Why Pharmacists and Primary Care Providers are Better Together

Behind the scenes at your health center, two highly trained individuals are working together help you get the most out of your benefits. They’re leveraging their expertise to find ways to save you money, using a wide array of data to understand your health, and strategizing the easiest way to help you start feeling better faster.

This formidable duo is made up of pharmacists and primary care providers (PCPs) and it’s all made possible by the powerful integration between pharmacy and primary care.

What we mean when we talk about integration

At Premise, integration happens when different types of providers collaborate and share information to maximize the benefit for both the member and their employer through the care they offer.   

This collaboration is important: While each provider might focus on different aspects of a person’s health, each facet impacts the others in a domino-effect of health and wellness. Care teams can share patient records via an electronic health record (EHR), discuss a patient’s health challenges in person to find an affordable solution, and make warm hand-offs to make sure that a member is never left to fend for themselves on their care journey.

But while collaboration is the basis for excellent care across the spectrum of health, it’s particularly crucial for pharmacists and primary care providers. When they work together, pharmacists and PCPs at onsite and nearsite health centers can help prevent medication errors, more efficiently treat health concerns, find more cost-effective medications for patients, build relationships, and provide proactive care across a member’s mind and body that sets the stage for an even more powerful advanced primary care approach.

A more personalized member experience

When pharmacists and primary care providers team up, they can not only more easily identify a member who needs help and work with them to get what they need, they help that member feel cared for as a person and get the most out of their benefits.

Warm handoffs

When a health clinic is connected to an onsite pharmacy, a primary care provider can physically walk with a member from the exam room to the counter and introduce them to the pharmacist personally, making the member feel comfortable and cared for throughout the duration of their visit.

More efficient appointments

When data from the pharmacy is shared via EHR, appointments become more convenient too. Instead of spending time listening to a member recite their medical history and list of medications at the beginning of the appointment, PCPs can review the medical background documented in the electronic record before the visit and dive right in to addressing the member’s most urgent health needs in-person with them.

Addressing unmet needs

Meanwhile, a pharmacist may notice that a member has come into a nearsite wellness center’s pharmacy looking for a specific set of over-the-counter medications and ask questions about why those items are needed. This creates an opportunity for members to share more about what’s really going on with their health, and a pharmacist can refer them for help from a primary care provider as a result. Or. If a member is struggling to afford medication that they need, a pharmacist can leverage their expert knowledge of drugs and work alongside the member’s PCP to find cost-effective alternatives and keep the health journey on track.

A streamlined healthcare strategy for employers

Just as it can boost member experience, integration of pharmacy and primary care also boosts an organization’s health strategy by maximizing medication adherence, saving money, and serving as a foundation for an organization’s culture of wellbeing.

Maximizing engagement

Providing comprehensive, integrated pharmacy and primary care services make it easy and convenient for employees and their families to get the care they need. As a result, employers can see greater utilization of both services as members take advantage of this high-quality care versus community services that might cost more, be less convenient, and be located further from where they live their lives. Additionally, integration boosts the reach of potential engagement, creating multiple pathways that members can interact with their providers.

Cost savings

When members have an expert team to remove the barriers keeping them from taking their medication properly, they are more likely to see a reduction in chronic symptoms and resolution of acute conditions as a result. To maximize adherence, pharmacists and primary care providers work together to ensure that members are fully educated on their medication, able to afford their medication, and are picking up their prescriptions promptly. As a result, they’ll see fewer visits to hospitals, urgent care clinics, and rehabilitation facilities that employers would have to foot the bill for.

A culture of wellbeing

When employers provide an integrated pharmacy and primary care benefit to employees and their families, it can prove an integral part of their approach to recruiting and retaining talent. Investment in direct healthcare benefits is the foundation of a culture of wellbeing, appealing to high-impact new talent and engaging long-term team members to reduce turnover.

Build an incredible support system for your people.

Whether your employees are managing multiple chronic conditions or just looking to get the most out of their prescriptions, integrating your approach to pharmacy and primary care can be the first step to optimizing your organization’s healthcare strategy. At Premise, we provide our members with a care team that really cares about them and works together to ensure that they’re getting the best possible care.   

Ready to take the first step to supercharging your people’s benefits? Contact us today to get started.