Pharmacy Industry Transitions From Traditional Dispensing to Clinical Services

In an era of evolving health care delivery, pharmacists are rapidly transitioning from traditional medication dispensing to becoming integral clinical health care providers. The Total Pharmacy Solutions Summit featured Stephanie Downing, MBA, senior product manager at Outcomes, who provided a comprehensive exploration of the challenges, opportunities, and technological solutions driving this transformative shift in pharmacy services. Her presentation illuminated the complex landscape of clinical service expansion, highlighting how pharmacies can leverage technology, overcome operational barriers, and create new revenue streams while improving patient care.

“Over the past decade, we’ve seen a fundamental shift in the role of pharmacists. Traditionally, pharmacies focused mainly on dispensing medications. However, with the rise of value-based care, pharmacies are increasingly recognized as crucial players in patient health management,” Downing said. “Pharmacists are uniquely positioned to drive better health outcomes while reducing costs. However, to fully realize this opportunity, pharmacies must also navigate significant workflow and billing challenges.”

Clinical services represent more than just additional work—they are a strategic path to growth, revenue diversification, and elevating the pharmacist’s role in health care. | image credit: Jose Feito / stock.adobe.com

Downing emphasized that clinical services represent more than just additional work—they are a strategic path to growth, revenue diversification, and elevating the pharmacist’s role in health care. By leveraging technology and comprehensive support, pharmacies can overcome operational challenges, improve patient outcomes, and position themselves as essential health care partners in an evolving medical landscape.

READ MORE: How to Make the Pharmacy a Community Health Hub

The future of pharmacy services is not just about dispensing medications but about providing comprehensive, accessible, and technologically advanced clinical care that meets evolving patient needs and health care industry demands.

Read on for key takeaways:

• Pharmacists are experiencing a fundamental role change, driven by multiple factors including consumer expectations, clinician shortages, and the shift toward value-based care. Research indicates that empowering pharmacists with expanded clinical authority could potentially save millions of lives and generate over $1 trillion in health care cost savings. Patients increasingly view pharmacists as trusted health care advisers, with nearly one-third expressing very high trust levels and over 80% demonstrating moderate to high confidence in pharmacist-provided services.
• The expansion of clinical services is complicated by significant barriers, including fragmented state legislation, complex medical billing processes, and workflow inefficiencies. Each state has different regulations regarding pharmacists’ clinical service capabilities, creating a challenging landscape for nationwide implementation. Pharmacies must navigate varying collaborative practice agreement requirements, medical billing complexities, and limited staff resources while attempting to introduce new clinical services.
• Pharmacies can diversify revenue streams by offering expanded services such as immunizations, chronic disease management, point-of-care testing, medication therapy management, and treatment screenings. These services not only generate additional income but also strengthen patient relationships and improve overall health care accessibility. Studies show that pharmacies offering these services experience increased revenue, enhanced customer loyalty, and improved patient retention rates.
• Outcomes provides a comprehensive platform designed to address pharmacy operational challenges. The solution offers integrated clinical workflows, automated medical billing, nationwide clinical protocols, and streamlined documentation processes. By eliminating manual data entry, reducing administrative burdens, and providing step-by-step guided encounters, the platform enables pharmacies to efficiently implement and scale clinical services.
• A significant barrier to clinical service expansion is limited patient awareness. Many patients remain unaware of the extensive services pharmacists can provide beyond medication dispensing. Strategic patient engagement becomes crucial, involving multichannel outreach, automated messaging, and electronic appointment scheduling to educate and encourage service utilization.
• Medical billing for clinical services differs substantially from traditional pharmacy claims, requiring specialized knowledge of Current Procedural Terminology and International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision coding systems. Outcomes addresses this complexity by offering automated medical billing, real-time eligibility checks, and dedicated medical billing support. The platform ensures pharmacies can accurately submit claims, track reimbursements, and minimize revenue losses.
• Downing emphasized that clinical services represent more than additional work—they are a strategic pathway for growth, revenue diversification, and elevating the pharmacist’s role in health care. By embracing technological solutions and comprehensive support systems, pharmacies can overcome operational challenges, improve patient outcomes, and position themselves as essential health care partners.
• Outcomes integrates seamlessly with existing pharmacy management systems, providing a unified platform for clinical services, electronic health records, and patient engagement. The solution supports a wide range of services, including comprehensive medical billing capabilities, revenue cycle management, and advanced reporting tools. Downing’s presentation at the Total Pharmacy Solutions Summit provided a compelling road map for pharmacies navigating the complex landscape of clinical service expansion. By addressing regulatory challenges, leveraging technological innovations, and focusing on patient-centered care, pharmacies can transform their operational models, create new revenue streams, and play an increasingly critical role in the health care ecosystem.

Visit drugtopics.com/conference/total-pharmacy-solutions-summit to watch all of the Total Pharmacy Solutions Summit sessions on demand.

To read these stories and more, download the PDF of the Total Pharmacy June issue here.