Helping Make Health Care Easier for Patients and Families
ThedaCare is fulfilling the promise to be proactive partners in health by putting patients and families first, making health care easier and delivering quality, affordable care. To help simplify and advance the communities’ care experience, ThedaCare is expanding Pharmacy services within select hospitals.
“As a patient-dedicated organization, we must understand the needs and wants of the communities we serve,” said Mark Thompson, ThedaCare Chief Operating Officer/Chief Financial Officer. “By enhancing pharmacy services, we are creating better access for our patients and community members to save time and improve their health and well-being.”
The idea to expand pharmacy services across the service area came out of planning discussions for the new ThedaCare Medical Center-Orthopedic, Spine and Pain (OSP) in Appleton, the region’s only comprehensive health center specializing in orthopedic, spine and pain care. When OSP opens in summer 2022, an on-site pharmacy will provide patients with necessary medications and/or a wound care kit at discharge. This eliminates the need to stop on the way home to pick-up prescriptions and care supplies, and allows patients to focus on transitioning back into their home to recover.
“Studies have shown patients with appropriate medication possession before leaving the hospital have better health outcomes and decreased readmissions,” said Joshua Prostek, Director of Retail Pharmacy and the ThedaCare 340B Program. “Not only will we provide easy access to medications right at discharge, we will even walk them to a patient’s room.”
Expanding Access to Medications
After identifying best practices for pharmacy services at OSP, project leaders determined there was great value in expanding this offering to other locations across the ThedaCare service area. Expanded pharmacy service locations will include:
- ThedaCare Regional Medical Center-Appleton – opening May 16, 2022
- 1818 N Meade St., Appleton, WI 54911
- Located on the main floor between the Emergency Dept. and the cafeteria
- 920.454.3200
- Hours: Mon.-Fri. 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. (closed from 12:30 p.m.-1:00 p.m.) and Sat./Sun. 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m.
- ThedaCare Medical Center-Shawano – opening May 23, 2022
- 100 County Road B, Shawano, WI 54166
- Located on the main floor across from the clinic
- 715.526.7300
- Mon.-Fri. 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. (closed from 12:30 p.m.-1:00 p.m.)
- ThedaCare Medical Center-Waupaca – opening May 30, 2022
- 800 Riverside Dr., Waupaca, WI 54981
- Located on the main floor just past the registration area
- 715.258.1600
- Mon.-Fri. 8:30 a.m.-5:00 p.m. (closed from 12:30 p.m.-1:00 p.m.)
- ThedaCare Medical Center-Orthopedic, Spine and Pain (specific information to be released at a later date)
A fifth location is expected to open in spring 2023 at ThedaCare Regional Medical Center-Neenah through the $100M investment to modernize the campus. The pharmacy will be part of “Main Street”, where key diagnostic outpatient services will be located on the first floor of the hospital to ensure easier patient access.
“Through this project, we are creating pharmacy infrastructure, including in some of our rural communities,” Prostek explained. “It creates a system to meet patients where they live, and provide meaningful solutions to manage their medications. Additionally, it creates convenience for our own team members who can pick-up their medications or consult with a pharmacist right where they work.”
Simplifying the Patient Experience: Pharmacy Services and Delivery Options
Whether you’re a patient, team member, community member or visitor from out of town, anyone will be able to utilize the ThedaCare pharmacy services, which include:
- Compounding – Combining, mixing, or altering ingredients to create a medication tailored to the needs of an individual patient.
- Compliance Packaging – Strategically organizing multiple medications in one package to help patients adhere to their medication regimen, including taking the right prescriptions at the right time.
- Medication Synchronization – Coordinating refills to enable patients to pick-up multiple medications on the same date in one visit to the pharmacy.
- Automatic Refill Program – Ensures patients have their medications when they need them.
- Immunizations
- Over-the-Counter medicines offered at a reduced cost
- Innovative Payment Options – Including direct billing if a patient does not have a form of payment on them at the time of pick-up or requests financial assistance, and team member payroll deductions.
- Financial Assistance through the 340B Drug Pricing Program.
- Epic MyThedaCare/MyChart Integration – Includes a messaging platform to alert patients when their medications need to be refilled, are ready for pick-up, or are out for delivery. Patients can also select their form of delivery, view prescription costs and send a message to their provider with questions or concerns.
“Our Epic software is a powerful tool to provide an integrated experience with all of our patients’ providers and our pharmacies,” said Prostek. “Providers can view a patient’s medication pick-up completion rate and address any underlying concerns, such as prescription side effects or economics, that contributed to the patient not obtaining the prescribed medicine. Nurses planning discharge can also view estimated time of delivery to the patient’s room. Pharmacists can use MyChart to ensure the appropriateness of medications. It not only improves patient satisfaction in a simple ‘one-of-a-kind, tailored to you’ experience, it will help ensure patients have the medicines they need to help get back to living their best lives sooner.”
Caregivers also can view the patient’s financial responsibility to proactively address any barriers prior to the patient leaving the hospital. If a patient has financial limitations, there is an option for assistance through the 340B drug pricing program.
To make the prescription process even easier, patients will also have numerous delivery options to choose from, including:
- Free 1 to 3-day home delivery via USPS with real-time tracking and delivery updates. *
- Same day home delivery within a 12-mile radius of our Appleton and Neenah hospitals. Delivery fees apply. *
- *Delivery is available for eligible prescription drug orders with qualifying prescription benefit programs and insurance plans.
- Bedside Delivery, also known as “Meds to Beds”, where patients’ medications are delivered right to the bedside prior to discharge from the hospital.
- Drive-Through Service at the ThedaCare Medical Center-Shawano location.
- Curbside Pick-Up where patients select a time to have medications delivered right to their vehicle parked in a designated spot. Team members leverage technology to facilitate a virtual consultation between the patient and pharmacist.
The pharmacy team is also creating infrastructure to help prevent opioid misuse across our region.
“We are excited to roll out enhanced pharmacy services to our communities in just a few months, and look forward to setting the stage for possible future expansion of the program,” said Prostek. “We will continually look for ways to enrich our services and evaluate all opportunities through the lens of our patients.”
About ThedaCare
For more than 110 years, ThedaCare® has been committed to improving the health and well-being of the communities it serves in Northeast and Central Wisconsin. The organization delivers care to more than 600,000 residents in 17 counties and employs approximately 7,000 health care professionals. ThedaCare has 180 points of care, including seven hospitals. As an organization committed to being a leader in Population Health, team members are dedicated to empowering people to live their unique best lives. ThedaCare also partners with communities to understand needs, finding solutions together, and encouraging health awareness and action. ThedaCare is the first in Wisconsin to be a Mayo Clinic Care Network Member, giving specialists the ability to consult with Mayo Clinic experts on a patient’s care. ThedaCare is a not-for-profit health system with a level II trauma center, comprehensive cancer treatment, stroke and cardiac programs, as well as primary care.
For more information, visit thedacare.org or follow ThedaCare on social media. Members of the media should call Cassandra Wallace, Public and Media Relations Consultant at 920.442.0328 or the ThedaCare Regional Medical Center-Neenah switchboard at 920.729.3100 and ask for the marketing person on call.
