TMCnet News

McKesson ideaShare 2014 Focuses on Helping Independent Pharmacies Seize Opportunities for Growth
[July 21, 2014]

McKesson ideaShare 2014 Focuses on Helping Independent Pharmacies Seize Opportunities for Growth


ORLANDO, Fla. --(Business Wire)--

McKesson Corporation today kicked off McKesson ideaShare 2014 at the Gaylord Palms Resort in Orlando, Florida, providing the premier forum for community pharmacy leaders from across the nation to share best practices and learn about the latest trends, technology and clinical solutions to help achieve better pharmacy health. The annual event provides attendees with access to industry thought leaders, new pharmacy solutions, Continuing Education (CE) courses, and networking events all focused on providing pharmacy owners with insights on how to deliver the best patient care and seize opportunities to grow in today's changing environment.

"We continue to see transformation in the market driven by the emphasis on positive patient outcomes, continued growth of preferred networks, and a focus on retail pharmacies' ability to impact Star Ratings, McKesson has made significant investments to provide our customers with new programs and clinical services to help them better serve their patients as well as grow and sustain their pharmacy business," said Mark Walchirk, president, McKesson U.S. Pharmaceutical. "Community pharmacies play a critically important role in their patients' journey toward better health, and McKesson ideaShare is one way we demonstrate our long-term commitment to being a strong and trusted business partner to community pharmacy."

Clinical Care Tools to Improve Pharmacy Performance

  • Adherence Performance Reporting Solution: McKesson launched its new Adherence Performance Reporting solution, offered by McKesson Pharmacy Systems and Automation (MPS&A). Based on a pharmacy's own pharmacy-management system data, the Adherence Performance Reporting solution provides the pharmacy with an adherence rating similar to the CMS Star Ratings provided to health plans. The rating will help pharmacies better understand their adherence performance, as well as provide succinct, actionable ways for a pharmacy to improve their performance, such a report on target patients who should be included in adherence outreach. "Our Adherence Performance Reporting solution helps each pharmacy focus on a group of specific patients whose medication adherence behavior has the most negative impact on the pharmacy's adherence rating," said Emilie Ray, president MPS&A. "Rather than leaving our pharmacies to sift through charts and spreadsheets generated from other reports, we've created a real-time set of reports that give them the information they need to take swift action with specific patients."
  • Measuring and Understanding Clinical Performance: McKesson offers pharmacies access to EQuIPP™, an online information management platform that makes pharmacy performance data available.
  • Pharmacy Intervention Program: Offered through McKesson's Sponsored Clinical Services Network, this award-winning program offers patients face-to-face behavioral coaching from a pharmacist. Interventions, sponsored by pharmaceutical manufacturers, focus on medication adherence and consistently drive an average increase of 1.5 incremental prescriptions per patient over 18 months.
  • LoyaltyScript@Retail: Introduced at McKesson ideaShare and available to pharmacies in the fall, LoyaltyScript@Retail from McKesson Patient Relationship Solutions will provide pharmacists with a timely, convenient means of providing patient savings and enhanced care. According to a survey by Pharmacy Times, nearly 70% of pharmacists encounter patients seeking co-pay cards at least a few times per week, and 77% of pharmacists use co-pay cards at least once per day. The LoyaltyScript@Retail solution provides pharmacists with easy, in-store access via an online portal to co-pay savings offers for a growing list of brands.
  • Pharmaserv® Pharmacy-Management System: McKesson Pharmacy Systems and Automation (MPS&A) is also launching the largest releae of its Pharmaserv pharmacy-management system in four years, which features significant improvements throughout the entire system and new features, including:
    • Enhanced appearance and functionality
    • New adherence program solutions
    • Improved support for McKesson Generics Rebate Program
    • Simplified billing and accounts receivable
  • Parata PASSport to Adherence Program: Partnering with McKesson, Parata is offering a special promotional package for McKesson ideaShare attendees to support successful launches of a medication-adherence program with the purchase of a Parata PASS 208™ packager. This award-winning medication-management packaging solution organizes medications in a strip by date and time to help ensure meds are taken at the right time, every time. The program includes ready-to-use retail marketing pieces, coaching from Parata experts, expanded training using patient data, access to the Parata Canister Optimization Tool, and the new Parata Med Coach™ software.



