Did you know: Your employees are spending more time visiting their pharmacist than their primary care provider? It’s true — 69 percent of the population is visiting their pharmacy at least once a month External Site according to CVS Health — which is far more compared to the national average of only three visits to a primary care provider per year.
Not to mention, your employees are more likely to make health care changes based on recommendations from their pharmacist — even without consultation from their doctor.
You may be wondering: “Why did I spend so much time informing my employees about developing a relationship with their primary care provider if they are visiting their pharmacist more frequently?” Don’t worry — it’s a great thing you did.
When your employees develop a relationship with their primary care provider and pharmacist, they are on the path to be in control of their health which is a win-win for both your employees and business.
Home sweet pharmacy home
It’s not hard for your employees to step outside of the office and find a pharmacy around the corner. While this option may be convenient to stop at over their lunch break, or on the way home, a pharmacy home Opens in a new window isn’t just a place to pick up their pills.
A pharmacy home is an important care touch point that provides benefits for your employees including:
- Professional consultations for over-the-counter medications.
- Fewer complications due to adverse drug reactions.
- Dosage accuracy, based on health condition and other medications.
- Make changes to medication if progress isn't being made
- Knowledge of any allergies that impact both new and current medications.
“There is greater potential for harmful interactions or duplicates to occur when your employees use different pharmacies. When employees have everything filled in one place, more errors will be caught,” says Shannon Raschke, Senior Clinical Pharmacist for Wellmark.
Be the benefit-expert of your workplace
As you can tell, there are a few convincing benefits your employees receive, but what about the benefits your business receives? When you inform and encourage your employees on the importance of finding a pharmacy home, your business can experience:
Lower Rx costs.
The cost of employer-sponsored health care benefits is expected to approach $15,000 per employee External Site next year. With Wellmark’s pharmacy program, you and your employees can feel comfortable knowing their specific benefit and pharmacy information can be found across all points of care — contributing to savings of up to $420 per year.
Happier, healthier, more productive employees.
When you have an employee who is worried about the cost of a new prescription they’re on — especially if they didn’t consult with a pharmacist on cheaper alternatives — it can be difficult for them to bring their full, undivided attention to work. A pharmacy home can help alleviate stress alleviated with medication, and leave your employees focused on their work.
Fewer questions and more time on what’s important.
Your employees look to you as their benefits expert. That means they will come to you with questions, concerns or for recommendations on their specific health plan. But, when you encourage employees to develop a relationship with their pharmacist, many (if not all) of their questions could be answered right then and there.
myWellmark® for your employees 'pharmacy home' needs
Every employee in your office is unique. Whichever pharmacy home your employees choose based on their lifestyle and preferences, myWellmark can help them locate a pharmacy, check the cost of drugs, track prescriptions and review the Wellmark Drug List Opens in a new window — saving you from fielding varying plan-specific questions.
Questions? Contact your authorized Wellmark account representative, or email us at blueatwork@wellmark.com Send Email.
