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With the rapidly aging population, it is more critical than ever to have the pharmaceutical care needs of seniors appropriately met. Fortunately, with advances in medical science, providers and caregivers can be more responsive to those needs of our seniors. When we focus our services for the seniors in our country, we need to ease the complexities that the caregiver must endure by helping with the facilitation of proper treatment. These complexities involve medication organization, dosage confirmation, proper scheduling, and prescription drug acquisition. For a senior living community full of seniors, or a group home, which would be a better pharmacy option, a Long-term Care also known as an LTC Pharmacy or a Retail Pharmacy?
LTC Pharmacy A LTC pharmacy is a business of pharmaceutical specialization that is specifically designed to support individuals or seniors living in a long-term care community, such as am adult family care home, assisted living facility, group home, nursing home or other senior living home. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act in 2010, skilled nursing communities have seen an economic boom. This boom in conjunction with the increasing population of seniors from the Baby Boomers generation, drives the unique need for long-term pharmaceutical care. Villa Medical Health Solutions, LLC offers services such as patient status monitoring, drug regime reviews, nutritional support offers, on-site clinics, medication packaging options, caregiver and patient education, 24/7 staff support access, emergency prescriptions, and more. These services can help relieve the burden on staff, nurses, doctors, and caregivers. When the pressure is lightened on the staff, it allows the community resources to be used for other pressing tasks. As opposed to just filling prescriptions, a LTC pharmacy follows and care for patients every step of the way. Retail Pharmacy? What are the differences between an LTC pharmacy and a retail pharmacy? The definition of a retail pharmacy is a pharmacy acting as a retail store, selling drugs to patients. In the past, most senior living communities utilized retail pharmacies. This also meant that a community employee or caregiver generally had to physically visit the pharmacy to pick up resident’s medications. However, a senior living community’s medication demands could sometimes be in large quantities putting a lot of stress on the individuals at the communities. The issue with volume requests is that retail pharmacies may not be able to complete orders until a new delivery. If you are a senior with a life-threatening condition or serious infection, every hour counts. Retail pharmacies were used as “community” pharmacies for the mere fact that they were located all over the community for ease of access. Choosing the Right Pharmacy There are various areas to evaluate when choosing a new health care partner. These factors include the number of residents, turn-around time on prescription availability, costs of scaling and establishing operations, and other areas of consideration. If you are looking for a healthcare partner for a senior living community, a LTC pharmacy is usually the right choice. LTC pharmacies help with the transition period and are mindful of patient’s needs. Making the transition from a retail pharmacy to a long-term care pharmacy can be a big step, but for most senior living communities, it is the right step. Comments are closed.
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