Last updated on January 24th, 2018
Kroger and AssureCare, a privately held healthcare technology company, have achieved Level III capability from Community Care of North Carolina (CCNC) for their “Pharmacist eCare Plan” initiative. Using AssureCare’s MedCompass solution, Kroger pharmacies in North Carolina can share care plans electronically, support care coordination and actively participate with CCNC and its patient-centered medical home and care-management activities.
“This Level III capability allows Kroger pharmacies to transmit patient active medication lists, drug therapy problems, gaps in care, interventions and patient-centered goals,” said Colleen Lindholz, president of Kroger Pharmacy and The Little Clinic. “By using AssureCare, our pharmacists have a much broader, real-time view of the patient’s care plan, and consequently, they have the tools to go ‘beyond the fill,’ improving patient health outcomes, enhancing patient engagement and reducing costs.”
“The Pharmacist eCare Plan is a dynamic plan that contains information on the patient, pharmacist and care team’s concerns and goals related to medication optimization,” said Jim Kirby, senior director of pharmacy services at Kroger. “The care plan may also contain information related to individual health and social risks that may impact care, planned interventions, expected outcomes and referrals to other providers or for additional services e.g., nutrition consultation or diagnostic laboratory studies.”
Kroger’s community pharmacists also can use AssureCare’s technology platform to identify what interventions or services a patient needs and drive patient services like medication reconciliation, adherence monitoring and medication synchronization, immunizations, Medicare plan reviews, patient engagement, communication to the electronic health record to other healthcare providers, and billing for enhanced services.
“Reaching Level III is an important milestone. AssureCare is an innovator, and their technology allows Kroger pharmacies to now communicate with commercial health plans, government sponsored health programs, hospitals, physician practices, Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) quality assurance organizations, Risk Bearing Entities (RBEs) and other care team members in a way that gives depth and context to their pharmacy’s activities,” said Troy Trygstad, VP, pharmacy programs at CCNC. “This is an important step towards pharmacies’ meaningful integration with the rest of the healthcare team. Without the Pharmacist eCare Plan, it is difficult for pharmacies to participate in widespread healthcare system payment reform efforts and they risk getting left behind.”
“I commend CCNC and Kroger’s innovative pharmacy leadership for taking a pioneering role in creating this eCare Plan standard which not only exchanges real-time pharmacy related clinical information, but also leverages the depth and breadth of AssureCare’s member-centric technology that helps coordinate the entire ecosystem of a human life,” said Yousuf J. Ahmad, DrPH, MBA, MHSA, FACHE, a healthcare industry veteran and president and CEO of AssureCare. “It allows pharmacists to exchange real-time information with the entire care team of the patient with a keen focus on the triple aim—improving health outcomes, engaging patients and reducing costs.”
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