Vim & Vigor - Winter 2016 - Community Healthcare - 5

Residents who visit the pharmacies of
Community Healthcare System can benefit from a variety of services including:
3 Automated telephone refills
3 E-prescriptions
3 Financial assistance programs
3 Low-cost prescriptions and vaccines
3 Mail delivery and local pickup
3 One-on-one medication education
and consultation
3 Prescriptions filled efficiently using
state-of-the-art technology

only able to make sure they receive their
medications, but can ensure they understand what they are taking and explain
the importance of taking the correct
dosages before they leave the hospital."
The Concierge Prescription Service
program is not only convenient for
patients, but it also serves to reinforce
what patients need to do to recover
and stay healthy so they do not need
another hospitalization.
"We found that filling prescriptions
before a patient leaves the hospital
helps to reduce readmissions," says
Koula Tsahas, director of Pharmacy
at St. Catherine Hospital. Patient

satisfaction in the area of discharge
instructions on the hospitals' surveys
changed from 60 percent before the
program was piloted to 77.8 percent
after it began.
This program has been so well-received
at St. Catherine Hospital that the outpatient retail pharmacy is currently undergoing a construction project to increase
space in the Professional Office Building
and expand services to the public. When
the project is completed in early 2017,
the pharmacy will offer:
* Medication therapy management
* Vaccinations against flu, pneumonia
and shingles
* Private consultation space
* A larger waiting lounge
"We are proud of how fast we have
grown; we believe it is due to our commitment to provide quality comprehensive service to our patients," Tsahas
says. "We treat our patients as longtime
family members. We work side by side
with patients and their healthcare providers to ensure they are on appropriate
medication. As advocates, we help our
patients with all their medication needs
so that they can rest and feel better."

With so many different insurance
plans, staff members also help to take
the guessing game out of treatment
options. "We get to know their needs,
their providers and their insurance, so
there is no delay in getting their meds,"
Tsahas says.
Barbara Lee has been a loyal
customer of the retail pharmacy at
St. Catherine Hospital since February
2015, when she was hospitalized with
breathing difficulties.
"The service is great," Lee says,
expressing appreciation for being able
to buy her regular medication at low,
affordable prices. "The staff is kind and
helpful. It's the best pharmacy ever.
I go nowhere else." ■

WEBSITE

At Your Service
To find out more about Pharmacy
Services at the hospitals of
Community Healthcare System,
visit www.comhs.org.

SPECIALTY CARE FOR
CHRONIC ILLNESS
The Community Surgery Center Specialty Pharmacy at Community Hospital provides
specialty pharmaceuticals to patients living with acute and chronic illnesses.
Only a small percentage of pharmacies across the nation are specialty pharmacies,
meaning they provide medicines, monitoring and support for patients with chronic
diseases that require more costly, complex medications, or injectable or biologic products. (Examples of such diseases include rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis and
cancer.) Given the complexities of these drugs and the high costs, patients are often
directed by their health plans to have these prescriptions filled by specialty pharmacies
outside the community.
"Now that Community Hospital's retail pharmacy has specialty pharmacy capabilities, chronically ill patients have local access to the specialized medications they need,
as well as the ability to speak-in person-to a pharmacist 24 hours a day, seven days a
week," Specialty Staff Pharmacist Richard DeVience says. "We get to know our patients
on a one-on-one basis."
The Community Surgery Center Specialty Pharmacy is now accepting new and
transfer prescriptions. Call 219-836-2480.

W INT E R 2 01 6

http://www.comhs.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Winter 2016 - Community Healthcare