The Importance of Pharmacy-Sponsored Programs for Driving Medication Adherence

To drive medication adherence and keep patients informed about potential complications, pharmacists must stay educated and informed. That’s the key to the delivery of high-value care, according to A.J. Lipka, business development lead of network growth at Outcomes. Lipka discussed these programs and more during the fall 2024 Total Pharmacy Solutions Summit, held virtually on October 19.

“These are programs that you can run in your pharmacy that are specifically designed to drive adherence or awareness to patients of your pharmacy. They run at no cost to you as they are sponsored by the pharma manufacturers,” said Lipka when discussing the pharmacy-sponsored programs that Outcomes offers to all pharmacists.

As a way of reestablishing the patient-provider relationship, navigating shorter attention spans spurred on by technology, and much more, Outcomes designed the pharmacy-sponsored programs to address an ever-evolving health care—and more specifically, pharmacy—landscape.

Read on for some key takeaways from Lipka’s presentation:

• Amid the ongoing physician shortage, pharmacists have the unique ability to fill in a much-needed gap within health care.
• Programming from Outcomes is accessible and easy to use; they are designed to help pharmacists create a patient-focused approach. Pharmacists nationwide can take advantage of this tool and set themselves apart from their peers in the industry.
• Lipka discussed ongoing trends of patient mistrust toward their physicians and various health care providers. “About [one-fourth] of patients said that their [physicians] don’t understand them, 38% clarified that their [physician] doesn’t listen to their concerns, and about 35% say that they don’t get enough time with their [physicians] during appointments.”
• Lipka also touched on technology’s ability to bridge the gap between patients and providers. “Mobile-phone messaging increases medication adherence,” he explained. In one example, adherence rates improved 17%, from 50% at baseline, for chronic disease management through program participation. These programs and tools are small changes pharmacies can enact that can go a long way toward improving patients’ health.
• “Drug price increases can negatively affect adherence. Patients who experienced a price increase of at least one of their drugs…either declined medical tests or procedures,…put off doctor’s visits, [or] maybe they switched to a supplement or took an expired medication. I know we’ve all heard the horror stories of patients cutting pills in half without approval,” he said. The pharmacy-sponsored events that Lipka’s company provides are all designed to combat negatively impacted medication adherence.
• Outcomes was one of the first companies to establish a focus toward medication therapy management. “Outcomes is the platform that brings together pharmacies, payers, manufacturers, [and] employers, all with a common goal. We utilize technology to make pharmacies and their teams more efficient and effective, which in turn results in enhanced patient outcomes.” They have been working with pharmacies for over 20 years and will continue to do so as long as industry challenges persist.
• Lipka then explained how Outcomes steps in at the pharmacy level to help businesses maneuver ongoing industry challenges. With established technology and a network of thousands of US pharmacies, the company can offer their tools to patients and pharmacists alike to further drive the delivery of valued care.
• Lipka then moved on to real-world statistics, highlighting the success of Outcomes’ pharmacy-sponsored programming. “When we compare the results with a control group, these programs lead to significant increases [in] medications and vaccine dose completions. When patients are actually nudged along and helped along in their medication journey, to complete their shingles vaccine, for example, they are more likely to come back and get their second dose to ensure they’re vaccinated,” he noted.
• “These are beneficial messages that the patients are actually getting a lot of information from. When you educate someone about shingles, for example, we see a significant lift. Your patients want to understand why they were prescribed something. Educated patients are healthier patients, and these programs help educate your patients and they directly impact your bottom line,” concluded Lipka.

Explore more of our coverage from the Total Pharmacy Solutions Summit Fall 2024: Innovating With Cutting-Edge Technology. To read these stories and more, download the PDF of the Total Pharmacy December issue here.

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