Pharmacy Star Community Care Rx Awarded “Most Earned” in EQUIPP

Community Care Rx in Malvern, AR recently won a "Most Earned" APCI pharmacy star award for their use of EQUIPP for 2024.  Shelyn Davis, PharmD, Owner, and Samantha Pennington, PharmD, Pharmacist Manager of Community Care Rx share how they achieved "Most Earned" status by taking advantage of the Enhanced Services opportunities in EQUIPP. 

Host Brittany Boyd, Associate Director of Pharmacy Training and Support at PQS by Innovaccer asks Shelyn Davis about the pharmacy's overall success and digs in with Samantha Pennington on how they incorporated EQUIPP into the pharmacy's workflow.

Chapters

• 1:23 Introduction
• 3:18 Community Care Rx Owner Shelyn Davis
• 7:28 Pharmacy Manager Samantha Pennington
• 8:13 EQUIPP and Workflow
• 10:28 Steps for Patient Engagement
• 13:51 Engagement Check Ins
• 18:37 Advice to Pharmacists
• 21:54 Closing

Transcript

00:00:00:20 - 00:00:19:20

Samantha Pennington

So for the Lamp program and those where we targeted them with through our med sync program as well. So as soon as I got that list, I put them on that and did the quarterly reviews and, um just was able to manage them that way. For the blood pressure program, I created, a facility in our, we use Pioneer.

00:00:19:20 - 00:00:38:19

Samantha Pennington

And so I created it within Pioneer. And then our technician added all the different patients that needed their blood pressure taken into that facility. And then I added it on our labels so that whenever we checked people out, they would see, the cashier would see on the label, it would say blood pressure. And so they would know to go get the pharmacist.

00:00:38:19 - 00:00:48:02

Samantha Pennington

And I trained all of our pharmacists to go over there and to talk with them about their blood pressure and kind of use the talking points that were given to us on EQUIPP for that program.

00:00:48:02 - 00:00:55:00

Samantha Pennington

And we had a lot of success for people. And we would just say, hey, if you don't mind, you, can you come in for a second and we'll take your blood pressure?

00:00:55:00 - 00:01:13:18

Samantha Pennington

And then we had a lot of people who would return and want us to kind of check it out, maybe a month later if it was high. So it really helped, with our clinical services because they realize we're more than just dispensing, we're doing these clinical things as well. And so that really was a very successful program.

00:01:14:04 - 00:01:18:02

Voice Over

Welcome to the Pharmacy Quality Solutions Quality Corner Show,

00:01:18:18 - 00:01:23:22

Voice Over

Buckle up and put your thinking cap on. The Quality Corner Show starts now.

00:01:24:23 - 00:01:44:17

Brittany Boyd

Hello and welcome to a special edition of the Quality Corner podcast show. Today, I will be your host, Brittany Voit, associate director of pharmacy training and support. On today's episode of the Quality Corner Show, I have the privilege of interviewing Shelyn Davis, owner and pharmacist at Community Care Pharmacy located in Malvern, Arkansas.

00:01:44:17 - 00:01:54:24

Brittany Boyd

The performance of Community Care's Pharmacy in 2024 calendar year has identified them as the most earned pharmacy within APCI under our new Pharmacy Stars program.

00:01:55:01 - 00:01:57:06

Brittany Boyd

Shelyn, we welcome you to the show.

00:01:57:14 - 00:01:58:23

Shelyn Davis

Thank you very much.

00:01:59:05 - 00:01:59:24

Brittany Boyd

Yes,

00:01:59:24 - 00:02:23:11

Brittany Boyd

we're well, very happy to have you before our Quality Corner Show listeners that are wondering, what's the pharmacy star? Well, I'm happy to announce that the Pharmacy Stars program is a new recognition program. We are here now to recognize the outstanding achievements of our community pharmacy partners. PQS by Innovaccer would like to celebrate the efforts of our end users, as they leverage the EQUIPP platform to best influence our actions in the pharmacy.

