When launching a rocket to Mars – do not aim at where Mars is located. Aim for where it will be by the time the rocket gets there. Mars is a moving target…..and so is the world of healthcare. From a public health standpoint, the chronic diseases that have taken grip of our population have required us all to become behaviorists, in addition to being pharmacists, physicians, nurses, dietitians and the like. Even the seemingly simple instruction of “take as directed” is an ongoing behavioral intervention. We know there is a clear dose-response curve both to a drug as well as to a behavior change. One key difference is that behavior change is often up against the current of physical and social environments that are pushing fiercely in the opposite direction. Periodic medical appointments separated by several months of this opposing current are simply not enough. Enter the community pharmacy with its frequent touchpoints, accessibility, and expertise…….
The RxSelect CPESN Practice Transformation Team has been fueling the rocket, studying the navigational charts and is now preparing to train the astronauts for the #flipthepharmacy journey. For Domain 1 of this event, we will be working with pharmacists and their staff to turn what is typically a shot-by-shot immunization season into an outcomes-focused care planning documentation effort – fueled by opportunities discovered within the patient interaction.
The countdown has begun, and Mars continues its march across the sky.