It’s Time to Get on The Same Page in Healthcare

I often wonder what patients would think if they knew their doctor, pharmacist and health plan were not always reading from the same sheet of music, so to speak.  

Maybe it would explain a lot for some patients who experience delays in getting started on a treatment – or worse – end up going without. As a patient, if you’ve ever had to manually connect the information dots for your doctor, pharmacy and health plan, it probably doesn’t come as a surprise that clinicians are burned out and point to this type of administrative chaos as a major factor. Just think what it must be like for primary care providers, multiplied by the 1,000 or more patients in their care.   

It’s a system fraught with challenges, and it is obvious healthcare is hurting.  

But just as we see clinicians coming together to address these challenges, it’s time for the industry to get on the same page, collaborating to fill gaps and ensure that we are doing all that we can for patients.  

Evolving Patient Care Teams  

The data reinforces what we know anecdotally. According to a recent study, for the second year in a row the care providers surveyed identified burnout and prescription medication costs as the top two biggest issues in healthcare. In addition, as clinicians continue to face burnout it’s driving as many as one in four to consider leaving their profession. 

We’ve all seen the Association of American Medical Colleges statistic that shows the U.S. will face an estimated shortage of up to 124,000 physicians by 2034. 

This means dwindling access to routine healthcare for patients. The impact of the primary care provider (PCP) shortage can already be seen. In February 2024, 47% of U.S. counties had less than one PCP for every 1,500 residents, creating a relative PCP shortage, according to the analysis conducted by my company. 

These numbers are alarming. But, it doesn’t have to be this way.  

And care providers aren’t waiting for policies to change – they are evolving today. In communities nationwide, physicians, nurse practitioners and physician assistants are seeing the value of partnering with pharmacists who can support routine care services and medication management for patients with chronic conditions, often filling gaps as accessible care providers.  

A recent survey shows that since 2023, a growing number of pharmacists (75%, up from 65% in 2023) and other clinicians (29%, up from 26% in 2023) agree with the statement: “we should allow pharmacists to take on more primary care duties like performing point-of-care testing and diagnostics, managing medications used to treat chronic conditions, and prescribing medications for certain conditions.” However, only about one-third of pharmacists feel their current position allows them to offer patients all the care they need (36%). 

In addition, pharmacists are prescribing more often as a growing number of forward-looking states adopt policies to empower pharmacists to provide a range of services aligned with their clinical ability.  

In these states, pharmacists are prescribing prescription medications most commonly supporting patients with chronic conditions, such as diabetes, high cholesterol, and behavioral health disorders, according to recent research. 

Enabling clinicians to support patient care as part of a team has the potential to curb burnout for care providers, but most importantly, it’s making a difference and enabling greater access to care for patients. 

Collaboration is Key for Care Team Success  

Before my time, my company set out to solve a problem: modernizing the process for prescribing and filling medications more safely, with the help of new technology. The technology was designed from the ground up with a clear, well-defined purpose: to deliver better, safer, less costly care for patients across the country. 

But the reason this technology has been impactful stems not just from innovation alone, it’s more than two decades of deliberate efforts to collaborate alongside industry stakeholders and continue evolving. It’s this collaborative mindset that has allowed organizations like Surescripts to provide technology that truly benefits everyone involved. 

This model for collaboration in healthcare can and should serve as an example to be replicated as patient care teams continue to evolve.  

There are a few key areas to focus on, where a little collaboration will go a long way.  

Stakeholders, including clinicians, pharmacists, health plans and technology providers, must come together to advance technology so that all members of the team, including pharmacists, have access to key health intelligence and are literally working from the same page of their patient’s clinical information.  

And in another recent survey, clinicians identified that they hope to see better access to clinical information: 85% of pharmacists and 57% of other clinicians said that they would place a high priority on connecting both pharmacists and prescribers with centralized information about their patients, according to a survey. 

Access to key clinical and benefit information for all members of the patient care team is an obvious win that will bring greater efficiency and safer care. In order for pharmacists to continue filling gaps, providing accessible patient care in communities across the country, they need to be compensated for this work. 

It’s an opportunity for industry leaders to prove their commitment to patient care – aligning reimbursement structures that allows pharmacists to continue providing these essential care services. 

Restoring the Focus on Patients 

With challenges facing nearly every part of healthcare – especially when patients are caught in the middle – I’m urging us all to do a better job at eliminating the friction that exists today. We owe it to the clinicians and ultimately the patients in their care to remember that we’re all working towards the same purpose: improving safety, quality and lowering the cost of healthcare.  

We are at a truly pivotal moment where collaboration and innovation can meaningfully improve the healthcare journey for patients and clinicians across the country.  

We should look to communities that are changing how healthcare is being delivered through expanded care team collaboration as an example of what’s working. They are addressing clinician burnout and the need to provide affordable and accessible care for patients close to home.    

Let us take this opportunity to get on the same page through stakeholder collaboration that’s driven to advance interoperability, innovative technologies, policy and reimbursement structures that will truly allow clinicians return their focus to what matters most: the patients in their care.