Over the past few decades, the role of pharmacists has transformed to include more patient-facing responsibilities. Today, pharmacists frequently work on multidisciplinary teams to deliver direct patient care. Some pharmacists may work under collaborative practice agreements that offer them a degree of autonomy, while others may have independent prescribing abilities under local law.
Whatever the case, the pharmacist’s role has changed dramatically. Pharmacists working at the top of their licenses may now enjoy a significant degree of freedom and more opportunities for face-to-face interaction with patients. For chronic disease patients in particular, who spend much of their lives in and out of medical facilities, pharmacists may become valued members of their interdisciplinary care team.
The Role of Pharmacists Today: Leveraging RPM for Greater Involvement in Patient Care
Since pharmacists have had some degree of involvement in patient care for many years, research has had the opportunity to demonstrate the benefits of pharmacist involvement in care teams. For example, a 2010 study found that patient care was significantly improved by the inclusion of pharmacists on multidisciplinary teams. Care services provided by pharmacists can improve patient care by reducing costs, increasing accessibility, and bettering health outcomes, among other benefits.
New technological advances have enabled pharmacists to take on an even larger role in direct patient care. This includes the increasing use of telepharmacy technology, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, to give patients access to their medications without leaving their homes. Another form of telemedicine that gives pharmacists more opportunities to connect directly with patients is remote patient monitoring, or RPM.
RPM consists of the collection and use of patient physiologic data for remote chronic disease management. Sophisticated RPM technologies, including Dignio, incorporate validated health questionnaires, remote patient-provider communication, and the creation of multidisciplinary team-based management plans. By taking advantage of the most advanced RPM technology available, pharmacists can serve as direct points of contact with chronic disease patients, facilitating their care through cooperation with other members of their interdisciplinary care team.
Digital RPM tools like Dignio give community pharmacists more ways to become involved in chronic disease management. By facilitating RPM, pharmacists can collaborate with physicians and other members of the patient’s care team to identify the early signs of deterioration and help secure a higher level of care when warranted.
Since RPM helps medical professionals detect deterioration early, its use may prevent unnecessary hospitalizations and improve patients’ quality of life. Patients may also enjoy better overall quality of care due to RPM’s abilities to enhance medication adherence and offer them more autonomy in the self-management of their disease.
Here at Dignio, we help pharmacies leverage remote patient care technology in order to practice at the top of their license, allowing them to add greater value to patients and caregivers and drive greater profit margins.
If you’d like to see how we can help pharmacies make a greater positive impact in their communities and drive greater profit margins while doing so, feel free to reach out to our Connected Care Team today!