How remote models support "together but separate" pharmacies during crises

As hospital and retail pharmacies respond to the changing industry dynamics caused by the coronavirus pandemic, they’re executing and re-evaluating their emergency preparedness plans to ensure that they still provide optimum patient care and safety.

My first article in this three-part series highlighted how industry changes are driving demand for new and expanded hospital pharmacy services. My second article discussed how pharmacies are evaluating nontraditional and off-site resource models to address these needs. This article will look at how hospital pharmacies are evolving their emergency preparedness plans to maintain quality care and expanded services.

In response to the pandemic, both acute and non-acute facilities across the country swiftly executed emergency preparation strategies with three goals:

1. Limit foot traffic in healthcare facilities to control the spread of the virus
2. Cancel all elective procedures to free beds to accommodate infected patients
3. Leverage any additional space to add bed capacity — sometimes located outside of the hospital

With these goals in mind, we’ve seen a marked increase in pharmacies that have turned to nontraditional care models, such as:

• Remotely ordering 90-day prescription refills
• Providing home delivery and curbside pickup options
• Shifting prescription refill volume to central fill facilities
• Reallocating furloughed staff to remote support roles

It’s important to note that some industry restrictions are being lifted to support pharmacy’s ability to enact these procedures. For example, payers — as well as some state boards with modified pharmacist state licensure requirements — have lifted restrictions or constraints on formulary, mail-to-home and 90-day prescriptions. In addition, the NABP Passport was launched, which is a temporary authorization facilitating pharmacists and pharmacy technicians practicing in another state.

The pandemic demonstrates how leveraging remote or off-site pharmacists can greatly ease labor gaps, particularly when entire regions are severely impacted. Nontraditional models like these supplement on-site pharmacy staff without adding new positions and without gaps in quality while avoiding concerns of employee burnout from overtime coverage.

One of the most important lessons learned during this pandemic is that the pharmacy’s emergency preparedness plans need to accommodate social distancing mandates, as well as address labor demands amid quarantines and self-isolation requirements for pharmacy staff. These shifts require new care delivery approaches and operating models. Remote, off-site approaches are one way to provide critical staffing resources to an impacted area while providing much-needed support for on-site healthcare providers.

During this pandemic, there have been numerous examples of heroism from healthcare providers — including our pharmacists. Pharmacists continue to demonstrate that they are essential, trusted members of the patient's care team, and the changes in expectations of how pharmacists provide care will continue to have a positive impact on the practice of pharmacy in the future.

This article is Part 3 of a three-part series. To learn more about how alternate staffing models could support your pharmacy, please read Part 1 and Part 2 of the series.