Arlington, Va. – The National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS), in partnership with the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin, today announced plans to move forward with a new practice model to improve patient access to quality and efficient care, and advance pharmacy in a broader healthcare setting.
The innovative pilot project, “Advancing Community Pharmacy Quality: Leveraging Tech-Check-Tech to Expand Patient Care Services in Community Pharmacies,” aims to promote better access to patient care. Specifically, the pilot will examine a new practice model that fosters collaboration across healthcare settings and employs an enhanced operational model. This new practice model holds promise in transforming the nation’s healthcare system to deliver better access to clinical care by leveraging health care resources in a smarter way while ensuring patient safety and high operating standards.
Key component of this model involves trained and validated pharmacy technicians completing the final check of a prescription filled by another technician, a pharmacy technician verification process known as tech-check-tech (TCT). This process allows pharmacists to reinvest the time saved by providing direct patient care services such as immunizations, disease state testing and medication therapy management, among others, which has a positive impact on overall patient outcomes.
“NACDS is pleased to partner with the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin on this project, which utilizes the full potential of pharmacists’ skills and shows great promise for improving patient access to care and healthcare outcomes,” said NACDS President & CEO Steven C. Anderson, IOM, CAE. “Pharmacists are well-positioned to meet the growing demand for healthcare services, and this project provides a proving ground to demonstrate the collaborative role pharmacy is able to play in an evolving healthcare system.”
Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin Executive Vice President & CEO Christopher Decker, RPh, said, “The people of Wisconsin will benefit from greater access to patient care services and enhanced patient safety as a result of this pilot. The Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin looks forward to partnering with community pharmacies as we implement and advance this exciting patient-care initiative.”
NACDS is supporting the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin with the pilot, which also includes collaboration with researchers from Concordia University. The Wisconsin Pharmacy Examining Board approved the pilot at their board meeting on September 22, 2016. The program is actively recruiting and preparing pharmacy sites for participation and will launch in early 2017, pending Institutional Review Board approval. Results will be evaluated over a three-year time period in order to guide Board adoption of rules in support of advancing patient care.
NACDS represents traditional drug stores and supermarkets and mass merchants with pharmacies. Chains operate more than 40,000 pharmacies, and NACDS’ chain member companies include regional chains, with a minimum of four stores, and national companies. Chains employ more than 3.8 million individuals, including 175,000 pharmacists. They fill over 2.7 billion prescriptions yearly, and help patients use medicines correctly and safely, while offering innovative services that improve patient health and healthcare affordability. NACDS members also include more than 800 supplier partners and nearly 40 international members representing 13 countries. For more information, visit www.NACDS.org.
The Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin has championed the cause of helping pharmacists deliver the best care for their patients. Today, with nearly 4000 members statewide, PSW is the professional organization that pharmacists, pharmacy technicians and student pharmacists join to further their careers, advance the standing of pharmacists, and improve the care of patients in Wisconsin. To learn more about PSW, go to www.pswi.org.
