At IWP, our Pharmacy is staffed with a group of dedicated professional Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians with a variety of experience and training. Commonly referred to as the heart and soul of IWP, our Pharmacy team makes it their mission to put the health and safety of IWP patients above all else.
To celebrate American Pharmacists Month, we’ve broken down some of the safety-specific measures our Pharmacists and Pharmacy Technicians complete on a daily basis to put patient health and safety first.
Four-Point Quality Check
At IWP, our pharmacists protect patients by identifying and preventing medication-related problems with our Four-Point Quality Check.
This process checks each prescription four times before it is shipped directly to the injured worker. Pharmacy technicians and Pharmacists check each individual’s prescription for accuracy, appropriate dosage, and any potential drug interactions before it is sent out the door.
Daily PDMP Reporting
Another way that our Pharmacy team keeps IWP patients safe is through daily Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP) reporting. PDMPs are electronic databases that track the prescribing and dispensing of all controlled substances.
As a licensed pharmacy in all 50 states, IWP is responsible for reporting the dispensing of all controlled substances to all active state PDMPs. IWP goes above and beyond by reporting to these PDMPs every single day, which is more frequently than the weekly to monthly reporting required by law.
Opioid and MME Monitoring
At the center of the opioid epidemic are patients who are being prescribed opioids to treat their pain. IWP Pharmacists proactively reach out to providers whose patients are prescribed a high Morphine Milligram Equivalent (MME) to determine if the provider is using caution when prescribing opioids. Our pharmacy team also consults with the provider to make sure that the patient is being properly monitored and discusses potential tapering opportunities. This consultation also allows patients to have access to more effective pain management, reduce misuse, unwanted side effects, and overdose
Our goal is to protect patient safety at all costs while still advocating for the patients’ medication needs. As a resource for everyone involved in a workers’ compensation claim, IWP often releases important information regarding opioid-related updates or legislation, like our white paper The War on Opioids or our blog on co-prescribing Naloxone.
Clinical Counseling and Medication Management
In addition to the actions mentioned above, our pharmacy team also works with our patients to provide clinical counseling and medication management. Pharmacists will work with our patients to counsel them on things like potential side effects, dosage, outcomes, and general medication-related information. Both services are critical to patients as they help them feel more at ease knowing that their pharmacy truly cares about their well-being and recovery.
We are so proud of each member of our extraordinary pharmacy team and their daily dedication and commitment to patient safety and care.