Prescription home delivery for primary care practices

Why home delivery fits primary care patients after an injury

The injuries you see from work and auto accidents are usually the everyday ones: a back tweaked lifting boxes, whiplash after being rear-ended at a light, a sprained wrist from a slip in a parking lot, a cut that needed a few stitches. They're not dramatic, but they're enough to make driving uncomfortable and a long wait at the pharmacy unpleasant.

What sets primary care apart is context. You know the patient's other conditions and medications, their family situation and whether they have someone to run errands. An older worker who already juggles several prescriptions, a parent with young children at home, a patient whose only car was damaged in the accident — these are the people for whom an extra pharmacy trip is hardest.

Workers' comp and PIP prescriptions can also be confusing for patients who normally use their own insurance. Sending the injury-related prescription to one pharmacy, with medication delivered to the patient's door, can make the situation clearer for them.

• Back strains, whiplash, sprains and minor cuts
• Patients already managing other medications
• Patients whose car was damaged in an accident
• Confusion between personal insurance and a claim

How joining works

Fill out one form, and we send the agreements. Our training team helps install our partner pharmacy in your EMR or e-prescribing system. Then your physicians, NPs and PAs prescribe as usual and choose the partner pharmacy for patients who want delivery.

Primary care practices usually already have a long list of pharmacies saved for patients. The partner pharmacy simply joins that list, and the training team walks your team through finding and selecting it.

Many primary care groups also run walk-in or acute-visit hours where injury visits concentrate. If so, make sure the providers who staff those sessions are part of the setup, since they'll write most of the injury-related prescriptions.

Some practices find it useful to add a short note to their discharge or after-visit summary template reminding staff that delivery is available for injury-related prescriptions.

What changes for your practice — and what doesn't

Your clinicians keep full control. They decide what to prescribe and whether delivery is a good choice for the patient, and the prescribing doctor decides refills.

For staff, the change is small. When a patient says they can't get to a pharmacy, there's another option to offer. A full training department helps install it so it doesn't impact your workflow.

Patients who prefer their usual pharmacy keep using it. Delivery is an option, not a replacement.

• Same prescribing habits
• One more saved pharmacy in your e-prescribing list
• Medication is dispensed by our licensed partner pharmacy
• Medication is delivered to the patient's door

What to have ready

Enrollment asks for the same documents from every practice. For a primary care group with several clinicians, a single list of prescribers and their details keeps things simple.

Name one person — often the practice manager — as the main contact for setup.

If your practice uses a separate standalone e-prescribing tool for some prescriptions, mention that too, so the training team can cover both.

• Practice details
• Each prescriber's licence number and a copy
• Each prescriber's DEA number and a copy
• A W-9
• Your EMR or e-prescribing system

Questions to ask before you join

Ask how the partner pharmacy handles injury-related prescriptions when the patient isn't sure yet whether there's a claim. Ask what patients pay: a $5 dispensing fee applies, and a delivery fee applies, and the patient's adjuster or insurer can say whether a claim covers the medication.

Ask which medications can't be mailed. Some medications, such as Schedule II controlled substances, may not be available by mail — your partner pharmacy will advise.

Ask, too, how setup will fit around a busy clinic day, since primary care schedules rarely have slack.