DSN INDUSTRY ISSUES SUMMIT

Outcome Improvement

The first panel of DSN’s annual Industry Issues Summit highlighted how a laser focus on patients can drive improved outcomes By Sandy Levy

Drug Store News kicked off the first day of its three-day annual Industry Issues Summit with retailers sharing their strategies for focusing on patients to improve outcomes.

Moderated by Dave Wendland of HRG, the virtual panel featured top executives from leading retailers sharing how they are using technology and other strategies to personalize care for patients.

Leon Nevers, director of business development, procurement and supply chain at H-E-B, emphasized how the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated many of the practices being implemented today.

“We went through this very high technology time, where everyone was working on efficiency and the best way to drive sales, profits and increase efficiency, and working together to bring what the customer wanted,” Nevers said.

Personalization

Nevers shared that H-E-B took a step back and realized “what we need is a way to personalize and use technology in that regard. We’ve been going in that direction. Simplifying the communication has led to an increase in personalization. One of the things that has gone into that is meeting the customer where they want to be. We’ve always had a real heart for personalizing based on not only the community but what the customer truly wants, and you’ll see that all around the store.”

Bill Shinton, vice president of health and wellness operations at Kroger, made a note to point out how patients getting to know their pharmacists can also impact personalized care. “Getting to know your pharmacist is incredibly important. Patients are more willing to talk to someone they trust,” he said.

Over the last few years, Kroger has been evolving its approach with an emphasis on how it can be more patient centric, Shinton noted. “How do we leverage the services that our pharmacists and techs have been trained with? COVID-19 testing and vaccines have accelerated some of it,” he said.

“Our other big focus is leveraging the sheer amount of data we have to identify gaps and care for our patients, identifying when patients fall off adherence. We’re focused on how we take care of that patient. For us, personalization right now is really taking that person’s healthcare journey to their next step. Everyone is at a different spot in their healthcare journey. How do we get them from the step they are on to the next step is really our biggest focus.”

Collaboration and Education

Stacy Burch, vice president of marketing and commercial excellence of diabetes care at BD, emphasized how ultimately the industry must come together and collaborate to help better serve patients.

Burch said that BD has been committed to global sustainability and making sure patients are getting their supplies, particularly making sure underserved communities are getting insulin supplies, COVID19 testing, medical devices and education.

“Education is teaching people to become

Getting to know your pharmacist is incredibly important. Patients are more willing to talk to someone they trust.

Patients are demanding more convenience and pharmacists are looking to expand their engagement in clinical services. Technology is the foundation for enabling that.

— Bill Shinton, vice president of health and wellness, Kroger

In the future, as we see pharmacists’ role expand to include more end to end diagnosis and treatment, that will create access, particularly for rural communities.

— Sherri Keeth, senior director of healthcare strategy and business development, Sam’s Club

— Kelli Kovak, executive vice president, — Kelli Kovak, executive vice president, MedWise HealthCare division, Tabula Rasa HealthCare MedWise HealthCare division, Tabula Rasa HealthCare

self-sufficient and we work with partners across the board. We take ownership for that. We believe in educating patients, especially with diabetes. It’s a lifelong disease. We can help with preventative care too. We also are focused on sustainability on the manufacturing side,” she said.

Panelists also weighed in on the importance of social determinants of health.

Becky Dant, director of professional services at Costco, touched on the importance of addressing social determinants of health, citing the need for meeting the patient where they are as evidenced by the administration of COVID-19 vaccines. “We had a lot of success partnering with communities, foundations and leadership to find out what they needed to get their patients taken care of,” she said. “We worked with a couple of different partners in Atlanta and provided their population with food. If you’re not eating, you are worried about that more than other things. We provided vaccine clinics, food and transportation vouchers. It’s about looking at the full patient, not just what you see in your retail location.”

Sherri Keeth, senior director of healthcare strategy and business development at Sam’s Club, said social determinants exist for everyone but they are a bigger factor in underserved communities.

“These underserved communities are traditionally harder to reach logistically. Walmart and Sam’s Club are in a unique position to reach medically underserved communities both from a pharmacy perspective, but with other social determinants like food insecurities,” Keeth said. “We have more than 4,000 locations in areas designated as medically underserved areas. This gives us an opportunity to provide health-and-wellness service and vaccines. In the future, as we see pharmacists’ role expand to include more end-to-end diagnosis and treatment, that will create access, particularly for rural communities.”

Panelists also weighed in on using technology to provide optimal patient care.

Jeff Key, president of Pioneer Rx, discussed the importance of using technology correctly to reach patients. “Poorly implemented technology can be a speed bump. It can create more phone calls and more problems,” he said, noting that many times “first implementation of technology is horrible. If you get the wrong message to a patient, they stop listening. They turn off your channel. You have to find, what are those speed bumps? What do patients call about? Did you get my prescription? We have to be smooth and think about how we remove friction from every patient interaction.”

Kelli Kovak, executive vice president, MedWise HealthCare division, Tabula Rasa HealthCare, said that technology helps to facilitate personalized communication to meet patients where they are and also drives the omnichannel experience. “Technology today is table stakes. Pharmacists and pharmacies have embraced technology, and it’s accelerated the opportunity to participate in clinical care,” she said. “Patients are demanding more convenience and pharmacists are looking to expand their engagement in clinical services. Technology is the foundation for enabling that.”

Finally, Katie Thornell, director of pharmacy at Stop & Shop, touched upon the importance of helping patients with good nutrition, which is especially crucial amid the pandemic. To that end, Stop & Shop connected with customers via webinars to provide that necessary information. dsn