PrescribeWellness introduces pharmacy certification program
IRVINE, Calif. — PrescribeWellness announced the launch of its StarWellness Med Sync Certification program.
Designed for the more than 22,000 community pharmacies in the United States, the online Med Sync Certification course empowers pharmacies to build and manage more patient relationships, improve operating efficiency and grow revenue while addressing the major issue of medication adherence.
StarWellness Med Sync Certification also provides key benefits in facilitating preventive patient care by making it easier for patients to obtain and refill prescriptions and to complete their recommended course of medication, according to Prescribe Wellness, a cloud-based services company that inspires collaboration for better health.
StarWellness helps pharmacies identify, recruit and enroll potential Med Sync patients. After enrollment, the pharmacy team can successfully sustain patient relationships and enhance adherence via electronic calendaring and reminder features, as well as data-triggered outbound text messages and voicemails that help build pharmacist-patient relationships that support lasting behavior change. In addition, the StarWellness Med Sync Certification is the first online course of its kind to teach pharmacies how to implement technology-based Med Sync while focusing on motivators and responsibilities for the entire pharmacy staff.
Med Sync, or Medication Synchronization, addresses the “adherence problem” by enabling pharmacies to fill patient prescriptions and “sync” all of them for a single, convenient pick-up day each month, stated the company. In addition, Med Sync allows pharmacies to optimize and streamline workflow while creating an opportunity for pharmacists to provide monthly check-ins and medication therapy management, focused on topics such as proper medication usage or mitigating side effects. Major pharmacy chains and thousands of independent pharmacists have implemented Med Sync, due to its ability to drive patient wellness, its compatibility with Medicare billing, and potential to enhance pharmacy business results.
“Without question, preventive healthcare is fundamentally important, and medication adherence is a huge part of prevention,” said Al Babbington, co-founder and CEO of PrescribeWellness. “Community pharmacies are well-positioned to serve as true clinicians in their communities — especially as we brace for major changes to the healthcare system. The new StarWellness Med Sync training empowers them to provide the best patient care possible while optimizing their business operations.”
According to Irvine-based PrescribeWellness, studies show that half of all patients do not take their medications as prescribed, that more than one in five new prescriptions go unfilled, and that adherence is lowest among patients with chronic illnesses. An estimated 125,000 Americans die each year due to poor medication adherence; increased patient compliance with drug prescriptions could significantly reduce emergency room admissions and medication-related hospital admissions, saving nearly $300 billion per year in the United States — some 13% of healthcare spending.