00:02:23:13 - 00:02:49:01

Brittany Boyd

We will spend today's episode time getting familiar with Shelyn and the Community Care Pharmacy ahead of the APCI convention, where they will be receiving their award that will be physically presented. So you're probably listening to this after the ceremony has already occurred. But again, please join me in congratulating Community Care Pharmacy for their efforts and their engagement with opportunities in 2024 that provided some additional revenue streams through EQUIPP into their pharmacy. So Shelyn,

00:02:49:01 - 00:02:51:14

Brittany Boyd

How does it feel to receive this award from EQUIPP?

00:02:52:01 - 00:03:03:17

Shelyn Davis

Oh, it's just it's amazing. I have no idea. I mean, I knew we I felt like we did pretty well, but you know, there's lots of pharmacies out there. So yes, I'm very proud.

00:03:04:06 - 00:03:19:13

Brittany Boyd

Yes. And we are very proud of you as well. So very honored to be able to give you the first of its kind award. This is the first time that we're doing this, as I mentioned. So really excited to be able to present you all with this. So listeners, again, we are going to take this time today to learn more about Community Care's pharmacy.

00:03:19:14 - 00:03:32:07

Brittany Boyd

So we're going to jump right in here, Shelyn. And I'm interested to know on average, how many patients do you and your pharmacy staff engage with on a weekly basis. And how many staff members make up Community Care Pharmacy.

00:03:32:22 - 00:03:55:23

Shelyn Davis

Ooh. We have 23, employees. We, I don't really know how many patients we see per week. We do over 1000 prescriptions on Mondays and Tuesdays. And the rest of the week, it's getting on up there. But,

00:03:56:19 - 00:04:01:00

Shelyn Davis

I feel like we fill a lot of prescriptions, that's for sure.

00:04:01:00 - 00:04:11:05

Brittany Boyd

Absolutely. And so, as you mentioned, the being the owner there of the pharmacy, how long has Community Care Pharmacy been open and how long have you been an independent pharmacist?

00:04:11:19 - 00:04:40:20

Shelyn Davis

Well, I started off as an independent pharmacist back when I graduated in 1990. Me and my mother opened a pharmacy. We, sold to Fred's in 2005, and then I worked as their P.I.C. up until, they closed in 2018. At that point, I was born and raised in this town, and I had a following. So when they closed, I did not want to go to Walgreens.

00:04:40:21 - 00:05:07:09

Shelyn Davis

I just wanted to open my own store. And so we opened up and, within a month, we were filling prescriptions. Lots of times I didn't have the contract yet, but we kind of did a cash basis only. And then in 2020, we opened up in our new location, and we've just done nothing ever since but grow.

00:05:07:09 - 00:05:11:04

Shelyn Davis

I mean, every month there's been growth. And,

00:05:11:04 - 00:05:30:24

Shelyn Davis

I think, my, my employees, of course, you know, I started off with six that I brought with me from Fred's and, we just we just hunkered down and tried to take care of our people. You know, it's. There is a small town, feel here. I know people.

00:05:30:24 - 00:05:46:03

Shelyn Davis

They know me. When Fred's was Fred's, it should have been Fred’s/Shelyn's, because they knew who they were getting. And I work a lot of hours and I like taking care of people.

00:05:46:03 - 00:05:53:23

Shelyn Davis

And EQUIPP is the platform that just makes sure that we get all our patients taken care of in all aspects.

00:05:54:17 - 00:06:10:22

Brittany Boyd

Thank you for that, Shelyn. And so as you mentioned, utilizing EQUIPP and the pharmacy staff that you have there that helps you work through that, you have 23 members, which is impressive. And the number of patients you guys engage with. So I love that you're there doing that for your community. And you've been raising through that.

00:06:10:24 - 00:06:23:19

Brittany Boyd

Is there, I know that you said you have a staff member, Samantha, your clinical pharmacist, that, is working. They really kind of optimize, how you all were able to earn more. So we'd love to have a chance to chat with Samantha for a bit.

00:06:23:24 - 00:06:42:05

Shelyn Davis

Yeah. So let me give you a little preface on her. So, she was my pharmacy student. Actually, she goes to church with me, and I was her children's chapel teacher back when she was three and four years old. But she, she wanted to go to pharmacy school. I got her a job at Fred's. Of course.

