Have You Put "Toes in the Water" for Your Med Sync Program?
Wondering what the excitement is about, when you have felt disruption, confusion, and frustration every day trying to get your team to implement the medication synchronization (med sync) workflow model? If this is your experience, then know that you are on the right path!
Over the past 15 years, multiple formally recognized studies have been published with results supporting the success of a med sync program within community pharmacy, with frequent references to independently owned community pharmacy.
However, these early studies reference the pharmacist as the staff member most active in the med sync workflow. The quietly stated message in these formal studies is the reference that pharmacy technicians do contribute to the process. In active successful med sync programs, a pharmacy technician coordinates the program itself. Have you identified a technician who could lead this program? Does this technician need learning resources to expand their skill set to do so?
This case study begs the question: Is your pharmacy in the business of dispensing or of patient care? Hopefully, this case study illustrates that med sync is more than scheduling — it is the foundation for full patient care.
During the past five years, numerous articles have been published describing the roles of pharmacy technicians within the workflow of med sync, but they also describe their expanding role within the patient-centric care model. Most of these articles rely on anecdotal information from pharmacies that have active med sync programs and see improved patient outcomes for disease management.
In a prior article, I described the pathways for pharmacy technicians to access learning resources, then participate in an exam and certification process that serves the patient-centric care model. Most importantly, these professional paths provide the pharmacist with a trust in pharmacy team members’ competency and performance.
More Articles by Christine Cline-Dahlman, B.F.A., C.Ph.T.-Adv.
The Editors
Will Lockwood
Let’s take a look at a case study from a community pharmacy where a patient’s need was recognized too late, then review how the role of pharmacy team members could have served this patient in the med sync workflow.
