your dreams... you cannot really provide the level of service the VA provides. They have a lab and you (probably) won't. Pharmacists can prescribe on federal land and you can't. They use an EMR shared with their providers, pharmacies and laboratories and you'll just be playing phone tag all day.