PHARMACY: VACCINE REPORT
The Need for Accurate, Timely Reporting With some effort, retail pharmacies could mitigate three of today’s biggest vaccination program challenges, including waning demand, staffing shortages and inefficiencies. One key challenge, however—the need to provide accurate and timely reporting of vaccination data—might be a bit harder to address. “Retail pharmacies don’t typically have access to the right longitudinal patient data, nor the ability to input into medical records,” explained Tyler Slovick, managing director in Chicago-based Accenture’s healthcare group. “That lack of information makes it difficult to be informed when interacting with a patient, and pharmacists miss opportunities to drive new health insights.” As they stand today, digital capabilities, payment structures and talent delivering new services are not sustainable either, he noted. “These issues must be addressed to stabilize profit pressures and sustain new growth into the future,” Slovick said, “and will require that pharmacies not get stuck on trying to only solve the old familiar challenges.” Retail pharmacies will need to build and maintain “an ecosystem” comprising partnerships with local and state governments, insurers and pharmacy benefit managers, doctors and others to resolve the data issues, he noted, as well as to make payment models sustainable in an environment in which vaccination rates are falling. “These new relationships have potential to be mutually beneficial,” Slovick added, “positioning the pharmacy as the ‘front door’ to patients and facilitating new relationships and data exchanges with partners.”
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“Patients enjoy the digital convenience of SMS text communications, online appointment scheduling and electronic consent forms,” Ausili explained. “Pharmacists benefit from a streamlined work queue, digital clinical documentation, medical billing and vaccine registry reporting. Linking pre-, during- and post-clinical service activities together in one continuous digital experience provides pharmacies with a solution that promotes healthier outcomes while also increasing operational efficiency and revenue.” Marketing is key to building demand, too, and should go well beyond a Facebook post, Glowac stressed. Retail pharmacies could win by employing the traditional four Ps of marketing—product, price, place and promotion—as well as by putting in some extra effort. He pointed to one retail pharmacy that has become a sort of “destination for family vaccinations” by reaching out to patients with vaccine reminders. In fact, it sent an email to remind Glowac’s wife that she was eligible for her COVID-19 booster but also for her shingles vaccination and flu shot. The reminder prompted her to make a return visit. “I know that’s a lot of effort, a lot of paperwork, but pharmacies that succeed dig in and are really dedicated to doing the work that needs to get done,” Glowac said. Recognizing that a number of physicians “aren’t that crazy about” providing
“Accenture research shows
of pharmacists feel they don’t have time to connect with patients in more meaningful ways.” — Tyler Slovick, managing director, Accenture’s healthcare group
vaccinations, some other retail pharmacies are now actively marketing their vaccination capabilities to local physicians’ offices, he added. “I know it’s hard for pharmacists to get out from behind the bench and go out in person, but I’ve seen those who visit doctors’ offices and build relationships be successful and continue to do vaccinations,” Glowac said.
Staffing Shortages Another significant threat to retail vaccine programs is insufficient staffing. As Josh Griggs, director of retail pharmacy sales for Boston-based SmartSense by Digi, explained, many retail pharmacies are
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