When it comes to areas such as preventative services and medication reviews, pharmacies are in a good position to provide support to plan members with chronic conditions, according to members of the Pharmacy Health Insurance Steering Coalition.
At the recent Pharmacy Solutions in Drug Plan Management Forum, Leanne MacFarlane, a member of the coalition and senior director for advocacy and preferred providers at Sobeys National Pharmacy Group, told the audience there’s a lot of value to adding pharmacy services to a benefit plan.
The accessibility of pharmacies, along with their expertise in medication therapy and their expanding scope of practice, provides an important opportunity to deliver better health outcomes, she noted.
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The coalition, a joint effort by the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association, the Canadian Pharmacists Association and the Neighbourhood Pharmacy Association of Canada, serves as a forum for discussion among senior insurer and pharmacy leaders and to inform insurers of the various pharmacy health-care services.
Mike Cavanagh, a pharmacist and pharmacy co-chair of the coalition, noted there are six pharmacy services available in every province that provide employees the right care at the right time and help keep them at work.
The first, he noted, are prescribing services as pharmacists can adapt and renew prescriptions in every province. Second, said MacFarlane, are medication reviews to help identify drug-related problems and reduce waste, both of which can improve adherence and health outcomes.
Pharmacies are then able to take what they found in the review and implement solutions for the patient via medication care plans, said Cavanagh, citing the benefits of cost savings and claims prevention for plan sponsors.
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Pharmacists can also work with plan members on prevention and health coaching, said MacFarlane.
When it comes to injection services and help with minor ailments, there has already been a shift out of the doctor’s office by, example, administering the flu vaccine through Ontario pharmacies in recent years.
Ultimately, there are hopes that could extend to travel health, Cavanagh told attendees, as running clinics out of pharmacies would increase accessibility and help reduce absenteeism.
Read more stories from the Pharmacy Solutions in Drug Plan Management Forum