Flip the Pharmacy Champion Fights Burnout by Transforming Patient Care

With ever-changing coronavirus guidelines, on-edge patients peppering the overworked staff with questions, and more phones ringing than bodies to answer them, burnout has peaked in community pharmacies throughout the country. However, Dana Sadowski, PharmD, believed that community-based pharmacy practice could (and should) be different. She was brought to ClearSpring Pharmacy to spearhead its practice transformation effort. Now, she serves as the pharmacy’s Flip the Pharmacy Champion and directs the clinical programs among its staff, who has been reenergized with the newfound potential of community pharmacy. “Flip the Pharmacy reminds us why we do what we do,” Dana reflects.

Known for its compounding services, ClearSpring Pharmacy has served Denver, Colorado and the surrounding communities of for over 20 years. ClearSpring Pharmacy participates in CPESN® Colorado and CPESN USA.

As the Pharmacy Manager at ClearSpring Pharmacy, Dana leads the implementation of enhanced clinical services. ClearSpring Pharmacy started the Flip the Pharmacy program in October 2020, along with 800+ other pharmacies across the country. Flip the Pharmacy is a 5-year pharmacy transformation program aiming to re-work community-based pharmacy practice beyond filling prescriptions and toward an ongoing focus on a patient's health.

Dana acknowledges that ClearSpring Pharmacy’s participation in Flip the Pharmacy has enabled

her team to reach more patients and provide higher quality patient care.

Using monthly change packages, Flip the Pharmacy coaches work with local pharmacy teams to implement the six key transformation domains with an emphasis on continuing patient care planning with documentation in various eCare Plan platforms.

Dana Sadowski, PharmD, Pharmacy Manager at ClearSpring Pharmacy

Dana shares, “During the pandemic, patients saw firsthand all the services we offered and came to know us as an active health care hub when others closed their doors.” Among the many innovative clinical services offered by ClearSpring Pharmacy, it houses machines that automatically check A1C and cholesterol in a convenient way. The ClearSpring Pharmacy team has also ramped up its medication synchronization, adherence packaging, immunization, and delivery programs. “With so many unknowns at that time, we remained a constant for our patients in our local community.”

In addition to implementing these clinical services, Dana plans to enhance the engagement of nonpharmacist staff in creative ways. Two full-time pharmacy technicians will perform regular patient outreach calls for blood pressure check-ins, medication synchronization fills, and immunization screenings. Student pharmacists would perform blood pressure readings as patients waited during ClearSpring Pharmacy’s COVID-19 immunization clinics.

“When I precept APPE students, they are amazed at how this advanced community pharmacy rotation mimics more of an ambulatory care setting. I love showing students a different side of community pharmacy that they might not see in the classroom.”

Dana owes much of ClearSpring Pharmacy’s success to its coaches, Wesley Nuffer, PharmD, BCPS, CDCES and Whitney Osborn, PharmD. They have been instrumental in helping Dana track the pharmacy’s progress, dissect monthly change packages, and answer questions at a moment’s notice. Flip the Pharmacy coaches are funded by the Community Pharmacy Foundation and national and local team sponsors. ClearSpring Pharmacy is a member of Team Colorado, which is funded in part by a team sponsorship donation from RxPlus Pharmacies. The pharmacy also receives grant funding from the Colorado Department of Public Health.

What’s next for ClearSpring Pharmacy? When asked about the pharmacy’s future plans, Dana shares that her team will be participating in the EngageDr. Program and the NCPA Innovation Center/ CPESN Community Pharmacy Fellowship. She is confident that these opportunities will provide her staff with the skills needed to continue increasing their patient base, building relationships with local health care providers, and growing their presence on social media. She also plans to start enrolling patients in their newly accredited Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support program.

“When you have to work the bench, it’s easy to feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day. We’re all used to our routines and old habits are hard to break,” Dana admits. “Flip the Pharmacy is what keeps us motivated and on track. It’s given us more opportunities than we could have imagined and we’re excited to keep exploring them.”

The Flip the Pharmacy program hopes to directly support 1,000 pharmacies, just like ClearSpring Pharmacy, with coaches like Wesley and Whitney, and impact thousands more. To date, over 800 pharmacies are receiving direct coaching and implementation support. Learn more at www.flipthepharmacy.com.