Is LTC Pharmacy Going Back to the Future?

In the digital age, long-term care (LTC) is one of the most continuously evolving areas of pharmacy. Focusing on at-home, value-based care, technology has allowed this evolution to prove success beyond the COVID-19 pandemic and into the future.

On a recent episode of Over the Counter, Drug Topics sat down with Sandra Canally, RN, and Kara Benson, PharmD, to discuss LTC pharmacy and the partnership between Lewis Drug Inc and The Compliance Team. Canally is the founder and CEO of The Compliance Team, an industry-leading, Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services-approved health care accreditation organization celebrating 30 years of business. Benson oversees LTC operations at Lewis Drug Inc, serving pharmacies in the tri-state area of South Dakota, Iowa, and Minnesota.

From LTC pharmacy’s effects on reimbursement and at-home care to the future of LTC pharmacy, Canally and Benson delved into their partnership and how accreditation has allowed pharmacy operations to thrive.

Sandra C. Canally, RN, is founder and CEO of The Compliance Team (TCT), an industry leading, CMS-approved healthcare accreditation organization, celebrating its 30th year in business.

“Certainly, post pandemic, there’s a greater influence on the use of telehealth,” said Canally. Canally and Benson incorporate telehealth into much of their day-to-day operations. They discussed its ability to bridge the gap between the pharmacy and patients, especially those in hospice or nursing homes. “The biggest thing that we’ve been seeing is integration via technology a lot of the time,” continued Benson.

Next, they touched on at-home care and its role in facilitating LTC pharmacies; and it’s the partnership between Lewis Drug and The Compliance Team that can accommodate this specific type of care. Benson touched on medication adherence and Lewis Drug’s mail-in program that allows at-home patients to quickly and seamlessly receive their medications and comply with clinicians’ preferred instructions.

“Here at Lewis Drug, we have a heavy at-home hospice service. It’s ensuring that these patients have any sort of medications that they need at their disposal when they need them. And that is a 24-hour service that we offer,” said Benson.

Finally, Canally discussed The Compliance Team’s accreditation process and how it’s helped Benson’s pharmacies strive for gold-standard services.

“Lewis Drug chose to get accredited because it holds all of our locations at a same standard,” continued Benson. “It creates consistency across all of our locations. It’s also super beneficial that it’s a third-party validation. It’s unbiased in any sort of way. It just ensures that we’re all held to an elite standard.”

The accreditation process has allowed companies like Lewis Drug to go above and beyond when it comes to providing all types of patient care, not just LTC or at-home care. Canally then elaborated on how accreditation is especially beneficial for LTC pharmacies.

“The fact that your quality has been validated by a third party, puts you at the top of the list with getting [contracts from outside facilities],” she said. “Maintaining that high level of standard, with The Compliance Team, it’s at that exemplary level because our accreditation is all about Lewis Drug being an exemplary provider. Every patient deserves exemplary care.”

Listen to the full episode for the full scope of how The Compliance Team has given companies like Lewis Drug the opportunity to provide the most sought-after services in the pharmacy industry today.