Historically, it has always been more convenient to access your pharmacist vs your physician. The role of pharmacists in patient care continues to become greater and greater. Pharmacists are among the most trusted professionals, and they have always played an important part in the overall well-being of patients. Nowadays, however, patients are relying more and more on their pharmacists to better understand the importance of adherence to medication, education about their medications, and understanding the importance of properly managing their medications.
Why Is It Important For Pharmacists To Be Involved in Patient Care?
Many patients have easier access to their pharmacist than they do to their doctors. Without making an appointment, it’s next to impossible for a patient to speak with their doctor. Pharmacists, on the other hand, are available day in and day out for counseling, recommendations, and treatment options. Oftentimes pharmacists are more aware of a patient’s conditions, their medication history, and any possible side effects or contraindications. Because of this, it’s so important that independent pharmacies are supported in their endeavor to ensure quality care and better outcomes for patients. The role of pharmacists in patient care can make a huge difference in patients’ overall health. Between setting up things like automatic refills within their pharmacy software to ensure patient adherence to medication, to educating patients on the importance of medication adherence, pharmacists have a huge opportunity to help their patients. Harnessing the technology within the best pharmacy management software platforms in the industry can significantly increase medication adherence without requiring added manual tasks for the pharmacy staff.
What Can a Pharmacist Do To Ensure Patient Adherence to Medication?
Complex conditions and multiple medications can often complicate proper medication adherence. The role of pharmacists in patient care and in patient adherence to medication is becoming increasingly more significant, especially due to the frequency at which a patient sees their pharmacist. Pharmacists have many options to help patients properly manage their medications, and they don’t have to be overly time-consuming or costly. Taking advantage of the tools within a pharmacy software system is a great place to start.
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Auto Refills
Recommending automatic refills for chronic maintenance medications is one of the most effective ways to ensure proper medication compliance. Coupling this with sending out notifications from the pharmacy management software to let a patient know it’s time to pick up their prescriptions will ensure they never miss a refill.
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Medication Synchronization
In addition to automatic refills, Medication Synchronization or MedSync uses an algorithm to help determine the best date to refill all maintenance medications at the same time each month. For patients on multiple maintenance medications, MedSync is an incredibly effective tool for a pharmacist to offer patients help with adherence to medications as it decreases the number of visits or deliveries they must get for all of their medications. Today’s modern pharmacy systems should have a med sync program built into the software.
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Delivery Services
For many patients, transportation to and from the pharmacy can be challenging. Oftentimes a patient will have to wait until they’re able to get to the pharmacy, even if it means picking up their prescriptions late. At-home delivery services can help you build better patient adherence to medication. Your pharmacy software system must have the ability to synchronize with a delivery application or third-party delivery company to help organize and facilitate these deliveries.
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Mobile Applications
A mobile application syncs your patients’ right to their prescription profile within the pharmacy system, putting the information right at their fingertips. By accessing their prescriptions online or through an app, patients can track the status of prescriptions, see when it’s time to fill their RX, and when it’s time to come pick it up at the pharmacy. Pharmacists can even send out alerts and messages to patients through the mobile application, making this an incredibly effective tool to increase patient adherence to medications. Make certain that your pharmacy system vendor offers a patient-facing mobile application that ties directly into their pharmacy management software. Your patients can get these conveniences elsewhere, so you must offer them too.
How Can Pharmacists Educate Patients On The Importance Of Medication Adherence?
There are many tools within a pharmacy computer system that can amplify the role of a pharmacist in patient care. Whether it be in person or virtually, there are a lot of opportunities for pharmacists to be involved in patient education on medication adherence.
- Documentation: Providing patients with proper medication documentation is important. Drug monographs and medication guides can be printed and accessed via QR code in Datascan’s Pharmacy Software system. In addition to monographs and medguides, our pharmacy systems allow pharmacists to create customized medication charts that can be printed and provided to patients. These medication charts have administration times and details on the proper way to take their medications.
- Medication reconciliation is another effective way to ensure proper patient adherence to medication. Medication reconciliation is a process that compares a patient’s current medications with their orders to identify and resolve any discrepancies. The goal is to be sure there are no missing medications or duplication of therapies, resulting in a more compliant and healthier patient. Having the entire patient history right at your fingertips using today’s best pharmacy software systems can aid in better overall patient care.
- Counseling is offered for every single prescription that a patient picks up in an independent pharmacy. Easy access to the pharmacist at this point allows a patient to ask any questions they may have about their medications, such as possible side effects and the proper way to administer a prescription medication. Once you have completed counseling with a patient, it’s important to document the interaction using your pharmacy software system. This helps build a more complete picture of the patient history that you can refer to in the future if any medication adherence issues arise.
Final Thoughts
Pharmacists are more important now than ever before. Because of a patient’s easy and quick access to speak with their pharmacists, pharmacists are able to help provide patient education on the importance of proper medication adherence. The role of the pharmacist in patient care continues to evolve and also continues to become greater. Studies have shown that patients who stick to the regimens prescribed by their physicians and stay adherent to their medications have overall better health outcomes. Today, through technology offered to us by electronic medical records systems, pharmacy management software, and mobile applications working together, there should be no reason for any patient to be non-adherent to the regimen of medications prescribed by their physicians.
