Walgreens partners on adherence pilot with Greystone Healthcare Management

LADY LAKE, Fla. — Walgreens and Greystone Healthcare Management on Thursday launched a collaborative therapy management pilot program at the Lady Lake Specialty Center in Lady Lake, Fla., aimed at enhancing medication adherence and reducing readmission rates for patients in post-acute care settings.



“Discharge from a hospital or post-acute care setting can be a hectic time for patients and their families, and sometimes it’s difficult to make a trip to the pharmacy or to understand a new medication regimen,” said Scott Clark, VP strategy and implementation for Greystone Healthcare Management. “Having a clinically-trained pharmacist deliver prescriptions and information directly to a patient’s bedside makes compliance easier, and an ongoing dialogue with the pharmacist helps patients and caretakers transition to a new setting.”



“Walgreens pharmacists are experts at helping patients understand and adhere to their medication therapy programs,” added Marlin Hutchens, Walgreens market VP for Florida. “By expanding beyond our thousands of community pharmacies and into innovative healthcare settings like Greystone’s Lady Lake Specialty Center, we’ve demonstrated the valuable role our pharmacists can play as part of a patient’s care team, helping to improve outcomes while reducing costs.”



The program utilizes Walgreens community pharmacists to deliver medication and directly counseling to patients prior to discharge from the 145-bed Lady Lake center. Following discharge, patients will receive a follow-up call from a Walgreens pharmacist within 72 hours to help them understand and comply with their medication therapies.



Similar Walgreens programs in hospital settings have driven improvement in patient care and satisfaction, as well as significant increases in Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems scores, Walgreens noted.



Upon review of the results of the program at the Lady Lake Specialty Center, Greystone will explore expansion of the Walgreens medication therapy management program to additional settings within its 2,727-bed network of skilled rehabilitation facilities throughout the nation.

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