00:06:42:05 - 00:06:59:15

Shelyn Davis

Then she moved to, Community Care with me, and, she graduated in 2020, and I knew I was just waiting. I really feel like I could have grown more in 2019, but I was just waiting on her to graduate, and,

00:06:59:15 - 00:07:04:19

Shelyn Davis

she started EQUIPP back then, and she's never stopped with it.

00:07:04:21 - 00:07:25:18

Shelyn Davis

Well, Samantha is our quality champion of Community Care. She wants our patients to have, the best care that we can give them. We're actually making sure I feel like that the doctors are doing that. But, yeah, she's our quality

00:07:25:18 - 00:07:28:01

Shelyn Davis

care champion for sure.

00:07:28:09 - 00:07:46:12

Brittany Boyd

Samantha Pennington, thank you for joining us today on this special edition of the Quality Corner Show. We've had a chance to learn a little bit about you and your background as a clinical pharmacist. There at Community Care. On behalf of Shelyn, so really thankful for your efforts and really excited to award Community Care Pharmacy for being the most earned.

00:07:46:14 - 00:08:05:06

Brittany Boyd

Because you all were, working with your patients so closely in 2024 with those gap closure opportunities. And so, one wanted to kind of ask you, you know, how is it been with utilizing EQUIPP for you hit the store level? We hear often from pharmacies how challenging it can be, with the other competing priorities you may have.

00:08:05:10 - 00:08:14:01

Brittany Boyd

So I want to know, how that code goes into your workflow. And then also wanting to know why it's important for you all to utilize, EQUIPP.

00:08:14:11 - 00:08:31:19

Samantha Pennington

Yeah. So I think something that really helped us, with increasing our EQUIPP numbers was, implementing med sync. So we started that. I think May of last year, and that helped a lot. And the patients that I targeted at first were our outliers in EQUIPP. And so,

00:08:31:23 - 00:08:34:02

Samantha Pennington

I went to EQUIPP and looked at patients.,

00:08:34:02 - 00:08:48:20

Samantha Pennington

downloaded that list, then kind of compiled who was our outliers and all the different categories and then made a category in our computer system and that’s who we targeted at first to enroll into our Med Sync program.

00:08:49:00 - 00:08:55:03

Samantha Pennington

And so that helped a lot. Just kind of get these people adherent to their medicines. And then we also

00:08:55:03 - 00:09:15:07

Samantha Pennington

I've always tried to make EQUIPP and Outcomes and all those different, programs a priority. At least weekly going on and checking the numbers, seeing how we're doing. And, just trying to target these patients by like, like putting them in a facility so that I can talk to them about their adherence or any issues that they're having with their medication.

00:09:15:07 - 00:09:41:09

Samantha Pennington

We also, recently, we implemented a, technician whose specific job is to help with, these kind of programs. And so it really helps me, be able to focus more on the clinical aspect and then focus more on the, like a secretarial aspect of it, getting all the lists downloaded and put together for me in an Excel spreadsheet so that I can know who needs what and what I need to focus on.

00:09:41:13 - 00:09:43:06

Samantha Pennington

So that's helped a lot as well.

00:09:43:22 - 00:10:10:17

Brittany Boyd

That is amazing. And really great. To hear that, Samantha, that you guys have, you know, who you, your team members that you know are involved, everybody has their action items, it seems like. And so having that level of actionable insight is going to be really important, to, to drive what you all, do you actually see as a, as a return and so having EQUIPP you know, as a valuable data tool, to you all and it was really impactful in that.

00:10:10:17 - 00:10:29:13

Brittany Boyd

And so you've already shared that you have more than one staff member that's actively kind of working through that. You've shared timely. You guys are doing that weekly, which is really great. So when it comes to the enhanced services opportunities that you all were engaging with in 2024, did you have a tech? Was that same technician assisting you there?

00:10:29:15 - 00:10:36:08

Brittany Boyd

Was it you kind of primarily working through that? And what were the the steps that you were taking to engage with those patients specifically?

00:10:36:14 - 00:10:55:14

Samantha Pennington

So for the Lamp program and those where we targeted them with through our med sync program as well. So as soon as I got that list, I put them on that and did the quarterly reviews and, um just was able to manage them that way. For the blood pressure program, I created, a facility in our, we use Pioneer.

