The Pharmacy Industry Is Revved up and Ready to See Change
September 9, 2024
Each year, movers and shakers in the retail pharmacy and health and wellness industries converge for a meeting of the minds intended to push the boundaries of healthcare forward. This year’s National Association of Chain Drug Stores Total Store Expo (NACDS TSE) was no different: the desire to create a society where health equity is realized nationwide reverberated throughout the conference.
Breakout sessions were charged with energy as attendees focused on innovation listened attentively to expert panelists. The discussions addressed questions about the pharmacy industry’s readiness to evolve into a key player in improving health outcomes. The panelists provided clear and confident assurances that pharmacies have the potential to drive the necessary changes within the healthcare industry.
The sessions focused on how the industry is progressing toward interoperability, the importance of industry leaders’ influence on gender inclusion, analyzing diabetes care data to drive impact, and more. Below are three key takeaways from the event.
1. The Pharmacy Industry Has Its Sights Set on a Common Goal
The healthcare landscape has drastically changed since pharmacy’s humble beginnings. Today, it is abundantly clear that the medication dispensing model that pharmacies have utilized since the 1700s can no longer sufficiently meet the needs of our communities—it is time for pharmacies to move into clinical care.
The conference offered the sessions, “Building Sustainable Care Models” and “Leveling Up Pharmacy’s Role in Value-Based Care” to emphasize how critical it is for pharmacies to provide more clinical services. NACDS President and CEO Steven C. Anderson echoed those sentiments at the Business Program by emphasizing the importance of continuing all efforts to achieve federal provider status by supporting the Equitable Community Access to Pharmacist Services Act (ECAPS, HR1770/S2477).
2. Consumers Must Participate in Pharmacy Reform Efforts
NACDS leader Steven C. Anderson also shared a timeline of recent press related to pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) reform at the Business Program. Anderson spoke passionately as he recapped the presence of articles about PBMs in the Wall Street Journal and Forbes, proudly showcased the NACDS PBM ad campaign, and excitedly recalled Vice President Kamala Harris’ recent call for changes to how PBMs operate.
The CEO then highlighted the importance of getting consumers involved with the push to advance pharmacy operations. Anderson illuminated how active pharmacy advocates and bipartisan legislators have been working to transform pharmacy for years, but he also stressed that we won’t see all the changes we need unless consumers raise their voices. He encouraged pharmacy professionals to advise their patients on how they can get involved with the push to transform pharmacy by supporting ECAPS.
3. Food is Medicine
A group of industry experts gathered to outline the significant impact pharmacies could have on health outcomes by guiding their patients’ eating habits. The session, “NACDS Institute: Building Sustainable Care Models,” focused heavily on Food is Medicine and its propensity to improve patient health, especially for those who suffer from chronic conditions.
NACDS Chair Kevin Host spotlighted the Food is Medicine initiative Nourish My Health at the Business Program. The collaborative effort encourages establishing healthier diets to lower the risk of heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Host backed the effort and added that Food is Medicine allows pharmacies to prove themselves as health and wellness centers.
NACDS TSE 2024: ICYMI
In case you missed it, the brand-new Pharmacy Payor Rate Transparency Monitor made its grand debut at the show. The monitor gives pharmacies insight into contracted payor reimbursement rates for clinical services and provides critical comparative data that enables pharmacies to benchmark their contract reimbursement rates against the market.
Trade show attendees explored in-network rates for three large national payors during the live event. Now, the interactive benchmarking tool is available online and allows users to discover low, average, and high reimbursement rates for various categories, billing codes, and billing modifiers. The billing codes are pharmacy-specific and include diabetes education, medication therapy management, office visits, tobacco cessation education, and other diagnostic testing.