Product
An action plan will be created by the pharmacist and patient and a copy will be given to the patient to take home with them to outline what to expect from the clinic and how to improve their disease state from home.
Blood glucose logs will be distributed to the patient at each visit. Educational handouts regarding diabetes medications and the use of insulin will be created for each patient to review and take home with them.
Price
All marketing costs needed to create promotional material, presentations, and publication of the clinic will be taken care of through the pharmacy department. Cost of such marketing promotions will be evaluated for how it will improve outcomes for the patient and benefit to Franciscan Health Diabetes and Endocrinology Center.
Place
The ambulatory care clinic will take place in the existing Franciscan Health Diabetes and Endocrinology Center, a single floor space that contains a waiting area, nurses station, and exam rooms for the patients to be seen by practitioners. The pharmacist and his/her resident will utilize existing exam rooms in the facility to see patients. Exam rooms will provide a comfortable, confidential space for the patient to interact with the pharmacist or resident performing the ambulatory care services. This clinic space allows for close interaction with other healthcare providers. A multidisciplinary approach coupled with an appropriate and comfortable space to see the patient, and an atmosphere that meshes well with the existing environment of the Diabetes and Endocrinology Center and Franciscan Health will allow the patient to be comfortable with the pharmacist and open to the services provided.
Promotion
The services provided will be promoted to all parties including inpatient physicians, outpatient physicians, patients, nursing staff, hospital administration, pharmacy administration, and remaining staff within the Diabetes and Endocrinology Center. Pamphlets will be printed and placed in waiting rooms targeting patients. These pamphlets will include how the patient can be referred through their doctor, what services will be provided, and what outcomes and benefits they can expect from the service. Flyers will be placed throughout different locations in the hospital and outpatient clinics, including Indiana Heart Physicians, and the Diabetes and Endocrinology Center itself. Emails will be sent out throughout the Franciscan Health Network announcing that a new service will start being provided, what services will be offered, and how the referral process will work. Promotion of the clinic will be done through personal meetings and presentations to a number of parties including the hospital administration, nursing staff, and inpatient and outpatient practitioners. Monthly meetings will take place with the staff of the Diabetes and Endocrinology Center to continuously promote the service and discuss ideas and concerns. Letters will be sent out to the members of Franciscan Health accountable care organization to promote announcing the opening of the clinic and outline services offered. Finally, the clinic will be publicized for six months running in both the Franciscan Health P and T committee newsletter and the Franciscan Health Diabetes and Endocrinology Center newsletter.
People
Only qualified pharmacist with adequate experience will be working as ambulatory care pharmacists in the Diabetes and Endocrinology Center. Further expansion of the clinic will require pharmacists being considered for the position to have PYG1 and PGY2 residency in ambulatory care, pharmacotherapy, transitions of care, internal medicine, or equivalent experience and preferably a BCACP certification. Residents performing ambulatory care services under the pharmacist will be required to have a Doctorate of Pharmacy Degree.
Packaging
The clinic will be structured based on the values of Franciscan Health and the guidelines for education and diabetes management outlined by the American Diabetes Association. Patients will receive adequate information regarding the foundational elements the clinic will be built upon so that they fully understand what to expect from the process and care they will receive.
Process
Patients will be given detailed information about the policies and procedures of the clinic when they arrive at their first session with the pharmacist. All other parties including practitioners (MD, DO, NP, PA, ect.), nursing staff, pharmacy administration, and hospital administration will be emailed policy and procedures for the clinic. Policy and procedures specific to all parties besides the patient will include information about the referral process, what services will be offered, how the clinic sessions will be structured, the billing process for such services, outcomes expected from the clinic, how to contact the pharmacist, how progress will be measured, and how communication between the interdisciplinary team is to be structured. Policy and Procedures presented to the patient will include what the patient outcomes the patient can expect to see, what they can expect from each appointment, what they will need to bring with them for follow up appointments, when they can expect to hear from the pharmacist again via phone call, and how they are to contact the pharmacist to cancel or reschedule an appointment. These policies and procedures will allow ambulatory clinic operations to run smoothly for both the pharmacist and other parties involved.
Marketing plan will be evaluated based on patient volume in the ambulatory care clinic. Practitioner and nursing staff acceptance and general knowledge of the program and its services will also be evaluated through surveys every month for the first three months to assess how well the clinic is being marketed to these individuals. If patient volume does not steadily increase or declines, then personal meetings will be held with inpatient/outpatient practitioners to again promote the clinic and educate on the referral process. The use of additional promotional materials including pamphlets and flyers will be discussed if marketing plan proves unsuccessful.