Frank Harvey’s Post

We recently shared a video interview and story about Moose Pharmacy that has served the Mt. Pleasant, North Carolina community for 142 years and counting. Surescripts spent the day with the Moose family of pharmacists, brothers Whit Moose Jr., Joe Moose, and Joe’s wife Ashley Moose. They talked about why, despite the seemingly insurmountable challenges of being an independent community pharmacy, they continue to find ways to make sure the patients in this rural community have access to care. And how they’ve partnered with nearby health systems and physicians to support patients with chronic conditions or close other gaps in their care, and believe it could be a model for the future. Hope you’ll take a minute to check out the interview and the photo essay (link in comments): https://lnkd.in/ekXDcc2P

Connecting the data dots to show why it matters is what Surescripts' research team is committed to doing. And that's just what you'll find in Shannon Reidt and her team's work that was recently published in the Journal of the American Pharmacists Association. Check it out to better understand why it matters that there's a growing trend of more pharmacists prescribing medications across the U.S. and what it means for patients with chronic conditions and their ability to access care.

It's back! If you haven't listened before, I hope you'll tune in to Surescripts' There's a Better Way podcast with host Melanie Marcus (who was made for this!) Season 3 debuts with Douglas Hoey of the National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA), who shares his experience as a community pharmacist and how he sees pharmacists as care team collaborators who can provide more accessible routine care for patients, keeping them from needing costlier care elsewhere. https://lnkd.in/eAmWWsCH

There are plenty of ways we rely on interoperability in our daily lives – and we never think twice about it. Like sending a text message that is received by your daughter – that shows up exactly the way you sent it. We only think about interoperability when it doesn’t work and creates frustration for users – like the green bubble versus blue bubble text message debate. It’s no big deal when the photo of your dog is pixelated when it makes it to your friend. But when it comes to the exchange of your health information between your doctor, pharmacist and insurance provider – the consequence of incomplete information risks the safety and quality of your care. We’ve come a long way in healthcare interoperability – but we’re not there yet. Hope you’ll check out my recent article for Forbes Business Council on what we must continue doing as an industry so we can forget about interoperability in healthcare and restore the focus back on patient care. https://lnkd.in/ehi6YRTE   #healthcareonLinkedIn #interoperability Surescripts

Caring for the people in my community. That’s why I became a pharmacist years ago. I’d bet most pharmacists would say the same thing – it’s about helping patients. Today, pharmacists – like doctors, nurses and pharmacy technicians—are facing burnout – burdened by administrative tasks, leaving less time for meaningful relationships with their patients. And burnout is having an impact: 62.9% of U.S. counties had fewer than one primary care provider (PCP) for every 1,500 residents, and 196 had no primary care providers at all, according to the Surescripts 2023 National Progress Report. (link to report in comments) But there’s more to the story – like how the practice of pharmacy is evolving, clinical care providers are using technology to collaborate and the focus on patient care is returning. (Check out Axios @TinaReed article: https://lnkd.in/etV74Zvw) Surescripts data also shows that annual growth in PCPs using electronic prescribing averaged just 1.7% from 2019 to 2023, compared to 10% among non-PCPs – like pharmacists, who saw the most growth in 2023, up 28.93%. A National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) poll indicated that 85% of adults in the U.S. say pharmacists are easy to access and 81% of adults in the U.S. believe it is important for their state to update its policies to ensure that patients permanently have the same access to pharmacy vaccination, testing, and treatment services that were available during COVID-19. (More here: https://lnkd.in/emA9VGxq) This means a lot – especially for the top 10 counties most impacted by worsening PCP shortages and that have the greatest opportunity for pharmacies to play a greater role that ensures patients have timely access to quality healthcare (according to our report). Those counties, by the way, include: Hudson, NJ, Shelby, AL, Carolina, PR, Morgan, AL, Robeson, NC, Madison, MS, Bradley, TN, Marshall, AL, Sevier, TN & Guaynabo, PR. We will continue to empower pharmacists and physicians with technology that facilitates collaboration and will cheer on the industry to reduce barriers including payment and policies to ensure healthcare remains accessible for patients -- no matter where they live.

It’s an important and proud day Surescripts as we release the 2023 National Progress Report that shows, along with the Network Alliance, how we’re advancing interoperability at scale: last year we saw a nearly 10% increase in patient intelligence sharing or nearly 24 billion exchanges of patient clinical and benefit information and our network connected 2.14 million care providers and reached more than 99% of the U.S. population. But it goes beyond the numbers – I’m proud of the impact that interoperability at this scale means for patients and those who care for them. Like when our technology saved patients an average of $37 per prescription and $785 per specialty medication and helped them get their needed medications faster. And what it means to have a clear view of clinician burnout and the impact it is having on patient access to care: 62.9% of U.S. counties had fewer than one primary care provider (PCP) for every 1,500 residents, and 196 had no primary care providers at all in 2023. The numbers also reveal where opportunity exists – highlighting the top 10 counties most impacted by worsening PCP shortages but where pharmacies could fill in the gaps to ensure patients have timely access to quality healthcare. This data also helps us identify where our innovations can have the greatest impact, empowering clinicians to collaborate more meaningfully as responsibilities shift across the care team. The report shows a variety of care providers are taking on more clinical responsibility—including pharmacists, among whom e-prescribing jumped dramatically in 2023. There’s a lot to unpack in this report and I look forward to sharing more at HIMSS Global Health Conference & Exhibition #himss24 this week and in the days and months that follow. I hope you’ll check it out.

This week, we shared that Surescripts Health Information Network has advanced to the candidate #QHIN phase! Thanks to Tara Dragert for helping us share this great news and of course The Sequoia Project & Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC). It’s just in time to catch up with Surescripts Network Alliance participants at ViVE next week (don’t miss Lynne Nowak, MD who will discuss how data & AI can help solve some of healthcare’s biggest challenges – panel details at link in comments) and then at HIMSS in March. We’re excited to share more about what this means for health intelligence sharing, clinicians and the patients in their care and how we're committed to leading innovations that move healthcare forward. #HIMSS24 #interopeability #healthIT https://lnkd.in/eaRAi-e5  

A physician and a pharmacist team up to talk with a podcast host. Despite how it sounds, it’s no joke – but a great opportunity. Thanks to Mike Koelzer for having Andrew Mellin and myself on The Business of Pharmacy Podcast to share how technology is helping clinicians to team-up and provide better informed care for their patients. Hope you’ll check it out:

It was an absolute pleasure to join Monica Mehta, PharmD, MPH on her podcast Career Reconstituted in support of her mission -- showcasing the positive impact pharmacists are having across health care, in both clinical and non-clinical roles. I’m especially grateful for the opportunity to share my experience starting out as a community pharmacist and how that has given purpose to my career ever since, leading me to Surescripts today. I hope you’ll check out our conversation if you have a chance – link to the full episode in comments!