Media Hub / May 2, 2022
Today, PharMerica launched its Continue Care program to address gaps in care during residents’ transitions from skilled nursing facilities to home. These can be challenging times for residents due to trouble understanding discharge instructions and medication regimens, inadequate follow up and referrals in the community and at home, and lack of attention to social needs, resulting in one in five of people discharged from an acute care setting to be readmitted to a hospital within 30 days.
Continue Care combines PharMerica’s leading pharmacy services with home-based primary care and nurse hub outreach services – offered through BrightSpring Health Services’ family of providers – to provide a safer transition home for medically complex residents, specifically those taking 8 to 12 medications or those with multiple chronic conditions or comorbidities. As these residents prepare for discharge to home, this transitional care management program integrates seamlessly into a facility’s discharge planning process and extends care coordination and management into the home by offering:
“Patients being discharged from nursing facilities typically face a challenging time that is particularly high-risk. They often have little support, with nursing facilities lacking the ability to affect care after they leave,” said Jeremy Colvin, PharMerica’s Senior Vice President, Market Development. “Yet, facilities are responsible for the outcomes of these residents for 30 days post-discharge, and facilities risk financial impact if prior residents return to a hospital. In 2019, the last year for which data is available, 73% of skilled nursing facilities received a penalty for their readmission rates.”
Home-based primary care is associated with a 50% reduction in hospital readmissions and a 20% reduction in emergency room visits, with our home-based primary care driving rehospitalization results at one-third the industry average. Additionally, medication non-adherence is the top risk factor for preventable hospital readmissions, leading to $500 billion in avoidable medical spending annually and 125,000 deaths per year and 40% chronic disease treatment failure.1,2,3 By combining home-based primary care and nurse hub outreach services with pharmacy services that reduce post-discharge complications arising from medications, the Continue Care Program:
“Improved health outcomes and reduced hospitalizations depend on three things – non-clinical support services to address activities of daily living, daily medication optimization, and clinical monitoring and interventions when required, which is what we provide as a combined company through Continue Care,” added Colvin. “This program featuring medication therapy management and in-the-home primary care is the first of its kind to take transitional care management to the next level and help ensure that residents returning home from a skilled nursing facility have the full spectrum of person-centered, hands-on interventions they need to live healthier at home.”
All Continue Care services are provided at no cost to facilities or residents; residents are responsible for their regular copayment based on their pharmacy coverage.
This is the second launch of PharMerica’s Continue Care program, now offered in combination with Primary Care for a unique transitional care management program to skilled nursing facilities, after being first released last year to serve the medication needs of home health patients with the program’s novel medication therapy management approach tailored to people with polypharmacy needs in their homes.
For more information, visit www.PharMerica.com/ContinueCare.
Filed under: Media Hub, Pharmacy Solutions