Pharmacists play a vital role in the healthcare system. Their work helps healthcare facilities improve patient incomes and reach quality improvement goals.
January 12 is National Pharmacist Day, and it is a great opportunity to celebrate your pharmacist or someone you know who is a pharmacist.
How To Thank A Pharmacist
With modern technology, there’s many ways to recognize a pharmacist in your life. Digital and hand-written notes can be shared to express gratitude and thankfulness to a pharmacist in your life.
Here are some of the many ways that patients and healthcare providers can thank pharmacists:
- Post a social media message thanking them for their efforts
- Healthcare providers can highlight pharmacists with social media and website spotlights
- Healthcare providers can host appreciation events for their staff
- Healthcare providers can offer patients the opportunity to leave thank-you messages to their pharmacist so that patients can write a personalized thank you note and deliver it to them
A Pharmacist’s Role Behind the Scenes
A pharmacist’s most well-known role is to fill a patient’s prescription at the pharmacy. But a pharmacist serves in many other roles as well.
According to the clevelandclinic.org, a pharmacist’s duty may include:
- Confirming a patient is getting the correction medication with the right dosage
- Making sure any new prescriptions won’t interfere with other medications a patient is taking or other foods
- Telling you how and when to take your medication
- Letting you know about any possible side effects of medication
- Providing preventive care, like vaccinations
- Working with your insurance company to make sure a patient gets the medication you need
- Teach a patient ways to eat healthy, stay physically fit, and how to manage stress
- Answering any questions a patient may have
Midwest QIN-QIO’s Work With Pharmacists
The Midwest Quality Innovation Organization-Quality Improvement Network (Midwest QIN-QIO) works with healthcare facilities such as hospitals, nursing homes, and outpatient Clinics to improve patient outcomes.
One of the Midwest QIN-QIOs clinical focus areas in the 13th scope of work is addressing drug/pharmaceutical supply shortages.
In the 13th scope of work, Midwest QIN-QIO helps providers manage chronic diseases by optimizing care coordination, population health management, data (i.e., clinical, pharmacy, laboratory, claims) analytics via intervention strategies.
QIN-QIOs also frame intervention strategies of reducing Adverse Drug Events by engaging pharmacists, using care coordination, and utilizing machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) to prevent adverse drug events. Utilizing medication scanning software when administering medications.
QIN-QIOs also frame their intervention strategies to increase development, implementation, revision, and maintenance of person-centered care plan that includes strengths, goals, clinical needs, desired outcomes. Increase implementation of non-opioid pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic approaches to pain management.
Additionally, QIOs work across the healthcare system and with community-based organizations to identify approaches to bridge healthcare and social services and to better integrate professionals, such as pharmacists and emergency responders, to better the lives of their community members.
How do I get in contact with Midwest QIN-QIO?
Contact Midwest QIN-QIO via email at contact@midwestcmsqinqio.com, or check out our about us page on midwestcmsqinqio.com.
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