New pharmacy initiative at Columbus AFB is ‘the bee’s knees’

Story by Elaine Sanchez

Defense Health Network Central

SAN ANTONIO, Texas, Aug. 8, 2024 – The 14th Medical Group is leveraging technology and teamwork to streamline the prescription-fill process and improve access to care for pharmacy patients at Columbus Air Force Base, located in eastern Mississippi.

With new, more efficient workflow processes in place, the pharmacy team now offers auto-activation, eliminating the need for patients to call or text in to self-activate the fill process for new, routine prescriptions.

“We are excited to offer this auto-activation feature for our pharmacy patients,” said Air Force Col. Francisco Catalá, group commander and medical clinic director. “We are always seeking ways to improve the experience, convenience and access for beneficiaries, and this patient-centered initiative was a big step in the right direction. It’s even more exciting when these opportunities are great for both patient satisfaction and staff – a testament to the notion that taking care of our people translates to better patient care.”
Auto-activation is a common practice in the private sector, with most new prescriptions automatically flowing into the pharmacy queue. However, during the pandemic, many military pharmacies initiated the patient activation step for new, routine prescriptions to improve efficiencies, sustain timely access to pharmacy care, and to ensure prioritization of urgent prescriptions.

However, clinic leadership quickly recognized that while the activation step optimized efficiency for staff at the time, it also led to a time-consuming and often confusing process for patients, many of whom anticipate prescriptions to flow through the queue without delay. As a result, the pharmacy staff decided to “take back” the activation process, but first needed to free up time to take on the additional task.

Rather than barriers, “we saw an opportunity,” said Air Force Maj. Kate Murphy, the group’s Diagnostics and Therapeutics Flight commander. “We re-assessed our personnel, processes and workflow and found ways to increase efficiency, effectiveness and, above all, safety.”

Key to this effort was leveraging telework, which had gained traction both during and after the pandemic, to build efficiency and boost morale.

“We saw telework leveraged across the DoD and the Nation during the pandemic for safety reasons, but we also saw, in many cases, the added benefits of space saving and improved productivity and morale,” Murphy said. “With leadership support, we started exploring the idea of telework to ensure dedicated time to conduct pharmacy duties that did not require being physically in the pharmacy, including transcribing prescriptions, processing insurance claims, and responding to patient requests.”

Due to the hands-on nature of their work, the pharmacy team had been unable to telework prior, but with new technology and better connectivity, leaders decided to launch an initiative that enabled one day of telework per week for experienced pharmacy technicians. The teleworking technician is able to securely remote into their workstation and is solely dedicated to patient care tasks, such as fielding calls, managing the electronic prescribing queue and prescription activation process, and performing quality checks. This frees up time for in-house technicians to focus on customer service and care, while enabling the teleworker to take on the task of new prescription activation safely, efficiently and without any delays in patient care.

Data indicates the team is moving in the right direction with an overall reduction in prescription wait times and transcription errors, and an increase in the average number of prescriptions activated per day. On average, the teleworker activates up to 70% of all new prescriptions per day along with their other tasks.

“Our priority is always safety and quality,” Murphy said. “We needed to demonstrate that telework was just as safe, if not safer, than before; and as we expected, the data indicated our entire team got safer with telework.”

The team will continue to assess the data, to include safety measures and the number of prescriptions returned to stock after a certain timeframe, to ensure the program continues to benefit both patients and staff in the long term. They are also eager to share lessons learned to benefit the entire military health enterprise.

“The pharmacy team identified a challenge and addressed it safely and effectively,” said Air Force Maj. Gen. Thomas Harrell, director, Defense Health Network Central. “Their teamwork and innovative thinking not only led to a better patient experience, but also boosted the team’s morale and job satisfaction. I’m incredibly proud of the Columbus team and our other network teammates for continually seeking ways to improve our Military Health System for our patients and our people.”

Air Force Staff Sgt. Joanna McKay, a six-year 14th Medical Group pharmacy technician and one of the first on the team to test out telework coupled with auto-activation, noted a marked increase in morale and productivity. “I never thought it would happen for pharmacy staff, yet we found a way to make it happen, while also improving customer service for our patients,” she said.

“Based on the data and uptick in positive comments from patients, this initiative has been a win-win,” Murphy agreed. “It’s more convenient for our patients and it’s a morale boost for our pharmacy technicians who have been working so hard for so long under challenging conditions.”

As another pharmacy teammate summed it up, the new initiative “is the bees-knees.”

For question or more information, beneficiaries are encouraged to stop by the Columbus Clinic Pharmacy or call 662-434-CARE (2273).