Survey Finds More Than Three-Fourths of Pharmacists Want to Expand Services Beyond Vaccinations, but Majority Not Getting Fully Paid for Clinical Activities
RALEIGH, NC – October 19, 2022 – EnlivenHealth®, the retail pharmacy solutions division of Omnicell, Inc. (Nasdaq: OMCL), today announced the results of its first-ever Ask Your Pharmacist survey, which found that most pharmacists (81 percent) want to expand their clinical services beyond immunizations, but some 85 percent say their pharmacies are only receiving partial or no payment for these services.
In fact, 46 percent of respondents said the biggest barrier to expanding their clinical services is the lack of a medical billing solution that seamlessly integrates with their pharmacy workflow.
EnlivenHealth’s recently conducted Ask Your Pharmacist survey explored how pharmacists today are working to transform their clinical practices and business operations to grow and thrive in this new era of digital-driven healthcare. At the core of the respondents’ widespread embrace of pharmacy transformation is how pharmacies are offering a growing array of clinical services such as immunizations, point-of-care testing, medication therapy management, and Medicare plan selection support.
The survey examined how pharmacists are transforming their pharmacies using a variety of technology-based strategies, including digital patient engagement systems, medical billing solutions, and Medicare plan finder tools that empower patients to choose the best, most affordable plan that meets their needs. More than 41 percent of respondents said they are looking to adopt technologies to assist with patient scheduling, documentation, and billing. And over 54 percent of respondents indicated they were active in helping patients choose the right Medicare plan for them.
“Our latest national survey results reinforce our view that the expansion of clinical services will be the future of retail pharmacy,” said Danny Sanchez, senior vice president and general manager of EnlivenHealth. “It appears patients are becoming increasingly comfortable visiting their trusted and uniquely accessible local pharmacy to ‘ask their pharmacist’ about these clinical services. However, achieving this pharmacy transformation vision will be dependent on digital technologies that automate medical billing, strengthen patient engagement, and streamline pharmacy workflows. These technologies are intended to give pharmacists the critical time they need to deliver the high-value clinical services that improve patient care and increase pharmacy revenues.”
“We believe expanding clinical services and the role of the pharmacist is key to the sustainability of community pharmacy and healthcare accessibility for our patients,” said Alison Haas, PharmD, RPh, President/Owner, Jackson Pharmacy & Wellness Center. “Payment for services continues to be a barrier for many pharmacies, often resulting in hindered growth of these services, despite our expertise and desire to expand offerings to our communities.”
Key findings of EnlivenHealth’s Ask Your Pharmacist survey, include:
- 34 percent of respondents said they aren’t getting paid for the clinical services they provide, while 51 percent of respondents said they are only getting partially compensated for these services.
- 75 percent of responding pharmacists believe their patients see their pharmacy both as a place to get their prescriptions filled and as a healthcare destination.
- 63 percent of respondents said their patients regularly come to the pharmacy for advice on selecting the Medicare plan that best meets the patients’ healthcare and financial needs.
- 37 percent of respondents said they use Interactive Voice Response (IVR) patient engagement solutions, finding them to be “very effective”; nearly 30 percent of respondents said they allowed their patients to use a mobile app to engage with their pharmacy.
- The top five clinical services offered by the pharmacists responding to EnlivenHealth’s survey include: vaccinations (93 percent), medication therapy management (82 percent), Medicare plan advice and selection support (63 percent), point-of-care testing (49 percent), and diabetes education and prevention (33 percent).
EnlivenHealth provides a range of technology solutions that are designed to enable pharmacies to shift from focusing primarily on dispensing medications to providing, and efficiently billing for, a growing array of high-value clinical services. These solutions include:
- Amplicare Clinical Solution – A digital technology suite that is expected to enable pharmacies to become true clinical services providers by automating the process of identifying patient opportunities, providing appropriate clinical care, and efficiently billing for those services, all in one integrated platform.
- Medicare Match – An industry-leading suite of Medicare plan comparison and selection tools that is designed to enable pharmacists to assist their patients in choosing the plan that best meets the patient’s healthcare needs and budget. Medicare Match empowers pharmacies to strengthen their patient relationships.
