Clinical Specialist Umang Desai oversees Pharmacy Advantage’s Autoimmune department, the organization’s largest group — with five members serving more than 1100 patients as of early 2017. That’s 37% more patients than they handled just three years ago (800) — with no increase in staff size. And yet, Umang will tell you, his job is a lot easier than it used to be.

“For starters,” Umang explains, “our group’s Daily Task Lists were printed-out on a piece of paper every morning. And all five people in my HUB had to manually check the boxes relevant to them assigned duties. When my team had patient notes, they had to hand-write them on the printout — and at the end of the day, someone would have to type those notes into the Microsoft Access program we used.”

Past protocol

“Before we launched DromosPTM in 2014,” he continues, “I followed the basic SOAP (Subjective / Objective Assessment Plan) procedure in gathering information from patients, and offering counseling support. I had a written list of questions to ask patients, but a lot of the information they needed from me wasn’t readily available. And if a patient asked a question that got me off track, it was easy to forget where I was, and skip a question.

“Now my list of questions is programmed into the DromosPTM system, with each question under its own tab — plus background information on their diagnosed disease state, as well as explanations, in laymen’s terms, to ensure verbal counseling isn’t too technical. And virtually all the relevant information patients need to know is instantly accessible through the system’s interface with the MicroMedix database. There’s even information for Storage Considerations on each drug we dispense.”

From the very beginning

“We use DromosPTM from our first conversation with patients — starting with the background of their specific disease state. If they haven’t received a thorough diagnosis overview from their physician, we’ll give it to them at that time. Then we’ll review their medication, and what they can expect from it — including how it controls their disease, how to use it, and potential side effects. Again, with each step in our conversation, there’s a tab in DromosPTM with tailored questions to ask and support information to offer.”

“Another huge benefit of the system, for us and our patients, is the automatic reminders for refills. Which helps us practically prevent all potential lags in treatment. When a refill time is upcoming, DromosPTM not only alerts us, it initiates the prior authorization process as well. Everything is visible on the screen for us, which minimizes the likelihood of any oversights and reduces the burden on patients to remember themselves.”

“That said,” Umang continues, “a lot of our patients’ medication protocols are very complicated, and it’s still possible for them to become confused regarding proper dosing or administration. But the incidence of miscommunication from our end has dropped to near zero with DromosPTM as a resource. And yes, it’s a very good feeling to come into work every day knowing you have your patients’ complete confidence.”