Prescription home delivery for spine practices

Why home delivery fits spine patients

Spine injuries in workers' comp and auto cases come in a recognisable range: lumbar strains and disc injuries from lifting and twisting, cervical injuries after rear-end and side-impact collisions, compression fractures from falls, and radiating nerve pain that makes sitting almost impossible. Truck drivers, nurses, warehouse workers and mechanics fill these schedules.

Sitting tolerance is often the limiting factor. A patient who can manage a short walk around the house may not manage a car journey and then a wait on their feet. After an injection, a radiofrequency procedure or a decompression, the instructions usually include rest. After a fusion, they may include no driving for a while and a brace that makes getting in and out of a car awkward.

Spine care also unfolds over months, with medication changes along the way. Delivery means each change reaches the patient without another painful trip.

Spine patients are also among the most likely to be seen by several clinicians at once — a surgeon, a pain physician, a therapist, sometimes a behavioural health provider. When one prescriber chooses a delivery pharmacy, the patient has a single, predictable route for that medication, even while the rest of the plan has many moving parts.

• Limited sitting tolerance from disc and nerve injuries
• Rest instructions after injections and procedures
• Driving restrictions and bracing after fusion
• Long care courses with medication changes

How joining works

The four steps are the same whether you're a solo non-surgical spine physician or a large surgical group: fill out one form; we send the agreements; our training team helps install our partner pharmacy in your EMR or e-prescribing system; and then you prescribe as usual while patients get delivery.

Spine groups often combine surgeons, physiatrists, interventional pain physicians and advanced practice providers. Every prescriber enrolls, and the training team helps make sure each one can find the partner pharmacy in their pharmacy list.

If your surgeons operate at hospitals or surgery centres, let us know which system is used to send discharge prescriptions, so setup covers those as well.

What changes for your team — and what doesn't

Your surgical decisions, interventional protocols and therapy referrals stay entirely your own. Prescribers choose what to prescribe and where to send it, and the prescribing doctor decides refills.

The only change is one more pharmacy saved in e-prescribing. A full training department helps install it so it doesn't impact your workflow. Surgery coordinators can mention delivery at the pre-op visit, so patients aren't planning pharmacy trips while wearing a new brace.

• No change to clinical pathways
• Delivery offered when it helps the patient
• Medication is dispensed by our licensed partner pharmacy
• Medication is delivered to the patient's door

What to have ready

Collect the following for every prescriber. A short roster saves back-and-forth for larger groups.

If your practice uses a separate standalone e-prescribing tool in addition to the EMR, list it. Some spine groups send certain prescriptions through a different tool, and setup should cover every route your prescribers use.

Naming one coordinator — often a practice administrator or lead nurse — gives the training team a single point of contact.

• Practice details and a setup contact
• Licence numbers and copies
• DEA numbers and copies
• A W-9
• Your EMR or e-prescribing system

Questions to ask before you join

Spine prescribing can include controlled substances after surgery, so ask early which medications can be mailed. Some medications, such as Schedule II controlled substances, may not be available by mail — your partner pharmacy will advise.

Ask what patients pay so your coordinators can explain it: a $5 dispensing fee applies, and a delivery fee applies. Whether a claim covers the medication is a question for the patient's adjuster or insurer.

Ask how setup is scheduled so it fits around clinic and operating days.