00:10:55:14 - 00:11:14:13

Samantha Pennington

And so I created it within Pioneer. And then our technician added all the different patients that needed their blood pressure taken into that facility. And then I added it on our labels so that whenever we checked people out, they would see, the cashier would see on the label, it would say blood pressure. And so they would know to go get the pharmacist.

00:11:14:13 - 00:11:23:21

Samantha Pennington

And I trained all of our pharmacists to go over there and to talk with them about their blood pressure and kind of use the talking points that were given to us on EQUIPP for that program.

00:11:23:21 - 00:11:30:19

Samantha Pennington

And we had a lot of success for people. And we would just say, hey, if you don't mind, you, can you come in for a second and we'll take your blood pressure?

00:11:30:19 - 00:11:49:12

Samantha Pennington

And then we had a lot of people who would return and want us to kind of check it out, maybe a month later if it was high. So it really helped, with our clinical services because they realize we're more than just dispensing, we're doing these clinical things as well. And so that really was a very successful program.

00:11:50:05 - 00:12:12:08

Brittany Boyd

And it's fantastic to hear Samantha. And that is exactly the level of insight that we want to hear from our pharmacies and you all being the most earn. Very much. So clearly tells that your system, seems to be working fantastic for you all. You would be what we would call a quality champion at EQUIPP, because you are the one that is actively, engaging with the staff to let them know what they should expect.

00:12:12:08 - 00:12:34:18

Brittany Boyd

So that is a clear way to incorporate into workflow, right? You're taking the data from out of EQUIPP. You all are using the resources that's been provided to you by knowing, hey, let's have a quick conversation about it. But taking it a step further by utilizing Pioneer, and making sure that that note is available to that patient of, hey, they could use of blood pressure readings and make sure that you know your staff, everyone is well informed of like what to do, right?

00:12:34:18 - 00:12:55:08

Brittany Boyd

You don't see a piece of information and someone else does not have that. So it's really exciting to hear and to know, now, because you all were able to take these steps, you were able to see, a financial return, based on that level of engagement there with EQUIPP. So, are you all looking forward to the new financial opportunities that are going to come this year?

00:12:55:08 - 00:13:02:14

Brittany Boyd

And do you have any new goals that you want to achieve? In 2025 with the Enhance Services opportunities through EQUIPP.

00:13:02:21 - 00:13:26:22

Samantha Pennington

Definitely looking forward to any opportunities. I've actually been logging in looking to see because I don't know whenever they're going to show. And so since the beginning of the year, I've been looking to see like what we qualify for if we get any Enhanced Services opportunities. So definitely looking forward to it and just seeing what I can do. I really enjoy kind of the challenge of how to implement these things and, put it into our workflow and make it a priority.

00:13:27:01 - 00:13:37:02

Samantha Pennington

So I'm excited to see what else will qualify for and be able to do. It's really been fun to be a part of both the LAMP program and the blood pressure program as well.

00:13:37:10 - 00:13:54:22

Brittany Boyd

That is amazing. And like you mentioned earlier, right, this is a clinical service opportunity. You're doing more than just dispensing for your program, for the programs and for your patients there in the pharmacy. So how did your patients, you know, how did they respond to, you know, taking an extra few minutes to get a blood pressure reading done?

00:13:54:22 - 00:14:04:21

Brittany Boyd

Or how did they feel about, you know, the check ins that you all were doing quarterly for the program? What was their response to that level of care you all were providing to them through the program opportunities?

00:14:05:05 - 00:14:28:10

Samantha Pennington

They really appreciated it. We had an excellent response to both of the programs. Like I mentioned, with the blood pressure, it was really a good opportunity for us to show that we were more than just dispensing pharmacy and we recently implemented Test and Treat in our pharmacy as well. And so those kind of went hand in hand with showing our value in outside of just dispensing.

00:14:28:12 - 00:14:36:23

Samantha Pennington

And so that that really helped with that aspect of it. So it was very well received by everybody.

00:14:36:23 - 00:14:48:17

Samantha Pennington

And a lot of the people, like I mentioned, had come in and wanted us to if it was high, check it again or to send the result to their doctor or to, just be a part of their health plan overall.

