Good Neighbor Pharmacy elevates its commitment to independents with enhanced services
LAS VEGAS — AmerisourceBergen doubled down on its commitment to its Good Neighbor Pharmacy network Friday at ThoughtSpot 2015 with a revamped Pharmacy Services Administration Organization, appropriately named the Elevate Provider Network.
“For years, independent pharmacists have accepted the reality that many different vendors are absolutely required to cover [reimbursement-processing] tasks,” David Neu, EVP retail strategy at AmerisourceBergen and president of Good Neighbor Pharmacy, told attendees to this year’s ThoughtSpot 2015 when making the announcement. “Elevate Provider Network is a PSAO with much more muscle.”
The key priorities for the new network are to maximize reimbursement by providing tools to improve operational efficiency and engage with patients, Neu said.
The announcement was well-received among the 5,000 ThoughtSpot attendees — and with good reason. Good Neighbor Pharmacy owners who take advantage of the new offering will gain access to a number of new tools designed to optimize their pharmacy operation.
In addition to the new network, AmerisourceBergen opened its premier level of Good Neighbor Pharmacy to all partners without restrictions. “Every pharmacy in the country, regardless of pharmacy systems … everybody in the country can participate in premier,” Neu said. “The roadblock is gone for any of you to participate at the highest level. By uniting independent pharmacies under one brand, we’ve got to help you compete broadly and still maintain that independence. It’s a very nuanced balance.”
One of the biggest differentiators associated with Good Neighbor Pharmacy's premier level offering is its Business Coaching program, led by Jennifer Zilka, Good Neighbor Pharmacy national director of business coaching and pharmacy ownership. “Using your pharmacy’s data, our coaches offer a second set of eyes on your business,” Neu said. “Actual results from the stores that Jenni and her team coach — stores increase their inventory on average by 1.4 turns. From a labor standpoint, coached stores realize a 5% increase in sales-per-employee on average.”
But it was the new Elevate Provider Network that really broke new ground in enabling Good Neighbor Pharmacy owners to grow their business going forward. “Elevate Provider Network is the only fully-integrated bundle that exists in the marketplace for one price,” Neu said. “Members can evaluate data, maximize reimbursement, optimize their patient mix, track patient compliance, all working together to improve higher Star ratings.”
The new Elevate Provider Network leverages centralized data to support reimbursement discussions with payers — a key pain point for anyone in retail pharmacy, and especially for independents. The new network also supports the transition from a fee-for-service model to an outcomes-based model, and helps operators manage their business more efficiently and effectively.
Highlights of the new service include:
A new patient engagement center and capability set, powered by PrescribeWellness, that independent pharmacies can leverage to drive adherence and enhance patient care, ultimately creating the potential to improve CMS Star ratings and increase reimbursement;
Access to pre- and post-claims editing services through Emdeon, a leading provider of revenue and payment cycle management, which will help reduce claim errors, improve pharmacy profits and provide greater transparency into payer reimbursement;
An expansion of its central pay capabilities with the addition of claim reconciliation services powered by FDS, which enables pharmacists to monitor their receivables balance;
A revamped InSite pharmacy performance tool that will now include front-of-store sales data displayed in its peer benchmarking view, allowing pharmacies to measure performance against similar stores; and
A new mobile application that will notify pharmacists of key information they need to manage their business at the touch of a finger, such as the next day’s bank deposits and a six-month trending view of their performance in the four highly-rated CMS Star clinical measures.
“Just to recap: medication therapy management, prescription adherence, Star ratings performance, medication synchronization and overall marketing effectiveness,” Neu said. “Combined with merchandising, business coaching and advertising resources, the Good Neighbor Pharmacy relationship provides you with everything you need to preserve your status as a preferred destination.”