Drug administration is an inherently risky task. If you work in the healthcare and assisted living industries, you know this for a fact.
Getting the proper medication to the right patient at the provider-prescribed schedule is a huge challenge, especially when you constantly work under time constraints and can’t afford to make any mistakes.
If you manage a long-term care facility, you’ve probably wondered if there was a way to simplify medication pass, optimize your operations, and take a chunk of that weight off your shoulders.
Well, we’ve got good news for you: Premier Pharmaceutical Services found one!
In partnership with DosePacker, Premier Pharmacy can now deliver your Kaiser Permanente-insured residents’ medications in unit-dose compliance packs instead of the usual medication bottles.
Are Unit-Dose Packs Better Than Medication Bottles?
Unit-dose compliance packs (blister packs, bubble packs, or compliance packaging) consist of individual, sealed compartments or pockets, each containing a single dose of medication for a specific time (e.g., morning, noon, evening, or night) and for a prescribed duration.
Designed to simplify patient medication management and reduce the risk of errors, these packs often include labels with patient information, drug information, and dosage instructions.
Even though they only represent around 20% of the U.S. market share, recent studies reveal that unit-dose packs are the superior choice to improve patient adherence, prevent child access, and preserve medication integrity.
A 2019 study also found that transitioning to unit-dose packs increased the medication possession ratio (MPR) from 67.4% to 86%. The significant jump in MPR indicates improved medication adherence and that the patients are more consistently taking their prescriptions as directed by their healthcare provider.
Read More: Blister Pack vs. Vial Packaging: What's Right for Your Facility?
How Long-Term Care Facilities Benefit From Premier Pharmacy
Besides allowing Kaiser-insured residents to receive their medications in unit-dose compliance packs, Premier Pharmacy offers assisted living and long-term care facilities plenty more benefits.
Here are a few more reasons why you should move your Kaiser pharmacy prescriptions over to Premier Pharmaceutical Services:
Bills Kaiser Permanente Directly
Premier Pharmacy is one of the few pharmacies that can bill Kaiser Permanente directly for the transactions under the Senior Advantage and Medicare plans. This means your residents under these plans can enjoy unit-dose compliance packaging without paying extra. Their copays for monthly medications will also be more or less the same amount.
Premier also offers residents significant discounts on over-the-counter medications. Should there be slight differences in the copay amount, these discounts can help offset them.
Delivers Medications Straight to Your Facility—For Free!
While Kaiser’s prescription delivery plans may sound like the most convenient route, residents sometimes encounter issues because mail-order pharmacy plans aren’t as reliable as pharmacy delivery services.
Intent on finding a more reliable and secure way to manage vital medications, some residents’ families end up spending precious time and money picking these up from a Kaiser pharmacy several times a month. If they’re unavailable to do the pick-ups, your care facility staff will have to do it (at a cost, of course).
Premier Pharmacy helps save time and resources by delivering your Kaiser-insured residents’ medications straight to your facility—no extra work, no delays, and no additional fees!
Allows You to Work with Fewer Pharmacies
When it comes to giving residents the prescriptions they need, care homes rely heavily on pharmacies that specialize in accurate dispensing, meticulous organization, and timely delivery of care medications.
Unfortunately, most facilities can’t find all their prescription needs in one pharmacy. As a care home manager, you’ve probably had to collaborate with at least three pharmacies to manage all of your residents’ medications. And because each pharmacy has its own packaging and delivery standards, your staff end up spending time and energy adjusting to these differences and inconsistencies.
Because Premier Pharmacy services nearly all insured residents, partnering with them helps cut down the number of pharmacies you need to work with and packaging variations your staff has to worry about. This speeds up your processes and reduces the risk of medication errors.
Offers Next-Level Convenience
Powered by DosePacker’s pharmacy automation solutions, Premier Pharmacy is fully equipped with the technology and team to handle your residents’ medications.
Does your resident need antibiotics or pain medications? Premier can deliver them to you within four hours of receiving the order.
Do you want to optimize your med pass workflows? Premier’s compliance packaging simplifies medication administration with the following features:
- Medicines Organized in Individually Sealed Dose Cups
- High-Visibility Font
- Patient, Facility, and Drug Details (Including Images)
- Dosage Information (Date, Day, Time, Color Code)
- Easy-Tear Medication Sheet
Read More: Multi-Dose Compliance Packaging: What Does It Mean for Care Homes?
Focuses on Safety and Compliance
Because Premier carefully organizes and packages medications in compliance packaging, they help make med pass preparation safe, manageable, and compliant.
Their pharmacy management system is also integrated into most care facility software systems, streamlining communications without compromising patient data security.
Having been in the industry for nearly three decades, Premier Pharmacy specializes in managing residents' medications in long-term care settings. Their in-depth knowledge and time-tested experience in care facility workflows help you remain compliant with industry regulations.
Premier Pharmacy: Resident Care Made Simpler and Smarter
Medication management has always been a complex and substantial undertaking in long-term care—but it doesn’t have to be that way forever.
Automation and technology have the power to ease that burden, and Premier Pharmacy is taking full advantage of them.
Premier offers cost-effective, convenient, compliant, and cutting-edge solutions to optimize your operations and elevate your quality of care. For more information about transferring your Kaiser patients to Premier Pharmaceutical Services, schedule a free consultation with any of our pharmacy solution experts!