Investing in the Future of Community Pharmacy

  • McKesson Reimbursement Advantage?: In response to the changing market and the industry's increased concentration on CMS Star Ratings, AccessHealth® has integrated pharmacy clinical performance data into the McKesson Reimbursement Advantage (MRA) program. The new Pharmacy Performance Summary will allow MRA customers the opportunity to review their unique performance data, compare it to a benchmark, and then identify areas for improvement. Other enhancements and improvements to the McKesson Reimbursement Advantage program include access to EQuIPP data, Mirixa platform reporting, and GDR/GER (Generic Dispense Rate/Generic Efficiency Rate) data. "2013 was a record year for securing MAC increases at AccessHealth with more than 2,200 MAC increases, which represent our efforts to increase reimbursement for hundreds of thousands of member claims," said Kevin O'Connor, vice president and general manager, AccessHealth.
  • McKesson OneStop Generics® Program: McKesson's OneStop Generics program delivers the power of sophisticated pricing tools and deep sourcing expertise with outstanding business solutions, which provides significant advantage to customers for selection, pricing and availability. Designed with the needs of the customer in mind, the program offers numerous opportunities to maximize consistency and profitability. The McKesson OneStop Generics team is offering two special promotions for customers attending the meeting.
  • McKesson Connect? Community: The McKesson Connect Community is a fast-growing area within the McKesson Connect ordering website that lets pharmacists and owners connect with their peers. Through a virtual ideaShare environment within McKesson Connect Community, members can exchange best practices year-round. More than 1,500 members have joined since McKesson ideaShare 2013, nearly doubling membership over the past year.
  • Physician Outreach Program: To help pharmacists build relationships with healthcare professionals in their community, McKesson's Physician Outreach Program provides physician-specific data on more than 1.5 million prescribers and includes other revenue stream opportunities, including 340B entities, nursing home and home health agency locations. The data helps identify high-opportunity prescribers and determine the best mix of services to offer to successfully market their pharmacy and attract new patients. The tool also helps pharmacists save time by providing access to prescriber information including DEA and NPI numbers. This year, McKesson is adding patient visibility to the program, where users will be able to see aggregated de-identified patient data such as number of patients, average age, gender percentage, and where patients are located.
  • RxOwnership: For the seventh year, McKesson's RxOwnership® team will host the annual Ownership Transfer Luncheon where attendees will analyze pharmacy ownership case studies, share their thoughts, and learn the real-life outcome for each case study. The RxOwnership team will also host the Future Pharmacist "Pathway to Ownership" educational event for more than 70 pharmacy students attending the conference. "This past year we helped more than 380 owners start new pharmacies, and we have guided more than 1,800 pharmacies through the ownership-transfer process since the RxOwnership program began," said Bob Graul, national vice president, RxOwnership. "Whether you are a pharmacist or pharmacy student who aspires to own your own pharmacy, an existing pharmacy owner seeking to expand, or an existing pharmacy owner looking to sell, RxOwnership can help."

Health Mart Helps Independent Pharmacies Compete and Grow


With more than 3,400 stores nationwide, Health Mart will host its Annual Meeting this week. Health Mart, which has nearly tripled in total store count since re-launching the franchise in 2006, has experienced tremendous growth over the past several years by providing tools and support that enable members to accentuate their superior patient care and drive more patients and scripts into their stores. Health Mart will showcase updates to key programs designed to help fuel their independence to compete and thrive:

  • Improving Clinical Performance: Health Mart has a number of programs to help its member pharmacies address non-adherence, including interpreting their EQuIPP number, education focusing on behavioral coaching, medication synchronization, and comprehensive medication reviews, as well as intervention tools such as refill reminders.
  • Local Marketing Support: Health Mart's comprehensive Local Marketing Support program helps owners market their store to attract new patients and reinforce their value to existing patients. Customizable marketing templates, digital campaigns, community outreach, vehicle wraps, and matching funds are some of the ways that Health Mart helps its owners to increase awareness of their store and promote their pharmacy's differentiated offerings.
  • Your Pharmacy Online?: Health Mart continues to expand our customizable website and mobile app, providing cost-effective tools that can lead to improved patient medication adherence and drive positive health outcomes while increasing prescription volume. The tools provide Health Mart patients with convenient, on-the-go prescription management including medication and refill reminders.

For more information on all of McKesson and Health Mart's announcements from McKesson ideaShare 2014, please visit McKesson's online newsroom at www.mckesson.com/newsroom.

About McKesson

McKesson Corporation, currently ranked 15th on the FORTUNE 500, is a healthcare services and information technology company dedicated to making the business of healthcare run better. We partner with payers, hospitals, physician offices, pharmacies, pharmaceutical companies and others across the spectrum of care to build healthier organizations that deliver better care to patients in every setting. McKesson helps its customers improve their financial, operational, and clinical performance with solutions that include pharmaceutical and medical-surgical supply management, healthcare information technology, and business and clinical services. For more information, visit http://www.mckesson.com.


[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]