Retailers, grocers and drugstores transform with more pharmacy services, from infusion suites to state-of-the-art cold storage for the latest prescriptions, to meet the growing number of specialty medicines prescribed by patients doing.
Pharmacies, from street corner drugstores and grocery stores to outpatient clinics and large retail outlets, are becoming increasingly capable of meeting the complex prescription needs of patients, companies say.
This trend has been driven in part by the COVID-19 pandemic, making retail pharmacies and grocery stores the go-to place for immunizations and diagnostic tests – services.
For example, CVS Health has delivered over 86 million Covid-19 vaccines and over 59 million Covid-19 tests in pharmacies and long-term care facilities since the start of the pandemic. The freezer for bulk storage of Pfizer vaccines has delivered nearly 80 Covid-19 vaccines and more than 35 million tests since the start of the pandemic.
“As patient needs have changed throughout the pandemic, Walgreens has worked hard to identify and address the pressing challenges and underlying issues that continue to affect the health of our communities. “ Lina Shah, vice president at Walgreens, the pharmacy of the future, said: “Walgreens is rapidly expanding access to healthcare services by providing comprehensive care for chronic, complex and rare diseases, as well as testing and treating routine ailments.”
More broadly, pharmacies are preparing for a wave of new drug combinations derived from biotechnology to treat everything from autoimmune diseases to cancer.
Gone are the days when pharmacies dispensed prescription drugs, tablets and capsules as a large part of their business. Today’s pharmacies handle medicines that require injections and infusions by staff who often require specialized training and licensing..
Take the example of the Hy-Vee grocery store chain, which has operated retail pharmacies in more than 275 locations in eight Midwestern states for over 50 years. has opened. Infusion clinics, which require provider referrals, offer treatment for “rheumatology, gastroenterology, pulmonology, neurology, dermatology, oncology and other chronic conditions,” the company said. .
Hy-Vee President Aaron Wiese said this week’s Assenbia Specialty Pharmacy Summit’s self-contained clinic is staffed by licensed doctors and nurses and features three private infusion rooms and five group infusion suites.
Independent clinics operating under the Hy-Vee Health brand “are an affordable, convenient and accessible option for patients facing chronic and complex conditions,” said Wiese. He wants to provide convenient and cost-effective medical solutions for patients across the United States. “
Management said the pharmacy will continue to add more services to meet patient needs. Consolidating more services will help keep costs down when the healthcare system is less fragmented.
For example, three months ago, health insurance giant Elevance Health, which operates Blue Cross and Blue Shield health plans in 14 states, completed its acquisition of specialty pharmacy Bioplus.
Bioplus CEO Mark Montgomery said the integration of specialty pharmacies into the larger healthcare services and benefits under Elevance Health is part of a strategy to treat the whole of human health.
This is important because taxpayers, government health insurers, and businesses are spending more on expensive specialty prescription drugs. Last year, for example, his US employer’s specialty prescription spending accounted for 49% of his total pharmacy costs.
Pharmacies are only expected to add additional services that are accepted by the community, according to a new report from the Milken Institute’s Center for Public Health.
“Regardless of emergencies or steady state, communities rely on pharmaceutical supply chains to reach the right customers at the right place and time,” said Sarah Wells Kotsis, director of the Milken Institute Public Health Center. We deliver quality medicines.” “National pharmacies (chain, independent, specialty stores) and drug distributors are playing an expanded role in community health care. Adapting to the challenges of the public health emergency and meeting unprecedented demand. Their capacity is primarily to mobilize financial and human resources in innovative ways, leverage their status as trusted and decentralized health access points, and proactively address the health needs of the communities they serve. The “last inch” to reach the patient while working on
Follow me please twitter again LinkedIn. check out part of my website or other work of mine here.
