We’ve had the opportunity to meet pharmacists from all over the United States in our role as Executive Staff of the state association for over 20 years. Hundreds have transited through working committees and events; many have remained friends through the years. It’s been inspirational to learn how one more of those talented pharmacists is transforming her practice.
Amy Panza Pharm.D. started MedFormation, LLC on June 1, 2015 as she saw the growing need for patients to have informed and complete knowledge of their medications. At Value Pharmacists we see this need as well and have collected evidence from the community supporting her view that
“people need to understand how their drugs work together.”
Having seen firsthand the dangers that exist in the pharmacy marketplace, Dr. Panza built MedFormation to be an inclusive consulting company offering many services including in-home medication reconciliation, medication therapy management (MTM), medication consultation, medication safety teaching/education, disease state management and expert witness testimony.
Through her career she has witnessed disturbing trends.
- Many patients see multiple specialists, who frequently aren’t communicating with one another.
- Due to mail order mandates, many patients are forced to use multiple pharmacies which limit a pharmacist’s ability to have the entire clinical picture and complete drug list for a patient. This also results in difficulty identifying drug interactions that may be significant.
- Over the counter medications have become more powerful and people are using more “natural” products and supplements.
- In 2014 alone, there were 10 million hospital visits due to medication related problems, costing $177 billion dollars.
She believes the industry must do better to keep patients safer and healthier: MedFormation is providing this improvement in care. Her pioneering approach of in-home pharmacist consultations, bridges the gaps in care transitions which may result in re-hospitalizations for patients. By bringing the pharmacist to the patient, MedFormation is able to comprehensively review medications, over-the counter drugs, and supplements to provide a care plan that makes sense for an individual’s unique circumstances. Providing this continuum of care, Dr. Panza ensures all case physicians are informed of hospitalizations, providing them with updated medication changes for their records.
She believes that
“pharmacists should no longer be in dispensing roles, that machines can do this. I think a community pharmacist belongs in the community (literally), helping keep people healthy in their homes longer and reducing unnecessary hospitalizations and readmissions.”
We discuss relevant practice topics with pharmacists & advocates regularly. Look for more insightful interviews coming to the blog.