By Mark Gonzalez, PharmD, PCCA Clinical Compounding Pharmacist

To say we are living in unique times is an understatement. Our world and our personal lives are all in a state of unpredictable change due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, this comes at a time when pharmacy guidelines are in flux as we await the initiation of the new USP <795> and USP <797> as well as the potential enforcement of USP <800>. With that stated, there are still many constants that we as professionals can strongly rest in:

1. The need for pharmacy compounding and related services is stronger than ever
2. The level of quality that compounders can provide their patients is better than ever
3. The need for excellent patient care, such as therapeutic monitoring, compliance checks and problem-solving, is of upmost importance
4. Without staying on top of point #3, we will never get to truly let our patients and practitioners experience points #1 and #2

A positive patient experience is one of the key factors that affects the growth of any compounding pharmacy. Notice that I did not say “patient success,” but “positive patient experience.” Most patients and health care practitioners understand that therapeutic failures happen with medications whether they are manufactured or compounded. What compounding pharmacies do with those failures and how they handle them makes for a positive patient experience. Underneath the structure of this experience lies a foundation that is built on communication, honesty and trust (in that order). An active, organized and consistent follow-up program within the pharmacy is crucial to building and maintaining the foundation for positive patient experiences.

So what prevents many pharmacies from implementing a follow-up program within their practices? I have found that there are a three myths hindering the average pharmacy from taking that next step. Let’s dispel each one so that you can get started on this all-too-important aspect of building the positive patient experience.

Myth #1: We don’t have time or money to implement a follow-up program.

The truth of the matter is that every pharmacy will eventually have a follow-up program. The question is, who starts it? Does the patient start the program by growing frustrated when they begin noticing problems associated with their compound? The process then gets passed on to another pharmacy, who calls you to have the prescription transferred because the patient associates the problem with your pharmacy itself. That costs you time, loss in future revenue and loss of all the resources you spent to acquire that patient (total marketing dollars spent per year/total number of new patients acquired in that same year, to give you an idea). On the other hand, a simple, scheduled follow-up call to that patient could have identified the problem, addressed its cause, and most likely kept and strengthened the patient relationship. Which of the two follow-up programs sounds best to you? Which of the two costs more?

Myth #2: Follow-up programs always have to involve the pharmacist.

Having run my own pharmacy for almost 20 years, I can empathize with pharmacists’ busy days and not wanting to put more on what is most likely a full buffet plate of activities. However, most of the work associated with a follow-up program can be completed by other staff members. My amazing staff called the patient; collected crucial information; documented the call; and provided me with the patient’s current list of medications, strengths, doses and level of compliance. With this information available for my review, I could comment on the case and make any recommendations I thought were appropriate. When needed, I talked with the patient further to discuss their case, which usually took 10 minutes or less. My staff owned this process, and they also loved it because it involved them in the patient’s care. Let’s remember that most staff members started their careers in pharmacy because they wanted to interact with and help patients. The bonus was that trust was built between the patient and my entire staff, not just me, the pharmacist.

Myth #3: Follow-ups have to be long and very involved.

This is just not the case. The best follow-up calls are concise and clearly communicated. They are long enough to let the patient know that they are valued and to collect vital information, and short enough to be efficient. At my pharmacy, the calls consisted of three questions:

1. What benefits have you noticed while taking your compounded prescription?
2. What problems, if any, have you experienced?
3. How are you taking your therapy?

In my pharmacy, my staff collected this information on a standardized form that we had created. Our pharmacists reviewed all the forms to determine if a pharmacist follow-up call was necessary or if an email response to the patient’s questions was sufficient. We scheduled the pharmacist follow-up calls with the patient and provided the first 15 minutes complimentary. Any time over that allotment was charged to the patient at our standard consulting rate. Our goal was to encourage patients to focus their time on the most pertinent medication issues, which also protected the pharmacist’s time from non-pharmacy-related conversation. Any recommended changes to the patient’s therapy were then documented and requests were made to the physician as appropriate, and the follow-up form then was filed by date in the patient’s physical or electronic file. This system allowed for problems to be identified, the patient to feel heard and minor issues to be addressed before they became major problems.

That is it! Simple, easy and effective!

Take advantage of this crucial patient-retention tool. Implementing a follow-up program will improve each patient’s experience as you simultaneously strengthen the foundation of your business.

PCCA members, if you would like to hear Mark and a panel of other pharmacy experts discuss patient follow-up programs , check out our May 2020 Marketing and Sales Power Hour for free on PCCA Play. Here are some tips from the other panelists: Let patients know you'll be calling, and be consistent. Make sure to follow up with the doctors on how your patients are responding to the therapy so that the doctors can see the successes; it also keeps your pharmacy name in their head.

Mark Gonzalez, PharmD, is a Clinical Compounding Pharmacist at PCCA. He owned and operated Med Specialties, a pharmacy in Yorba Linda, California, for 18 years before joining the staff of PCCA. His areas of specialty are hormone replacement therapy, dermatology and veterinary compounding.