Irvine, California, Jan. 15, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The BeyondTheFill Foundation, which is committed to improving health in America by funding preventive healthcare services delivered within local pharmacies, today announced its formation and dedication of grant support for PharmacyUnited, an initiative by leading software and service provider PrescribeWellness, which empowers pharmacists to combat opioid drug abuse in their communities.
Implemented earlier this year, PharmacyUnited is already impacting American lives in nearly 500 communities throughout the nation. The Foundation’s support will further drive the program’s expansion to identify patients at risk for opioid overdose, improve collaboration across the entire healthcare team, provide health counseling and education, plus dispense life-saving medication in the event of an overdose. Kicking off with PharmacyUnited, The Foundation intends to team with healthcare organizations across America to fund future patient health programs.
“We believe that community pharmacists are poised to play a critical role in solving America’s most pressing health issues and concerns, and we see immediate opportunity to make a difference by supporting PharmacyUnited,” stated Marty Babbington, Executive Director of the BeyondTheFill Foundation. “Our contributions will enable more pharmacies to participate in the program, meaning that more patients and their families will receive opioid education and counseling support, as well as access to life-saving treatments, through the community pharmacist. We are urging organizations throughout the country to join us in our efforts to equip pharmacists with the tools and resources they need to be effective on the front lines of the opioid epidemic.”
PharmacyUnited: Working Together to Combat the Opioid Crisis and Save Lives
Through PharmacyUnited, participating pharmacies facilitate opioid counseling, management and intervention programs. Participants use the PrescribeWellness PrescribeCare platform to identify at-risk patients, schedule and document consultations, collaborate with patients’ physicians and other healthcare stakeholders, and receive reimbursement for services. In addition, they receive training on how to work with patients and caretakers to assess need and reach out with care, as well as resources to educate communities about the risks and misconceptions surrounding prescription opioids, alternative options, and safe disposal methods.
BeyondTheFill Foundation’s financial support will allow more pharmacies to participate in PharmacyUnited, fund reimbursements for patient interventions, provide safe disposal bags for patients, and help pharmacies raise awareness in their communities about their opioid treatment and counseling programs.
“PharmacyUnited is a great program that allows pharmacists to engage and educate patients on opioid medications,” said Christopher Antypas, President and Chief Operating Officer of Asti’s South Hills Pharmacy in Pittsburgh, PA. “What's amazing is that you can document patient encounters and collaborate with other providers to resolve medication therapy problems and get paid for it.”
Since its inception in July 2018, nearly 500 pharmacies have participated in PharmacyUnited, and 4,554 patient encounters have been conducted. To date, pharmacies have committed to dispensing Naloxone, an opioid overdose reversal medication, to 30 percent of those in need.
“We have seen immense success with PharmacyUnited, and we look forward to including even more pharmacies with the Foundation’s support,” said Mindy Smith, President of PrescribeCare MSO for PrescribeWellness. “Through the Foundation and its partners, we will be able to increase access to payment opportunities for community pharmacists, and enhance their capacity for patient care services, meaning they can go “beyond the fill” to impact even more lives across the nation.”
Additional Information
- To learn more about the BeyondTheFill Foundation, visit www.BeyondTheFill.org.
- Find out more about the PharmacyUnited initiative here.
- To become a BeyondTheFill Foundation partner, go to www.BeyondTheFill.org/Partnerships.
About the BeyondTheFill Foundation
The BeyondTheFill Foundation empowers community pharmacists to be effective on the front lines of America’s most pressing health issues and concerns, with an aim to enhance the capacity of community pharmacists to improve the health of their communities and provide expanded patient care services. The Foundation’s inaugural program supports the expansion of PharmacyUnited, a PrescribeWellness initiative that helps pharmacists to combat opioid drug abuse in their communities through counseling and patient intervention programs, education, and collaboration with other healthcare providers and stakeholders to close gaps in care and minimize the potential for prescription opioid misuse. For more information, go to www.BeyondtheFill.org. Find and follow on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram: @BeyondTheFill.
About PrescribeWellness
PrescribeWellness is a leading provider of software and services that are expanding the role of pharmacy to deliver population health and chronic care management services. The company’s cloud-based technology is used by over 30,000 healthcare professionals in all 50 states to streamline the delivery of care and improve health outcomes. With behavioral science and interoperability at its core, the proprietary technology helps clients more effectively engage their patients. The platform currently connects more than 40 million patients and over 800,000 prescribers. PrescribeWellness has been named an Inc. 5000 Fastest-Growing Privately Held Company for the past four years. For more information, please visit www.prescribewellness.com.