- Personalized IVR (Interactive Voice Response) – A Software as a Service (SaaS) technology solution that automates patient communications by authenticating callers and delivering them to the correct pharmacy workflow. The solution is designed to provide a seamless and personalized patient experience that helps to drive higher retention and revenue growth.
Survey Methodology
The EnlivenHealth survey was conducted in September 2022; 14,450 retail pharmacists were surveyed, of which 243 retail pharmacists completed the survey. Results are intended to provide information on pharmacists’ views regarding the expansion of clinical services as part of the trend toward retail pharmacy transformation. The results of EnlivenHealth’s survey reflect only the perspectives of those pharmacists that responded and EnlivenHealth does not maintain or represent that the information, analyses, and/or conclusions reflect the perspectives of all pharmacists.
About EnlivenHealth®
EnlivenHealth® builds advanced patient engagement, financial management and population health technology solutions that enable retail pharmacies and health plans to measurably improve the health of their patients and members, while ensuring the long-term health of their business. With the recent acquisitions of FDS Amplicare and MarkeTouch Media, EnlivenHealth® now offers the industry’s most comprehensive suite of SaaS technology solutions that help retail pharmacies and health plans to transform and thrive in this new era of digital-driven healthcare. Currently, more than 50,000 retail pharmacies nationwide deploy EnlivenHealth®/FDS Amplicare/MarkeTouch Media technology solutions. EnlivenHealth® is a division of Omnicell, Inc. (Nasdaq: OMCL), a leading provider of medication management solutions and adherence tools for healthcare systems and pharmacies. To learn more, visit EnlivenHealth.co.
ENLIVENHEALTH is a registered trademark of Omnicell, Inc. or one of its subsidiaries.
About Omnicell
Since 1992, Omnicell has been committed to transforming the pharmacy care delivery model to dramatically improve outcomes and lower costs. Through the vision of the autonomous pharmacy, a combination of automation, intelligence, and technology-enabled services, powered by a cloud data platform, Omnicell supports more efficient ways to manage medications across all care settings. Healthcare facilities worldwide use Omnicell automation and analytics solutions to help increase operational efficiency, reduce medication errors, deliver actionable intelligence, and improve patient safety. Institutional and retail pharmacies across North America and the United Kingdom leverage Omnicell’s innovative medication adherence and population health solutions to improve patient engagement and adherence to prescriptions, helping to reduce costly hospital readmissions. To learn more, visit www.omnicell.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
Certain statements contained in this press release relate to the expected benefits and objectives of EnlivenHealth’s products and services, including EnlivenHealth’s Amplicare Clinical Solution, Medicare Match and Personalized IVR (Interactive Voice Response) (and any implied financial impact in connection with the foregoing). These statements are “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results and other events may differ significantly from those contemplated by forward-looking statements due to numerous factors that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties some of which are beyond our control. These risks and uncertainties include, among other things, (i) risks related to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic (including new variants of the virus), (ii) Omnicell’s ability to take advantage of growth opportunities and develop and commercialize new solutions and enhance existing solutions, (iii) continued and increased competition from current and future competitors in the medication management automation solutions market and the medication adherence solutions market, (iv) unfavorable general economic and market conditions or reduction in demand for our solutions, (v) risks related to Omnicell’s investments in new business strategies or initiatives, including its transition to selling more products and services on a subscription basis, (vi) any disruption in Omnicell’s information technology systems and breaches of data security or cyber-attacks on its systems or solutions, including the previously disclosed ransomware incident and any potential adverse legal, reputational and financial effects that may result from it and/or additional cybersecurity incidents, as well as the effectiveness of business continuity plans during any future cybersecurity incidents, (vii) Omnicell’s ability to meet the demands of, or maintain relationships with, its institutional, retail, and specialty pharmacy customers, and (viii) other risks and uncertainties further described in the “Risk Factors” section of Omnicell’s most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K, as well as in Omnicell’s other reports filed with or furnished to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), available at www.sec.gov. Forward-looking statements should be considered in light of these risks and uncertainties. Investors and others are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date of this press release. Omnicell assumes no obligation to update any such statements publicly, or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied in any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of changed circumstances, new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by law.
Contact:
Eric T. Reese, EnlivenHealth®
919-423-4510
eric.reese@omnicell.com