Projecting Results of Project Destiny

DAN ALAIMO

With phase one of Project Destiny completed, and phase two about to begin, the retail pharmacy business can start to see the fruits of this ambitious project.

“The vision of Project Destiny is to transform the role of community pharmacists by them delivering medication management and patient-related services to targeted groups of patients, primarily focused on those with multiple medications and chronic conditions,” said Karla Anderson, managing director, Life Sciences, BearingPoint, McLean, Va. The BearingPoint consultancy is developing the project for the three pharmacy associations behind the initiative: National Association of Chain Drug Stores, Alexandria, Va.; National Community Pharmacists Association, Alexandria; and American Pharmacists Association, Washington.

By providing these services, “the relationship between the pharmacist and the consumer will deepen, and establish the commitment of community pharmacy to work collaboratively with the health care delivery and financing system to establish a mechanism to deliver a consistent medication management service offering across community pharmacy,” Anderson said.

Regardless of the type of pharmacy — independent, chain, food store or mass merchant — “there is an ability to leverage the clinical skills of the pharmacist with the profound market need to improve medication management. The effective delivery of medication related patient care management services will improve health care outcomes and drive avoidable costs out of the health care system,” she said.

“One of the objectives of Project Destiny was to create a delivery model that would be accepted by consumers and the health care system, balanced with a business model that would create new and profitable revenue opportunities for community pharmacy with defendable reimbursement expectations based on the services to be delivered. Without this combination of factors, the project would not get adequate adoption by funders and payers or uptake by participating pharmacies,” Anderson said.

“Based on the current market needs and the favorable demographics related to the growing need for medication-related patient care management services, the economic model is attractive and significant enough for small and large pharmacies to participate and to make the required changes to their business model as they integrate these new services,” she said.