Value Pharmacists has been hearing concerns about the future of pharmacy for a few years. How do you see the state of the pharmacy profession? Is it precarious? Or maybe just your position within pharmacy is uncertain?
That’s not unusual and a familiar theme to Blair Thielemier, Pharm.D. from Arkansas.
A year and a half ago, Dr. Thielemier’s life shifted so she founded the Pharmapreneur Academy. These days you’ll find her working some relief hours, but her primary focus has shifted to helping community pharmacists by providing workshops on medication therapy management (MTM) focused on workflow and staff training topics. She also consults, on retainer, for pharmacies requiring in-person assistance with MTM programs such as Outcomes and Mirixa.
Through her online community Pharmapreneur Academy, Dr. Thielemier trains pharmacists from all over the country in her model. She sees an opportunity for pharmacist-entrepreneurs to assist pharmacies with their MTM needs. Specifically by improving retail star ratings, developing systems to handle queues, delivering comprehensive medication reviews (CMRs) and managing patient adherence programs. Interpreting genetic tests, focusing on patient outcomes, monitoring medication adherence and documenting patient visits in a pharmacy may lead to further opportunities for pharmacists in working with physicians in collaborative practice agreements.
The Pharmapreneur Academy e-course and Community Forum prepares a pharmapreneur to practice in close relationship with physicians and home health offices by including topics such as chronic care management codes and billing, initiating MTM with physicians, cash pay MTM programs and patient pay follow-up CMR.
Receiving payment for clinical services as a healthcare provider remains the primary challenge for pharmacists in leveraging clinical opportunities. Dr. Thielemier believes “getting CMS to pay is the first step”, then private payers would step up as well. In the interim, she suggests working with physicians in long-term disease management by using CPT codes for Chronic Care Management, “Incident- to” MTM codes and programs that bridge the gap between the medical office and the pharmacy practice. The key is to contract your services with the medical entities – get paid for the services you provide!
Learn more about Dr. Blair Thielemier and the Pharmapreneur Academy at btpharmacyconsulting.com.