Will My IHS Pharmacy Have to offer mail-order services?
Last month you read about how using the VA Consolidated Mail Outpatient Pharmacy (CMOP) for mail-order prescription services in IHS may affect pharmacy staff size. From what we learned during our interview with CAPT Pam Schweitzer, IHS-VA National CMOP Coordinator, the plan is for most sites to stay at the same staff size or to even increase. We asked you what you thought in our poll, and 70% thought that it wouldn’t increase.
Phoenix Indian Medical Center staff visiting the VA CMOP Leavenworth
Another frequently asked question about the program is “Will my pharmacy HAVE to offer mail-order services & use CMOP?” We discussed this with CAPT Schweitzer, and she took the time to address some of thse important and valid concerns:
Q: Will IHS require every site to get on board with CMOP?
Q: Will the tribes have an opportunity to get on board with CMOP?
Ken Siehr, National CMOP Director snapped this photo of the staff when he stopped by Phoenix Indian Medical Center
Q: Which IHS sites are already implementing CMOP services?
IHS Pharmacy Directors: Pharmacy staff to decrease with CMOP implementation?
I promised you an update on concerns about IHS pharmacies starting to offer central fill mail-order prescription refills through the Veteran’s Affairs Consolidated Mail Outpatient Pharmacy (CMOP) in Leavenworth, KS.
Some concerns I heard from IHS/tribal pharmacy directors were: How would mailing prescriptions impact the current pharmacy staff? Will mailing prescriptions really be in the interest of patient care, and will every site be required to provide mail service? What about tribal pharmacies-can they get involved? Click here to find out the answers
I spoke to CAPT Pam Schweitzer, IHS-VA National CMOP Coordinator, to ask her these and other common questions about IHS mailing prescriptions and using the VA CMOP.
Read on to find out answers to some FAQs about the program and how the goals above will be met:
Q: Is pharmacy staff expected to increase, decrease, or stay the same?
A: The IHS sites where CMOP has been implemented so far have kept their pharmacy staff, and in some cases have increased pharmacy staff. These sites are fortunate to have good CEO support of the pharmacy department. The pharmacists will be able to spend more time reviewing a patient’s records when processing refills, performing medication reconciliation, and/or fulfilling Improving Patient Care (IPC) objectives that allow pharmacists more time to do clinical work.
Q. Wouldn’t mail-order services be worse off for patient care because the patients don’t get as frequent personal interaction, and our work may become less clinical?
A: Mailing prescriptions can increase patient compliance, especially for patients who live in remote areas and may have transportation barriers that prevent access to the pharmacy. Studies have shown that mailing prescriptions can increase patient adherence. Yet if a patient chooses to go to your pharmacy to pick up medications instead, he/she can still choose to do so. The pharmacists’ time will likely be freed up to provide more clinical services for patients, because pharmacists won’t need to be involved with filling nor verifying the prescriptions.
Q: What are the less known features of VA CMOP that will be beneficial to patient care?
A: 
Patients can be provided with a 30-day supply of medications at each fill, increasing the possibility for billing and reimbursement for drug costs (especially if a site is currently dispensing 90 day supplies).
Patients are able to request their medication early (before the next fill is due) using a new feature in RPMS called Suspense.
Example: patient picked up medication today. He/she can request refill right now for their next fill.
Q: How will staff pharmacists’ & pharmacy technicians’ roles change due to CMOP implementation?
Staff pharmacists will still be involved with processing the refill prescriptions and will likely have more time to review the patient’s electronic record and manage medication therapy.
The pharmacy technicians’ workload of filling prescriptions will decrease, allowing more time for monitoring point-of-sale billing and inventory management. One additional duty the technicians have with CMOP is answering the phone and looking up tracking information if the patient didn’t receive their medication.
Stay tuned in a future issue to find out the rest of the answers to FAQs like whether every site will be required to use VA CMOP and what may be in store for tribal facilities. You’ll also see how CMOP would work if integrated with your pharmacy services.
Expecting pharmacy staffing needs in your IHS/tribal pharmacy? Not looking for just a warm body? Get options – select IHS-experienced pharmacists for your pharmacy
Temporary IHS Pharmacy Jobs – Indian Health Service – Selecting Travel Assignments
If your career path has crossed working with the Indian Health Service at some point in time, whether as a pharmacist or student completing a rotation, chances are that you will work with the IHS at another point in your career in some capacity down the road.
For pharmacists who are waiting for their Commissioned Corps call to active duty right now, an option available to you is working temporary pharmacist assignments through a pharmacist staffing agency that offers Indian Health Service assignments. This allows you to work in the IHS setting without losing out on experience and pay, while waiting for your paperwork to come through.
If you are recently retired from the Indian Health Service and wanting to do some relief work, travel assignments can be a great way for you to stay connected with the IHS, make money to supplement your retirement, and work when you want to.
If you are currently working for a relief agency and working in the IHS setting, but want to have more desirable work environments and locations to choose from, do research on how you can get the opportunity to do IHS assignments in desirable settings.
If you have worked for the Indian Health Service at some point in time, whether as a pharmacist or had exposure as a JRCOSTEP or during a rotation, doing contract pharmacist work in between jobs or as a career can be options to consider. One IHS-experienced pharmacist Read more