This week’s Care Corner Blog is a patient story shared to us by Patient Outreach Coordinator Priscilla Ngo from NewYork-Presbyterian. The benefits a health-system owned specialty pharmacy can have for patients struggling with chronic illnesses are immense. Still, many patients don’t even know what specialty pharmacy is or that it could be available to them. That is why we have fantastic Patient Outreach Coordinators like Priscilla to reach out to eligible patients and educate them on their options.
Priscilla’s Story:
I made a call to a 75-year-old gentleman. We started with the usual questions after verifying the patient’s date of birth. When asked about the patient’s pharmacy experiences, he was very firm on how happy he was with his current pharmacy, whom he has been with for 30 years. He said their services are excellent. Not only has his pharmacy never missed a delivery, but they are also very personable and thorough.
I then asked if the patient has heard about NewYork-Presbyterian’s specialty pharmacy. When the patient told me he had not, I started to explain our pharmacy care model. I informed the patient that he would get a very personal and comprehensive in-house care model if he were to enroll with our specialty pharmacy. Not only will we be able to fill all of his medications and ship them to his house with no delivery charge, but he will also get an in-house pharmacist who can see all of his medications, conditions, and lab test results. As such, our pharmacist can see a complete picture of the patient and is, therefore, better positioned to advise the patient. Since the patient’s doctor and pharmacist work within the same health-system, they continuously communicate on the patient’s medication and condition.
I also explained that he would get a personalized liaison who works with his doctor and pharmacist to manage his medication list, make sure his medications get filled on time and correctly, and give him a call to inform him that his refill is on the way. Additionally, the patient will have direct access to that liaison, and to a dedicated team of clinical pharmacists, who are on call 24/7 to answer any questions or concerns he may have.
After explaining our care model to the patient, he was amazed that he never knew it existed. When he asked me if he should switch to our pharmacy, I was candid and told him that I am just merely informing him of his covered benefits, and it is entirely up to him. He then stated that he is very grateful to NYP for all the excellent care they have given him over the years, and he can’t say enough good things. I then said, well if you are happy with our clinic’s care standard, you will be just as happy, if not more, with our pharmacy service. I am happy to report that in the end, this patient did decide to enroll with New York-Presbyterian’s specialty pharmacy.
