Healthy Horizons

Program Description

Mission/Vision1

  • The purpose of the Healthy Horizons clinic is to promote healthy living by providing a comprehensive and confidential wellness package to Butler University faculty and staff. To do so, the program assists employees with improving their health by providing ongoing information, health education programs, and strategies to help reduce risks.
  • Our clinic restructuring will incorporate the purpose of Healthy Horizons to further improve the health of Butler’s faculty and staff. We will address the problem of unnecessary lab testing as well as stagnancy of services for steadily returning employees to the clinic.

Location1

  • Healthy Horizons Clinic, located in room 110 on the first floor of the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences at 4600 Sunset Ave, Indianapolis, IN 46208
  • Healthy Horizons hours of operation:2
    • MWF: 7:15-5 pm
    • Tu: 8:30-4:30 pm
    • Th: front desk open 7:30-3:30 (no pharmacist available) 
    • This will change next semester to MWF 7:15-5 pm. 
  • The clinic already has a check-in desk, office supplies, medical testing supplies, as well as two exam rooms and 2 office spaces.
  • The clinic is within walking distance for all on-site faculty and staff, with nearby parking available.

Staff3

  • Current staff includes:
    • Program Coordinator
    • Administrative Assistant
    • 2 part time Pharmacists (0.8 FTE)
  • The clinic is hoping to expand the staff to include two full time pharmacists (2 FTEs)
    • The additional FTE’s would cover the planning, implementation, and documentation of the new courses and opportunities offered by our restructuring.
    • It would also allow for more availability and flexibility in scheduling appointments.
  • A pharmacy resident comes in one morning weekly to help conduct visits
  • Typically 9-10 patients are seen in one full day for one pharmacist

Referral Process3

  • Referral criteria: faculty or staff employed by Butler University
  • Patients can call, email, or walk in to schedule an appointment at the clinic
    • There are no specific disease state requirements in order to make appointment.
  • Legal dependents (spouses or children) of any employee are eligible to make appointments as well

Billing Process3

  • Not applicable, as this clinic is a free service offered to all Butler faculty and staff

Patient Visits3

  • Annual Wellness Visits
    • About a 45 minute visit, consisting of body composition analysis, complete lipid panel, blood glucose testing, and blood pressure assessment
    • Frequency of applicable lab testing will now be done based on guideline recommendations, rather than at each Annual Wellness Visits
    • Pharmacists can recommend specific screenings, vaccinations, and preventive strategies
    • Employees make SMART goals with an action plan
  • Health Coaching (Track available to all years)
    • After completing an Annual Wellness Visit, employees will be placed in a health track to complete anywhere from 2-5 health coaching visits throughout the year, with each visit typically lasting 30 minutes.
  • Lab Services available at no cost to patients and sent to primary care provider:1
    • Blood glucose and A1C
    • Total cholesterol, LDL, HDL, triglycerides, non-HDL, VLDL
    • INR/protime
    • Body composition and body mass index
    • Liver function panel
    • Basic metabolic panel
    • Comprehensive metabolic panel
    • Customized dietary plans based on individual metabolism
    • Blood pressure and asthma medication review and monitoring
  • Pharmacists also offer special visits for patients looking for:
    • Diabetes education
    • Medication therapy management
    • Tobacco cessation
    • Nutrition services

New Opportunities Available for Returning Users (Track Opportunities Overview)

  • Cardiovascular Risk Reduction Track 
    • Completion of initial appointment to set SMART goals for track
    • Completion of personal training fitness assessment at the HRC 
    • Creation of a two week workout plan in alignment with the American Heart Association guidelines with an attempt to complete it
    • Final appointment with pharmacist to ensure track completion and discuss growth and challenges
  •  Nutrition Focused Track
    • Completion of initial appointment to set SMART goals for track
    • Engage in 1 nutrition based learning lesson (online or in person)
    • Prepare and submit 3 healthy recipes based on nutrition guidelines made at home
    • Final appointment to discuss goal progress and address questions around nutrition
  • Community Wellness Track
    • Completion of initial appointment to set SMART goals for track
    • Attendance at one community event, such as gardening at the CUE farm
    • 1 engagement with the Healthy Horizons walking group 
    • Final appointment to discuss goal progress and address questions

Documentation2

  • Charting varies by provider and either occurs between appointments, after visits, or at the end of the day
  • At this time, visits are documented in a basic version of Titanium utilizing free form text as well as data form entry
  • Pertinent information will be forwarded to the employees’ primary care provider

Scheduling/Attendance Policy3

  • Scheduling is done through the administrative assistant
  • There are no current penalties for missing an appointment at Healthy Horizons
  • Employees receive an appointment reminder prior to their scheduled appointment
  • In case of 2 or more “no shows,” the pharmacist will reach out to the employee to discuss future utilization of clinic services

Data Collection3

  • The pharmacist will chart all pertinent laboratory data, which will be tracked over time to assess progress of specific employees as well as conglomerate data for all Healthy Horizons users
  • Success of clinic offering will be measured using retrospective data looking at cost avoidance including (but not limited to):
    • Reduction of A1C, cholesterol, and blood pressure values
    • Decreased number of hospitalizations
    • Overall patient happiness/satisfaction via survey sent after visits

Goals

  • Educate employees on their overall health as well as any specific disease states
  • Decrease cost to employees’ insurance plans by reducing future health costs and inspiring overall healthy lifestyle habits
  • Meet employee satisfaction expectations by providing additional track options for returning employees
  • Expand the Healthy Horizons staff by providing justification for hiring 1 additional FTE
  • Avoid unnecessary cost to the Healthy Horizons clinic by utilizing more targeted lab testing and screening practices

 

  1. Healthy Horizons. Butler University. Web. https://www.butler.edu/healthyhorizons Accessed 13 November 2019
  2. Written communication by Dr. Sheena Sanders, PharmD, BCPS on November 15, 2019.
  3. Verbal communication by Dr. Allison Walton, PharmD, BCPS on November 4, 2019.