Patient-minded approach means continued emphasis on pharmacy innovation

The healthcare market’s rapid and ongoing evolution has ushered in a number of recent innovations throughout our industry. Despite this, community-based care providers still face daunting hurdles every day that limit their ability to serve their patients. At Good Neighbor Pharmacy we see these challenges through the lens of the independent pharmacist.

Industry legislation and changing reimbursement models create constant pressure. New and richer data sources promise value … but only for those who understand how to navigate them successfully. And, managing time between business priorities and the clinical care – and essential relationship-building – with patients continues to weigh on pharmacists and pharmacy owners. To help independent pharmacies tackle these challenges head-on, Good Neighbor Pharmacy and AmerisourceBergen have focused on developing new services and tools that make the work of independent pharmacists more effective and impactful.

Innovation comes in all shapes and sizes. In our industry, we often hear the most buzz around “blockbuster” new solutions. But, “smaller” innovations that can still make an enormous impact on workflow and health shouldn’t be overlooked. This is why we have adopted a patient-minded approach across our entire organization. This strategy means we are continually innovating and adding strategically relevant solutions, both big and small, to help independent pharmacists remain a vital source of care in their communities.

For example, we recently launched ABC Order, a new ordering platform designed by pharmacists, for pharmacists. It’s engineered to fit within the pharmacy workflow and enables effortless ordering, smarter inventory control, quicker access to data and simple issues resolution. We anticipate that more than 1,200 Good Neighbor Pharmacy members will be on-boarded onto the platform by the end of this summer.

Good Neighbor Pharmacy‘s Premier program provides pharmacies with data-driven insights specific to their pharmacy performance, as well as exclusive business coaching services. These services support specific business goals and ultimately allow pharmacists to grow their business and spend more time taking care of patients. Through our pharmacy ownership services, independent pharmacists have access to hands-on guidance through the transition of buying or selling a pharmacy, so that they can build upon their legacy of community-based care and personalized service for patients.

We also believe that innovation doesn’t always come in the form of a product or service, which is why we leverage AmerisourceBergen’s growing network and scale to champion the independent pharmacist’s voice among legislators and policymakers at the national and state level. Through partnerships with industry groups, we advocate for that voice on topics essential to improving the delivery of care, such as provider status and DIR fees.

Every summer, we connect with our Good Neighbor Pharmacy customers and other partners at our annual tradeshow and conference, ThoughtSpot, to collaborate under this guiding approach of patient centricity and to equip pharmacists with the latest innovations developed through it. We’ve put together a continuing education curriculum of business and clinical topics that offer practical, real-​world content, all presented by industry leaders. A few examples of sessions this year, include:

• Optimizing the Medical Neighborhood: Transforming Care Coordination through the Community Pharmacy Enhanced Services Networks with Troy Trygstad, Executive Director of CPESN USA and VP of Pharmacy Provider Partnerships for Community Care in North Carolina
• The ABCs of Biosimilars with Michael Milks, Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences at The University of Findlay College of Pharmacy
• Expanding Markets for Long Term Care and Pharmacy Driven Initiatives with Karen L. Kier, Director of Assessment, Professor of Clinical Pharmacy and Preventative Care Specialist at Ohio Northern University Center Raabe College of Pharmacy.

Our goal is to arm our independent pharmacist attendees with new expertise that will enable them to run their pharmacies more effectively and, ultimately, help improve patient outcomes.

With a patient-minded approach, Good Neighbor Pharmacy and AmerisourceBergen are making investments and advances within our business to significantly improve the experience of not only our members, but the patients they serve every day in communities across the country. For more information about ThoughtSpot2017, visit www.wearegnp.com/events.