00:14:49:06 - 00:15:09:12

Brittany Boyd

That's amazing. So when we think about that level of engagement and like you mentioned, they're willing to return and have that, have that interaction with you already. Again, because you've already had it with them already once. Shelyn had led into this a little bit that you guys, you know, see about a film, about a thousand prescriptions on Mondays and, you know, it increases as the week goes on.

00:15:09:12 - 00:15:35:07

Brittany Boyd

So that means you guys are a very busy staff. You have, you know, but you have the staff to help support that. And it may be shorthanded where it gets pretty busy in the pharmacy. So from a time perspective, Samantha, if you could estimate, you know, what's kind of the time for a patient journey or the EQUIPP journey itself, like how much time would it really take for a staff member to document the engagement into EQUIPP and actually complete the clinical service there in the pharmacy?

00:15:35:07 - 00:15:40:09

Brittany Boyd

If you if you could estimate, a time to that, what do you think that would take you?

00:15:40:24 - 00:16:03:05

Samantha Pennington

It's very easy to do to document. I think the hardest part is like getting that data to a place where you can utilize it. So once you have the data, documenting it takes like minutes. I mean, very, very easy to do. Now compiling the data may be like 30 minutes a week or, yeah, 30 minutes a week or so.

00:16:03:07 - 00:16:20:08

Samantha Pennington

I try to log in and look at that. And honestly, since they're broken into like quarters, you can look at the different quarters or you can look at the yearly, outlook, you know, even just, you know, something doesn't change within the quarter. You just have that data within that specific quarter. So you don't even have to look at it weekly.

00:16:20:08 - 00:16:32:03

Samantha Pennington

But that's about how long it takes. If you really want to try to make sure you engage with the patient, it's in an overall, it's super easy. Once you log in and have that data to put it into EQUIPP as well.

00:16:32:12 - 00:16:52:01

Brittany Boyd

Awesome. And that's really great insight to have it. It's not taking you out of workflow, you know, for too long or too much where it would interrupt, you know, the standard dispensing, dispensing practices that you would be conducting in the pharmacy. So that's really exciting. So, you know, I want to ask you and then I would also want to kind of Shelyn as well.

00:16:52:05 - 00:17:05:20

Brittany Boyd

But I'll ask you the question first. You know, as the, the most earned pharmacy star, what is one piece of advice you could give to a pharmacy that's looking to increase, their revenue potential through Enhanced Services within EQUIPP in 2025?

00:17:06:08 - 00:17:30:12

Samantha Pennington

I think that it seems intimidating, but it's not. You just have to do it and you just have to start somewhere. So just starting and figuring out what works best for your pharmacy workflow wise, employee wise, luckily we have, enough employees that I can have some, a technician who helps me a little bit, but just starting somewhere and just figuring out what works for you, and it's really easy to do.

00:17:30:12 - 00:17:33:16

Samantha Pennington

Just don't be intimidated by it. You just have to start it.

00:17:33:16 - 00:17:35:02

Brittany Boyd

That's right.

00:17:35:04 - 00:17:54:12

Brittany Boyd

That's really great insight to have, Samantha. And before you segway back to Shelyn, and I want to let you know that the Enhanced Services opportunities are set to return in the second week of April. So continue to check in every week. Don't stop with the process. Clearly, it's been, you know, it's works for you all of making sure that you're tracking that and still engaging with the data.

00:17:54:14 - 00:18:10:23

Brittany Boyd

So you'll continue to see rolling six month updates. The true year to date data will update with the May EQUIPP refresh but Enhanced Services opportunities to engage with should start back and EQUIPP within the second week of April. So really looking forward to premiering those opportunities back for you in the pharmacy.

00:18:11:00 - 00:18:14:15

Samantha Pennington

Yeah I'm excited. I'll be checking it in as soon as I can.

00:18:14:18 - 00:18:16:16

Brittany Boyd

Yeah, we love that.

00:18:16:16 - 00:18:37:22

Brittany Boyd

All right, Shelyn, welcome back. So Samantha gave us some really awesome insights to how you all are operating with the gap closure programs there at Community Care Pharmacy. And again, I just want to say how proud I am, of what the success has been that you all have been able to instill and the level of care you are providing to the patients that are there in your community.

