Expanding Pharmacy Services: Unlocking Clinical Workflow Efficiency and Revenue Growth
Stephanie Downing, MBA, discusses expanding pharmacy services, clinical workflow efficiency, and revenue growth, highlighting the shift from traditional pharmacy roles to providing expanded clinical services.
In this Total Pharmacy Solutions Summit session, Stephanie Downing, MBA, senior product manager at Outcomes, highlighted the transformative shift in pharmacy services, emphasizing how pharmacists are evolving from traditional medication dispensing to becoming critical health care providers. She underscored significant industry trends, including growing consumer expectations, clinician shortages, and the transition to value-based care, which are driving pharmacies to expand their clinical service offerings.
Downing shared compelling data demonstrating pharmacists' increasing importance in health care. Nearly one-third of patients place very high trust in pharmacists, and studies suggest that empowering pharmacists with greater clinical authority could save millions of lives and potentially generate over $1 trillion in health care cost savings. However, pharmacies face substantial challenges in implementing these expanded services, including complex medical billing processes, fragmented state regulations, and operational workflow inefficiencies.
The Outcomes clinical solution addresses these challenges by providing an integrated platform that streamlines clinical workflows, simplifies medical billing, and supports pharmacies in navigating regulatory complexities. Key features include step-by-step guided clinical encounter workflows, automated medical billing, real-time eligibility checks, and patient engagement tools. The platform aims to remove administrative barriers, allowing pharmacists to focus on patient care while creating new revenue streams through services like chronic disease management, vaccinations, and point-of-care testing.
Downing emphasized that clinical services represent more than just additional work—they are a strategic path to growth, revenue diversification, and elevating the pharmacist's role in health care. By leveraging technology and comprehensive support, pharmacies can overcome operational challenges, improve patient outcomes, and position themselves as essential health care partners in an evolving medical landscape.
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