Insight Spring 2020

Spring 2020 | 20 Spring 2020 | 21 Health at Hand Feature Iris Mathis, Sr. Content Editor Physicians have long urged patients to practice self-care. Be good to your body and it will be good to you, they say. With today’s decrease in primary care physicians, higher deductibles, and soaring out-of-pocket costs, patients aren’t just seeking ways to improve their health and wellness. They need to reduce personal expenditure, too. Wellness is a broad concept and a trillion-dollar industry that includes beauty and anti-aging, weight loss, mind-body, nutrition, preventative measures, self-medication – most significant to pharmacy – and more. Not only does this industry lower healthcare spending in the U.S., it highlights the value of pharmacists’ evolving role. Support Patients Who Self-Medicate Increasingly, patients are autonomous – desiring to manage their ailments without consulting a doctor. This presents an opportunity for pharmacists to: Communicate : Move from behind the counter and initiate conversations with patients. Learn about their conditions or specific symptoms, medication history, dosing and administration, and what they’d like to achieve by self-medicating. Information gathering helps to decipher whether patients need to be referred to a healthcare provider. Counsel : “Research shows that 93% of U.S. adults prefer to treat their minor ailments with OTC medicines before seeking professional care.” 1 OTCs are more accessible and affordable, but there isn’t enough dialogue around them. Pharmacists are responsible for knowing about the drugs lining their shelves to help patients effectively and safely select them. Collaborate : Pharmacists are integral members of the patient care team and should develop relationships with “other healthcare professionals; national professional associations; the pharmaceutical industry; governments (local/ national)…” 2 Doing so allows them to tap into resources and expertise they might not otherwise have. Extend collaborative efforts to other businesses that specialize in self-care: yoga studios, fitness centers, juice bars, etc. Create a wellness environment : This can include anything from often-seen blood pressure monitoring stations to designated spaces in the pharmacy for health information, complete with brochures and local health- event flyers. Host lifestyle classes that address the use of supplements. Create a smoking cessation program to discuss nicotine replacement options. Each one of these presents an opportunity to engage patients. By the Numbers: • U.S. consumers make 26 trips a year to buy OTC products but only visit doctors, on average, three times a year. • U.S. households spend about $338 per year on OTC products. • Three-quarters of all primary care physicians will recommend an OTC medicine before an Rx. • Two-thirds of consumers prefer taking an OTC medicine when available versus an Rx. 3 Topmost Trusted Pharmacists are the most accessible healthcare professional in underserved areas and to the general public, and according to Gallup ® , they remain rated in the top five for honesty and ethical standards. 4 What does this mean? Patients trust them to help make informed decisions about their self-care. Using their knowledge to provide this unofficial value-added service can increase pharmacists’ relevancy and bottom line. The Drug Experts Since 1997, Pharmacy Times has gathered intel on pharmacists’ OTC recommendations. In 2019, U.S. News & World Report and Pharmacy Times joined forces to survey pharmacists and then combed through the results to determine these top picks for the OTC Guide™ : y y Antihistamines (Oral): Zyrtec y y Anti-inflammatory (Oral): Advil y y Acid Reducers: Prilosec OTC y y Cold/Cough/Flu: DayQuil y y Headache: Advil y y Upset Stomach: Pepto-Bismol y y Sleep Aid: Unisom y y Menstrual Pain Relief: Midol Complete y y Smoking Cessation: NicoDerm CQ Patch 5 The Economic Impact In pharmacy, below-cost reimbursements and direct and indirect remuneration fees have caused profit margins to decline, so front-end sales are even more important. Pharmacists have more control over driving these sales since they don’t require prescriptions. By the Numbers: • The average margins on front-end merchandise are 15% higher than the margins on prescription sales. 6 • In 2018, OTC sales in the U.S. reached around 35.2 billion dollars. 7 • On average, U.S. households spend $442 annually on OTC products. 8 • Every $1 spent on OTC medicines saves the U.S. healthcare system more than $7. 9 • OTC medicines save the U.S. healthcare system $146 billion annually. 10 Collective Win Self-care via self-medication empowers patients to take control and be active in making decisions about their health − but pharmacists have a responsibility to keep up to date on OTC data, so they can make evidence-based recommendations that help ensure their patients make the best choices when it comes to their OTC med regimens. The self-care revolution is beneficial for all: patients have more access to medicines that improve their health, pharmacies increase their business performance, and the U.S. healthcare system lowers its overall costs. Sources: 1,3 Statics on OTC Use. Consumer Healthcare Products Association. N.d. Web. Accessed 02/21/20. https://www. chpa.org/marketstats.aspx 2 The Role of Pharmacists in Self-Care and Self- Medication. World Health Organization. N.d. Web. Accessed 08/24/18. http://apps.who.int/medicinedocs/ en/d/Jwhozip32e/5.4.html 4 Reinhart, RJ. Nurses Continue to Rate Highest in Honesty, Ethics. Gallup. 1/6/20. Web. Accessed 02/21/20. https://news.gallup.com/poll/274673/nurses-continue- rate-highest-honesty-ethics.aspx 5 U.S. News, Pharmacy Times Team Up to Reveal 2019 Top Recommended Health Products. Pharmacy Times. 06/11/2019. Web. Accessed 02/21/20. https://www. pharmacytimes.com/pressroom/us-news-pharmacy- times-team-up-to-reveal-2019-top-recommended- health-products 6 What Is the Average Independent Pharmacy Profit? (And How to Grow Your Profit Margins. PBA Health. 05/09/18. Web. Accessed 02/24/20. https://www. pbahealth.com/average-independent-pharmacy-profit- grow-profit-margins/ 7 The OTC Drug Retail Sales in the U.S. from 1965 to 2018 (in billion U.S. dollars). Statista. 09/20/19. Web. Accessed 02/24/20. https://www.statista.com/ statistics/307237/otc-sales-in-theus/ 8-10 White Paper: Value of OTC Medicines to the U.S. Healthcare System. Consumer Healthcare Products Association. 03/19. Web. Accessed 02/24/20. http:// overthecountervalue.org/white-paper/