The United States is experiencing some notable demographic changes. In 2010, more than 40 million Americans were over 65 – a number expected to increase to more than 80 million by 2030. Nationwide, 85 percent of adults 65 and older have a chronic condition such as cardiovascular disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, or diabetes.
Making matters more complicated, nearly one quarter of adults over 65 are considered socially isolated, and healthcare access in rural communities can be staggeringly hard to access for all patients. In fact, the time it takes patients to reach primary care providers in rural areas is, on average, 65 percent longer than it is for urban patients.
No matter which way you look at it, the need for better healthcare that patients can more easily access at home is greater than ever. Here, we explore how RxLive can help power home pharmacy services.
The key: keep patients healthy to help keep them at home
Helping patients stay healthy is the key to keeping them at home. According to a recent review, 93 percent of studies show that when ambulatory care conditions are properly managed in primary care settings, fewer patients end up hospitalized. But with primary care difficult to access for many patients across the US, delivering the care that keeps patients out of the hospital presents a conundrum.
We built RxLive to power quality care and medication management for all patients. And for those who can’t easily access primary care in person, we have just the solution. Our industry-leading technology and innovative networks of care coordinators and pharmacists helps patients…
- Understand their medications. Pharmacists play a vital role in helping patients understand essential medication-related information. This can range from advising patients about potential drug-drug interactions, such as whether it’s safe to concurrently take naproxen while on an ACE inhibitor, to why it’s important to finish a full course of antibiotics, even if the patient feels better.
- Experience fewer adverse medical events. It’s simple: when patients take their medications as prescribed, they maximize their chances for better health outcomes and decrease their potential for adverse outcomes that can lead to hospitalization.
- Decrease costs. The less time patients spend in the hospital, the less costly their health care is likely to be. Similarly, the healthier patients are overall, the less likely they are to get sick, develop comorbidities, and meet, then likely exceed, their insurance deductible and increase their out-of-pocket costs.
Next, let’s take a closer look at the system that helps us achieve better value-based care.
The front end: telehealth removes barriers to medication-based care
RxLive was founded on the idea that patients are at the center of value-based care. What’s more: smartly managed medication-based care – that is, the care pharmacists are uniquely positioned to deliver – benefits all links along the healthcare chain.
Of course, there are always going to be times when on-site physical treatments are necessary. But for patients who want or need to receive healthcare at home, RxLive facilitates the personalized insights critical to patient-centered care. And for patients who need or prefer at-home services, it’s clear that telehealth empowers providers to deliver efficient, quality care that increases patient satisfaction and decreases costs.
As with so many things, communication is the key. Telehealth makes it easier for patients to communicate with the pharmacists who help manage – and even prescribe – their medications. In fact, RxLive’s telehealth platform streamlines communications between everyone involved in the individual’s health care journey, from patients, to providers, to care coordinators.
This personalized approach is huge. Why? From medication formulary review to clinician consults, the more efficiently teams communicate, the more effectively (and empathetically) they’re able to treat their patients.
Next, let’s take a look at how RxLive helps support better telehealth services through the power of data.
The back end: My.RxLive empowers providers with the right data at the right time
Having the right data at the right time is critical to empowering providers with the insights they need to increase the impactability of their care. RxLive’s best-in-class analytics help clinicians ensure patients stay where they overwhelmingly say they want to be: at home.
My.RxLive helps turn patient data, like whether a patient with high blood pressure has refilled their lisinopril prescription, into actionable steps care teams can use to support the patients who most need – and are most likely to benefit from – their interventions.
For instance, let’s consider how an RxLive algorithm can make a significant impact. Imagine it flags an unfilled lisinopril prescription while running a medication adherence program. With access to this valuable data and the opportunity for proactive intervention, the value-based pharmacy framework springs into action, ensuring the patient receives the outreach they need.
The nature of this outreach depends on the complexity of the patient’s medication regimen and the reason for consultation. In simpler cases, the outreach may involve a care coordinator who focuses on education and medication adherence logistics. However, when the situation is more intricate, a pharmacist consultation becomes the ideal solution for managing complex medication scenarios effectively.
Notably, this patient also has a history of diabetes and kidney disease, making non-adherence to their prescribed lisinopril therapy a matter of serious concern. In this case, missing doses of lisinopril doesn’t just raise the patient’s blood pressure – it significantly elevates their risk of renal failure.
With this information easily accessible, the care coordinator schedules a pharmacist-led consultation through the RxLive Epic App. During this virtual visit, an essential revelation emerges: the patient stopped taking lisinopril because it made them feel dizzy.
Recognizing that lisinopril also increases the risk of hypoglycemia, the pharmacist recommends a practical solution. They advise the patient to take their lisinopril with full meals and closely monitor their blood sugar levels in the hours following their daily dose. The result? The patient resumes their prescribed therapy, sidestepping the need for an in-person visit to their nephrologist (not to mention the potential for a hospital stay).
Refine smart home care delivery with RxLive
Wearable devices, like glucose monitors, are increasingly part of how patients manage the care plans their providers prescribe. But the technological advantages of at-home care don’t begin and end with the Internet of Things (IoT).
Partnerships with other innovative pharmacy services such as ProxsysRx help RxLive level-up value-based care through enhanced 340b management and initiatives such as meds to beds. It’s simple: the easier it is for patients to afford and access the drugs they need, the easier it is for them to take their medications as prescribed and benefit from their plans of care.
Contact us to learn more about how RxLive helps bring technology-powered pharmacy services to the patients who need it most.
