Always There, Global Rx Care
July 27, 2022
Substantial Sustainable Savings Requires Managing Treatments Not Claims
September 19, 2022
Defragmenting Care in a Global Rx World
Article 1 of 5 Part Series
Always There, Global Rx Care – What are Global Organizations Doing to Prepare?
Forward
Care that crosses borders is inherently fragmented, so the Always There, Rx Care phenomenon only increases the burden. Global pharmacy and medical care integrators and innovators are playing a key role in making sure no patient slips through the cracks. This article highlights some of the challenges that international payors face managing healthcare services across borders and the importance of integrating modern cost optimization strategies with a completely different approach.
New Frontier has engaged with domestic and international Rx industry experts to create a series of 5 Always There, Global Rx Care articles highlighting the importance of driving innovation to the modern global economy to achieve Whole Person Health through Whole System Health.
About the Authors:
All 5 articles in this series were co-authored by 3 influential representatives and experts in the global healthcare industry:
Gitte Bach, President and CEO of New Frontier Group. After gaining extensive experience in international insurance and assistance through her initial years at IHI Denmark, Gitte founded New Frontier Group in 2002. Since its inception 20 years ago, New Frontier Group has been a market disruptor and innovator in the global cost management industry, being a pioneer that provides unparalleled cost management, claims administration, pharmacy solutions, telehealth, and assistance services to their clients worldwide. Gitte is passionate about customer service and innovation and holds a B.A. in Economics from Copenhagen Business School and a B.A. in Languages from Aarhus School of Business.
John Frick, Registered Pharmacist and CEO at Innovative Pharmaceutical Services.John is an industry leader for over 35 years in all aspects of pharmaceutical care. He is an accomplished healthcare professional offering comprehensive knowledge of specialty niche markets relative to the pharmacy and home health care professions, long term care, hospice and beyond. John is focused on projects differentiating themselves from the mediocrities of the industry and is the Chairman of the Board for the New Frontier Group Advisory Board where he assists in developing global Rx strategies focused on superior concierge, expert solutions for the global market.
Johan Porto, Cofounder of PharmCare Services.Prior to co-founding PharmCare Services (PCS), the first International Pharmacy Benefit Manager (iPBM) specialized in the international health insurers industry, Johan managed various specialty pharmacy-related businesses for the private sector. This has been a key element for the PCS global strategic planning and cost-containment initiatives that drive many aspects of the customer engagement and business development strategies provided to its clients.
PCS is the first International Pharmacy Benefit Manager with an extensive national and international network of retail and specialty pharmacies, authorized distributors and manufacturing partners bringing the highest standards in HealthCare and modern customized cost optimization planning to the IPMI and travel industry
Industry Steps Toward Defragmentation Success
As global care becomes more fragmented, innovative cross border pharmacy solutions come into play to ensure that patients don’t slip through the cracks.
Financial, relational, social, and environmental factors can all impact global patients and their available care options. These factors can also account for the success of the patient’s health outcome. It is challenging to obtain and adhere to necessary medications, and no set of complications are the same. Overall, managing a global pharmaceutical case is highly independent and involved, and always comes with its own set of varying circumstances.
Global patients often switch sites of care, which makes it difficult for prescribing physicians to get updates about a patient. It is often unclear who has the responsibility to ensure a patient follows through on their care plan prescribed by their provider. Sometimes it’s the provider’s responsibility, and sometimes it falls to the new site of care to where the patient transitions. This all makes it difficult for providers that are working with global patients. Providers are unable to get a complete picture of a patient’s medical history, and when it comes to medications and pharmacy care, this can lead to patient safety concerns.
In addition, standards and access to specific medications can vary greatly across borders, and expectations can also vary from one location to another. When each provider assumes the other is responsible for patient outreach, it leaves the patient alone to navigate often unknown and complex health care environments.
However, global pharmacy programs with a focus on white glove member service are changing things greatly. There are now dedicated care management teams that get involved at the beginning of medical care, and create processes that ensure they are well positioned to spot patients falling through the cracks. Depending on the complexity of the case, these care management teams may also see prescriptions coming through from multiple providers and may also have more frequent touchpoints with a patient than other providers. For example, patients receiving prescriptions from more than one provider may be prescribed duplicate or conflicting medications. The global pharmacy team in charge of coordinating the dispensing of the patient’s prescriptions may be the only touchpoint with full visibility into the patient’s treatments.
Traditional Rx methods, processes, procedures, and standards used from country to country do not work well in our global economy, so innovative global pharmacy solutions fill the gaps. To promote better outcomes related to medications and care, connecting the dots between payers, providers, and patients will be the most impactful in the near and long term.
Tactics for defragmentation exist in specialized global Rx programs.
First, unique programs exist which intimately create synergistic partnerships needed to defragment the system so the patients get what they need when and where they need it. Proven solutions include a close relationship with the medical providers, so notifications of the patient’s Rx needs happen in real time. Then, specialized global Rx programs are able to match them immediately and fulfill pharmacy needs, no matter how specific. These specialized global Rx programs work with patients and treating providers to understand who the ongoing caregiver will be, what medications are going to be needed and for how long, and where they can fill the script for needed medications. The patient can feel overwhelmed if they are left to fill and appropriately take multiple medications, especially considering not every pharmacy covers every medication or supplies every medication. Successful global Rx solutions match the payer, provider, patient, and pharmacy to quick solutions and makes sure everyone has a clear role.
Second, global patients face challenges in receiving health care, such as language barriers, financial barriers, and logistics barriers. Specialty global Rx programs are available that provide cashless Rx options to patients, and coordinate all logistics, including delivery of medication. For example, if a patient needs something and has no transportation, is unfamiliar with the area, or is quarantined, they need access to the services provided by specialty Rx programs.
Finally, there should be centralized data management to ensure successful communication and management of a person, not an individual claim. A centralized data system can minimize health related side effects that medication interactions can cause. For example, often when a patient leaves the original site of care, they can request medication from another provider without realizing it could interact with an existing medication. This interaction could potentially cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Making data centralization and analysis a priority can stop the worst-case scenario from occurring.
About New Frontier Group’s Global Pharmacy Program
Choosing New Frontier Group for your pharmacy solution provides a global pharmacy concierge program with benefits such as:
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Exclusive medication management with hands on patient care
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Pharmacy solutions combined with medical and telehealth services
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Direct engagement with providers to obtain essential medications at time of service
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No burden of logistics or financial barriers for patients and no out of pocket costs
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Needed medications are shipped to home country and after care is coordinated
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White glove, cross border service is focused on medication adherence
New Frontier Group’s pharmacy solutions is an exclusive medication management program that merges hands-on patient care services with concierge medical services that crosses borders.
Our global pharmacy solution increases patient medication adherence by removing communication gaps, defragmenting the system, and relieving the burden of logistics and financial barriers. Patients do not have to seek out pharmacy services in a foreign place because we handle all of the details for them from point of care to travel home. Our superior concierge solution reduces hospital readmission and ensures there is no out of pocket for members.
Without Always There, Global Rx Care, money and patients can slip through the cracks. New Frontier Group has got your back. Don’t put your patients and money at risk, contact us today.