00:18:37:24 - 00:18:55:06

Brittany Boyd

So, again, as the most earned pharmacy star, I want to know from you if there is any advice that you want to provide to, any of your other fellow pharmacy owners, pharmacists that are out there that are looking to increase their revenue potential, through Enhanced Services through EQUIPP in 2025.

00:18:56:04 - 00:19:34:23

Shelyn Davis

I think just having the attitude of this is what we're going to get done is, I don't know, three fourths of the battle, that we are going to do it, that we are already doing it. So why not get paid for it? I mean, independents out there are giving great care, so just go ahead and go the extra little step and get it in the, in the, in the works and get somebody that has passion for it like Samantha has passion for it.

00:19:35:18 - 00:20:05:06

Shelyn Davis

We with all of my employees, I try to find what they do well and let them do it. And, I've had one girl with me for 20 some odd years, and she's a wonderful, with the paperwork and, and, you know, and I have her as my inventory specialist, and, but Samantha has, you know, a love for the clinical side of pharmacy.

00:20:05:06 - 00:20:17:08

Shelyn Davis

And so, you know, I just open the door and I'll let her have as much reign as she wants with it. And, and I think that is one of the,

00:20:17:08 - 00:20:33:12

Shelyn Davis

I think, I mean, if I'm successful, then that's the what the reason I would say I am is because I have my employees are trying to find what they are good at and let them be good at it.

00:20:33:14 - 00:20:35:06

Shelyn Davis

And, and then

00:20:35:06 - 00:20:37:16

Shelyn Davis

we'd all treat ourselves like a pharm..

00:20:37:16 - 00:21:01:08

Shelyn Davis

and a family. We treat ourselves like a family. And so we we've nicknamed it pharmaly . And, P H A R M A L Y. I'm sure somebody else has that, too. But, I started the pharmacy with, the little pharmacy with a big heart. We still go by that. I don't feel like we're so little anymore.

00:21:01:08 - 00:21:47:20

Shelyn Davis

But, you know, I'm. I'm going to keep that little slogan for as long as I can, you know, we do love our patients, and I know there are everybody at this APCI convention or wherever they love their patients to. And but getting paid for the services is just, one of the, things that we can really work on and make that a goal of 2025 is to really get paid for those services so that when you go give Mr. Smith a hug, you know that you love him, but you're also

00:21:47:20 - 00:21:54:04

Shelyn Davis

when you lost that $0.23 on his Warfarin, that you're actually getting something.

00:21:54:11 - 00:22:20:15

Brittany Boyd

That is amazing and really, really great insight to have Shelyn. I will do my due diligence in making sure that I introduce you as the pharmacy with the little pharmacy with the big heart, because I love that slogan and I love that you all have a pharmaly. I think that is truly insightful and amazing. I do not disagree with you that that level of connectivity, and just compassion that you can have for your patients really does go the extra mile.

00:22:20:15 - 00:22:38:12

Brittany Boyd

And to echo your earlier points, you are correct. You guys are already doing this work. You are already seen as, reliable, you know, clinicians there in your community. So why not get paid for it? And we want to empower you all with this opportunity. So kudos to you all for your efforts. There.

00:22:38:23 - 00:23:00:07

Brittany Boyd

Well, Shelyn. It sounds like you have, really instilled, a really great foundation with your pharmaly at Community Care. And I love the big heart that you guys have. And you giving that back not only to your staff, but to the patients in your community. So again, on behalf of PQS by Innoavccer, congratulations on being the first, most earned pharmacy in EQUIPP.

00:23:00:07 - 00:23:20:09

Brittany Boyd

And really excited to see you at APC Iand give this award to you on behalf of your pharmacy so you could take it back to Arkansas. And again, just thank you for joining on. So to our Quality Corner Show listeners, thank you guys for joining us for this special episode today. And again, join me in congratulating Charlotte in the Community Care pharmacy staff.

00:23:20:11 - 00:23:22:08

Brittany Boyd

We'll catch you guys next time.

00:23:22:08 - 00:23:26:17

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