Medications Review Guide
As with all marketing, we should start by identifying our target market. In this case, who are the people who could most benefit from a med review? Besides your patients on multiple medications, a med review would also be beneficial for patients on complicated regimens or those with a challenging illness. Identifying your non-adherent patients would also be a good target. There may be a simple reason for non-adherence such as side effects that could be dealt with during a med review. Also, use the Med Review as a way to sell some of your other services and offerings. Med Sync or Packaging is a natural suggestion for a med review.
Medicare Review Instructional Sheet
When the first big changes came through for Medicare Part D, Jamie and Josh of Dillworth Drug noticed more patients coming in baffled and frustrated by the confusing literature they were receiving. “We decided then and there to start educating our patients. We have managed to retain customers for life doing this,” Jamie said.
We want to encourage you to offer Medicare reviews at your pharmacy, local senior centers and area living facilities. You may not be able to advise your patients on which plan to choose, but you can help them access the information they need to understand their choices.
Loyalty Card Worksheet
If you have never tried Loyalty Cards, be ready to be amazed at people’s reactions. Your biggest challenge will be identifying who to send the cards to. What demographic will get the birthday cards? How do we identify lapsed customers? And who is keeping track of our new customers? Many of you have software that allows you to extract data that you need. We have also created a worksheet to help with the challenge for those of you who must do it manually. Keep the worksheet handy and train your staff to note each new patient, anytime they notice a patient with a birthday in the upcoming month or patients you just haven’t seen in a while. Around the 25th of each month, follow the notes on your sheet, fill out the cards and drop them in the mail. It really is that easy to start a Loyalty program for your pharmacy.
Heart Health Clinical Tool
We want to share a tool by the American Heart Association, which calculates a patient’s 10-year heart attack risk based on the Framingham Heart Study. This form is an excellent tool for your patients and gives them something tangible when you are discussing ways to maintain heart health.
Cardiovascular disease remains one of the most difficult conditions to treat due to the lack of visible symptoms; often patients have difficulty connecting why their medications are important if they cannot visibly see the changes. You can make a difference with your counsel.
