In-Office Pharmacies May Help Patients Take Their Medicine
There's no way to be certain that a patient is going to take the medication you prescribe—and you may not learn about their lack of adherence until it's too late. There are, of course, a variety of reasons patients do not fill or take prescriptions: for example, lack of money to pay for the medicine, or forgetfulness. But if getting to the drugstore is a challenge, an article in the Gainesville Times proposed, in-office pharmacies may be a means of increasing the likelihood that they will at least fill their prescriptions.[7]
"It takes a concern away from us of the patient not getting their medication that day," Brent Archer, MD, of Northeast Georgia Diagnostic Clinic, told the newspaper. "They won't be delayed in their treatment." In addition to patient convenience and physician oversight, the proximity of the pharmacy to the office gives pharmacists easy access to the prescribing physicians, the article noted.
The clinic maintains that having pharmacists and doctors in the same building is a way for doctor offices to better care for their patients. "I have a good relationship with the doctors, and if there are any questions I can go directly to them," says pharmacist Jennifer Stowe, in a related article on Pharmacist.com.[8] "I don't have to call and leave a message and that makes it easy on the patients."
One potential negative for in-office pharmacies mentioned in the Times article is that they may not be cost-effective for small practices—which, in turn, means the pharmacy may not be able to offer patients the best possible prices.
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Cite this: Marcy Tolkoff. Patients Blame Docs for Bad News; Retirement Worries; More - Medscape - May 20, 2015.
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