Dear Colleague,
I hear this story more and more these days—about places like Matthews Pharmacy run by Tara Jackson in Clinton, N.C., which have been in business for many decades and became a registered Long Term Care (LTC) facility because they had patients who were struggling with medication compliance and mobility. "We saw how some insurance companies would pay us for what we were already doing, packaging and delivering meds to patients," which she reports came with higher reimbursement rates and no DIR fees from some PBMs, "and it has opened up a different side of pharmacy for us."
As you're going to read in next month's issue of America's Pharmacist®, the importance of the LTC pharmacy model no longer lies in its potential, but in its proof. LTC is an opportunity you and every independent pharmacist in America can evaluate now based on three facts: you probably have patients who struggle to take care of themselves and are eligible for it in your community, and I'm certain you'd like to bolster your cash flow.
Long Term Care Pharmacy has evolved a lot over the years. When I was a kid, I would sometimes tag along with my pharmacist when he would stop by a nursing home he was the consultant for. Running deliveries a few years later, I'd visit those same nursing homes with sacks of bubble-packed medications. Then, as a young pharmacist, I was back at "nursing homes" doing consulting on my "off" days from the community pharmacy where I worked. Today, the practice of LTC pharmacy looks a lot different. Back then the center of care was the nursing home. Now, lots of Americans who are older or struggle to care for themselves have a continuum of possible sites where their care can happen. LTC pharmacy has never been more important in all these settings.
I'm not the only one to think so, either. Philadelphia's Lindsay Dymowski Constantino will be running an LTC session at NCPA's 2024 Multiple Locations Conference later this month. Why? It's something any pharmacy can do. Troy Trygstad,CPESN's executive director agrees. It's why CPESN launched a Special Purpose Network focused on LTC@home .It has been successful in opening up patient care and its local networks are real hubs of innovation for pharmacists around the country. LTC@home is what I call a "now opportunity" that you don't have to wait to hear more about or for legislation to pass. Assuming your patients meet its criteria, it is something you can strongly consider, because it speaks directly to the core of what we do, which is helping people, pure and simple. That's why we started NCPA's LTC Division some years back, where we offer business and technology resources, not to mention workshops (the next one is Apr. 19-20 at NCPA's HQ) and our own advocacy efforts for LTC at home. It's not just the topic du jour. It's a real window to consider the future of pharmacy beyond dispensing. (And, be on the lookout for the March episode of NCPA's podcast, Independent Rx Forum, which will cover LTC soup-to-nuts.)
I come by this enthusiasm for an important initiative honestly. Those nursing homes I used to visit with my dad and the patients I'd go see in their facilities after I became a pharmacist were part of my community, and from an early age, I recognized the real disadvantages many people feel as they get older, regardless of where they spend their golden years. Maybe that disadvantage is about mobility. Maybe it's about the effects of chronic illness. Maybe the emotional toll of watching friends and loved ones decline. Maybe it's just the feeling you've been forgotten.
There's one thing I know: we can do our part to make sure the oldest and most challenged members of our community aren't forgotten, and LTC—no matter the setting—is well worth your time.
Best,
B. Douglas Hoey, Pharmacist, MBA
NCPA CEO
