Purpose: The intent of this business plan is to implement an ambulatory care pharmacist into the pre-existing Geriatrics Clinic at Community North. By adding a pharmacist to the healthcare team we hope to improve medication safety and optimize therapies in the geriatric population that is vulnerable to polypharmacy and medication errors.
Background: Polypharmacy in the elderly population is a major concern in healthcare; with polypharmacy comes an increased risk for medication adverse events, cognitive impairment, and non-adherence. A pharmacist can play a vital role in decreasing polypharmacy and consequently avoiding healthcare costs by performing extensive medication reviews and providing education to patients on their medications.
The Clinic: The clinic will be held at the current geriatrics clinic located at Community North. The pharmacist will join the current healthcare team to provide comprehensive medication reviews, focusing on addressing polypharmacy and management of adverse effects. Patients can be self-referred, referred by a loved one, or by their primary care provider. The appointment with the pharmacist will be a 30-minute appointment prior to the rest of the remaining visit. The pharmacist will also conduct annual wellness visits.
Finances: The pharmacist at Community Health Network’s Geriatric clinic will be generating revenue from conducting Medicare Annual Wellness Visits (AWVs). The pilot of our program shows a Net Loss of $15,410 in the first year. However, our yearly break even point of 23 AWVs per week from the current 20 AWVs per week is readily attainable. Additionally, first-year losses can be recouped from the inclusion of more than 23 AWVs per week and the inclusion of immunizations and suggested laboratory tests that the pharmacist can perform/recommend.
Conclusion: Implementing a full-time clinical pharmacist into Community Health Network’s Geriatric clinic will allow patients to receive an extensive medication review, create cost avoidance in the area of polypharmacy and adverse drug events, and create direct revenue through annual wellness visits.