While our pharmacy may still be busy providing COVID vaccinations and testing, we are excited to be turning some of our attention to the new Diabetes Change Packet. Our pharmacy has many patients with diabetes, and we are hoping to make a big impact in the lives of our patients as we implement these new strategies to improve their care. The entire staff at Moose Pharmacy have already been working diligently to provide expectational patient care with past Flip the Pharmacy Change Packets and have seen first-hand the impact this can have on the lives of our patients.
One recent illustration of a positive patient care encounter occurred while we were performing a Comprehensive Medication Review for a patient. The patient had a variety of co-morbid conditions including high blood pressure, diabetes, and COPD. While talking through all the patient’s conditions and medications to assess adherence and efficacy, it became clear there was some confusion on how the patient was supposed to be using his inhalers. The patient had not been using any of his inhalers daily and had been using his Symbicort inhaler instead of an albuterol inhaler for rescue. Looking back at his profile, we noticed that he hadn’t had a prescription for albuterol in a few years. We then spent some time talking with the patient to see what we could do to help with the patient’s adherence and understanding of his inhalers.
After talking with the patient, we consulted with the doctor and gave our recommendation. We discussed trying to simplify the patient’s regimen by switching to once-daily Trelegy in addition to getting the patient a new albuterol inhaler. The doctor was very receptive to our suggestions, and we received new prescriptions for both. Finally, we introduced the new inhalers to the patient explaining how each inhaler looked and what the inhalers were to be used for. We also discussed that the Symbicort and Spiriva inhalers were to be discontinued. The patient was very grateful for the simplification of the COPD regimen and showed an increase in understanding of why each inhaler was being used.
We documented each step of our progress and checked in with the patient to ensure that we were all on the same page with these changes. Our team was so excited to have made a positive impact in the life of our patient and hope to be able to have many more experiences like this in the future. We can’t wait to see what new opportunities the new Diabetes Change Packet will create for our pharmacy.
Kelci Trahms, PharmD
Moose Pharmacy of Concord
Concord, NC
Flip the Pharmacy Coach
Lauren Hayes, PharmD Candidate
Belmont University College of Pharmacy