Implementation of Patient Engagement Center Benefits Clinical Decision-Making, User Satisfaction

As part of a concerted effort to enhance patient care and optimize health outcomes, researchers found that the PrescribeWellness patient engagement center (PEC) helped pharmacists promote medication adherence, prioritize patient care plans, and enhance patient relationships.

Patient relationship management (PRM) solutions are used in many health care settings to improve care and outcomes by improving business intelligence, patient engagement, and communication among health professionals. For their research, the investigators launched the PEC in 2010, according to a poster presented at the American Pharmacists Association Virtual 2021 Meeting.

The PEC features include real-time identification of patient medication adherence metrics, eligible preventative services, and pharmacy revenue opportunities. Unique patient profiles also had health plan information, medication claims data, and patient conditions, and the PEC was compatible with leading pharmacy management systems.

“Users can identify, act upon, and really hone into indicators of patient health, such as adherence levels, to conduct proactive clinical services, identify some pharmacy revenue opportunities, and really build stronger relationships with their patients,” said Jacob Schnackenberg, PharmD, MBA, senior strategic innovation advisor at PrescribeWellness, in an interview with Pharmacy Times.

The research team surveyed routine users of the PEC about the perceived value of the system and user satisfaction. According to the poster, the investigators included responses from 42 participants, who were 90.5% female, 73.8% pharmacy technicians, and 40.5% between 31 and 41 years of age. The most common pharmacy practice setting experience was community pharmacy, with 81% of the respondents.

The perceived impact of the PEC in clinical decision-making was shown to be valuable toward improving both quantity (78.6%) and quality (83.3%) of clinical recommendations. The respondents also described how the system enabled them to provide better patient care (97.6%); improved their ability to identify non-adherent patients (85.7%); and improved their confidence in taking action to improve care (92.8%). Furthermore, 85.6% of respondents said the system improved their daily productivity and 78.6% said the PEC decreased time spent navigating between multiple technology platforms.

Schnackenberg said one of the major benefits of the system was its use during the national COVID-19 vaccination campaign, because it identified vaccination opportunities and provided support with critical reporting requirements.

“That’s been especially impactful here, with COVID-19 and that vaccine rollout,” Schnackenberg said.

Based on these results, the investigators said the system was easy to understand, reliable, and visually appealing, and this perceived value was similar between participants with or without previous exposure to other PRM solutions; however, this value did vary by employee position, according to the poster. Their findings also confirm earlier studies that found PRM solutions are effective at improving clinicians’ abilities to provide patient care and improve the quality of their recommendations.

Although the poster noted the small sample size, the investigators concluded that pharmacies that use the PEC are likely to see efficient operations and increased productivity, and individuals at organizations that use the PEC are more able to identify non-adherent patients and feel confident intervening.

“We’re trying to meet the patients where they’re at to ensure the best health outcomes,” Schnackenberg said. “[We’re] connecting the dots and empowering the pharmacy with these tools to use them as they see fit for each patient.”

REFERENCE

Bingham J, Rojas H, Urban-Tovar A, et al. Exploring the Perceived Value of the Patient Engagement Center Patient Relationship Management Solution in a Pharmacy Setting. APhA 2021 Virtual Meeting; email. Accessed March 25, 2021.