Your very own pharmacist just a click (and consult) away

Consumers are working more, playing more, shopping more and learning more online than ever before. So the click-and-consult services that Rite Aid has made available to its wellness+ members not only represent today’s cutting edge, but also offer a peek into how consumers may interact with their healthcare teams tomorrow.

“Patients take a great deal of interest in being able to have a conversation with their pharmacist,” said Robert Thompson, Rite Aid EVP pharmacy. “The online chat is just another vehicle by which a patient might be able to have a discussion with a Rite Aid pharmacist,” he said. And that’s important, Thompson added, because each means of communication holds relevance for different groups of the population. And whether a patient prefers one-on-one consultations, round-the-clock telephone access—an 800 number for wellness+ members to consult a Rite Aid pharmacist has been up and running since that program’s inception in April—or this new online portal, Rite Aid has made itself available to its patients no matter a patient’s personal consultation preference. “For us, it’s all about providing a service that will enhance the ability of patients to communicate with a pharmacist,” Thompson added.

As for the service, wellness+ members can avail themselves of a pharmacist consultation at any time, day or night, either online or in select stores. “The pharmacists that staff our clinical call center are all PharmDs,” Thompson noted. “And many of them have received additional forms of clinical training. Our clinical call center does a variety of clinical programs—including supporting chat—that are really focused on compliance initiatives. They also provide clinical support for our own pharmacists internally.”

Rite Aid’s team of clinical pharmacists will be available to counsel patients on such issues as potential drug-drug interactions between their prescription therapies and their nonprescription remedies, or what foods and drinks may interfere with the effectiveness of their therapies. The clinical pharmacists also will be prepared to counsel on general health questions, such as how to control high blood pressure or lower cholesterol; how to tell the difference between a cold and the flu; ways to help manage diabetes; how to deal with insomnia; and questions about vaccinations.