Health Mart: Creating a ‘Pathway’ for better results

McKesson’s Health Mart pharmacy network last year unveiled its Health Mart Pathway to Better Performance and Profit program, which represents a strategic roadmap that helps its 4,800 member independent pharmacies navigate their business in such a way that it not only boosts clinical metrics, but financial performance as well. Already, more than 44% of all Health Mart pharmacies have adherence metrics that rank in the top 20%, Crystal Lennartz, chief pharmacist at Health Mart, told Drug Store News.

And Health Mart is either the No. 1 or No. 2 in adherence for many plans across the country, Lennartz added. “A majority of the measures are around adherence. That’s really one area where we’re seeing the stores excel. That’s perpetuated by the adoption of med sync, which is [the third] step on the Pathway.”

All told, there are five key steps on the Pathway that help Health Mart operators demonstrate their ability to deliver improved outcomes and the value of owning that patient relationship.

The first step is arming pharmacy operators with knowledge by keeping members up-to-date around the issues most likely to have a material impact on retail pharmacy. And the second step involves applying that knowledge to better monitor and track performance measures, both clinical and financial. With that data, Health Mart teams are able to draft action plans that will drive improvement across those baselines.

As Lennartz noted, the third step is a medication synchronization program, and to help take some of the risk out of adopting med sync, Health Mart has employed a field-ready implementation team of experienced pharmacists to visit Health Mart locations and help owners navigate the changes. That’s important because the fourth step builds on that med sync program by showing Health Mart pharmacists how to utilize those monthly appointments to identify adherence barriers, remedy possible gaps in care and provide such additional clinical services as a flu vaccination or a comprehensive medication review.

The fifth step is about corralling those efforts as part of a demonstrative value that Health Mart pharmacists bring to the table when negotiating collaborative partnerships with local providers and payers. Health Mart has additional tools that are part of the Pathway to support independent operators in this effort, including the Health Mart Marketing Hub and the Physician Outreach Program.

“The feedback [since launch] has been great,” Lennartz said. “It’s really about the customer engaging wherever they are and then [Health Mart] meeting them there with tools and resources.”

To educate independent pharmacists around how they can better level the playing field, Health Mart kicked off its fourth annual Town Hall series. The Town Halls are structured as peer-to-peer formats with attendance ranging from 50 to more than 100 Health Mart owners who come to learn from their fellow owners, early adopters of the new clinical programs who share their experiences implementing new clinical services and programs and the impact on store profitability. Over the past four years, Health Mart has hosted more than 300 of these Town Hall meetings, with plans to host about 100 more this year.

Health Mart also launched at last year’s ideaShare its myHealthMart, an online portal that enables pharmacies to proactively manage their business by providing access to personalized, up-to-date data, programs and insights for their pharmacy. “More than 80% of Health Marts are engaged with myHealthMart,” Lennartz said. The online tool provides personalized reports and dashboards that enable pharmacies to see how their decisions are impacting their business, and this year Health Mart will launch a mobile version, Lennartz said.