McKesson Health Mart Expands Clinical Services Strategy with Focus on Chronic Care Management and Pharmacogenomics
核心洞察
Nancy Lyons, chief pharmacy officer at Health Mart (搜索) by McKesson, identifies chronic care management as a key growth area for pharmacies, emphasizing blood pressure screenings, cholesterol monitoring, and A1C (搜索) testing with direct prescriber referrals.
Pharmacogenomics integration represents an emerging frontier for community pharmacies, building on McKesson's cancer care investments through Sarah Cannon Research Institute (搜索) to optimize personalized therapies.
Health Mart (搜索) has trained over 120 community health worker technicians through sponsored scholarship programs and launched healthmart.findhelp.com to connect patients with local social services.
Nancy Lyons, BSPharm, MBA, CDCES, vice president and chief pharmacy officer of Health Mart (搜索) by McKesson, outlined an ambitious expansion strategy for clinical services that positions community pharmacies as frontline healthcare providers addressing chronic disease management, mental health screening, and personalized medicine through pharmacogenomics.
Chronic Care Management Takes Center Stage
Lyons emphasized that chronic care management represents the most significant near-term opportunity for pharmacy expansion, noting that "pharmacists have 30 years of experience in chronic care management, both on the medication side and the patient education and empowerment side." The strategy focuses on implementing comprehensive screening programs for blood pressure, cholesterol, and A1C (搜索) or blood glucose monitoring, with direct referral pathways to prescribers for early treatment intervention.
"It's not okay to just do the screenings, but [we have to] cost-effectively manage them," Lyons explained, highlighting the importance of integrating screening results with prescriber networks to ensure patients receive guideline-based therapies. For patients with existing chronic conditions, the approach includes accessing data from wearables and empowering both patients and prescribers to optimize treatment protocols.
Pharmacogenomics Integration Emerges as Key Differentiator
Building on McKesson's substantial investment in cancer care through the Sarah Cannon Research Institute (搜索), Lyons identified pharmacogenomics as a critical area for pharmacy expansion. "Prior to the pandemic, there was a lot of momentum around personalized care, especially with cancer and other tricky conditions where it's important to get the treatment right the first time for patient quality of life," she noted.
The pharmacogenomics initiative aims to integrate personalized medicine capabilities directly into community pharmacy operations, allowing pharmacists to work as part of the healthcare team to optimize therapeutic outcomes through genetic testing and personalized treatment protocols.
Workflow Transformation Through Appointment-Based Models
To accommodate expanded clinical services without overwhelming existing operations, Health Mart (搜索) is promoting a shift from on-demand dispensing to appointment-based medication synchronization models. "Many pharmacies work on an on-demand basis, where patients walk in, or they call, or they're expecting their prescriptions in 15 minutes or less," Lyons observed, advocating for a more structured approach that allows for planned staffing and inventory management.
The appointment-based system enables pharmacies to conduct blood pressure checks, provide chronic care services, and administer immunizations during scheduled patient visits, while maintaining efficiency through pre-call protocols to address medication changes and patient concerns before appointments.
Community Health Worker Program Expansion
Health Mart (搜索) has implemented a comprehensive community health worker training program, having "trained over 120" pharmacy technicians through sponsored scholarships available to any community pharmacy technician working in independent pharmacies nationwide, regardless of customer status. The program empowers technicians to provide enhanced patient education and service referrals.
Supporting this initiative, McKesson launched healthmart.findhelp.com, a zip-code-based platform that connects patients with local social services including transportation, childcare, and food assistance. "Many of our pharmacies also use this tool as part of their care plan and create specific referrals for patient needs," Lyons explained.
Addressing Reimbursement Complexity
Recognizing reimbursement as a significant barrier to clinical service expansion, Health Mart (搜索) has partnered with Pharmacy Profiles (搜索), which recently earned credential verification organization status. The partnership offers free profile setup for pharmacists, with additional credentialing support services available as needed.
"The key message is to focus on patients and not expect payers to adapt to pharmacy, but rather operate like any other provider seeking payment for services," Lyons emphasized, noting that successful reimbursement requires individual pharmacist credentialing rather than traditional pharmacy-level credentialing used for prescription services.
Strategic Positioning for Healthcare Access
Lyons positioned community pharmacies as essential healthcare access points, particularly in underserved areas. "Pharmacies are often the only care provider within a reasonable travel distance. We've always said, 'within 5 miles,' but with recent pharmacy closures, we may need to expand that map," she noted, emphasizing pharmacies' role as the "front door to health care" and "the very first step of primary care."
The expansion strategy includes mental health screenings, HIV (搜索) prevention services, and specialized niche services such as pet medications and travel immunization services, tailored to specific community needs and demographics.