Pharmacy Forecast 2025: Trends and TouchPoint Medical's Solutions

•    The Business of Healthcare: Health systems face financial pressures, especially with payers seeking cost-saving opportunities by shifting infusions to different sites or moving reimbursement from medical to pharmacy benefits. "Bagging" practices, where medications are acquired through specialty pharmacies, further complicate the financial landscape. There's also a push for site-neutral payment policies, which could negatively affect health system revenue. However, there are also opportunities to expand services, such as offering home-based infusion care.

•    Managing Ultra-High-Cost Drugs (UHCDs): The emergence of cell and gene therapies presents challenges related to cost, payment, access, and the need for specialized service lines. These therapies raise questions about long-term clinical benefits, outcomes-based payment arrangements, and ethical allocation. Pharmacists will play a key role in managing UHCDs and must develop the skills to administer them safely and efficiently.

•    Addressing the Gap in Primary Care: There is a growing shortage of primary care physicians. The report suggests that pharmacists can play a more significant role in primary care teams. This includes providing comprehensive medication management, increasing access to care, and reducing the burden on primary care providers. Centralized remote pharmacist services can further improve care.

•    Whole Person Health: This approach prioritizes prevention, health, and well-being by addressing behavioral, societal, and environmental factors impacting health. Integrating whole-person health into care plans and medication management is essential. The report also emphasizes the importance of educating healthcare providers on whole-person health concepts.

•    Navigating Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI): The survey suggests that AI will become more integrated into healthcare, with potential applications including streamlining patient referrals, facilitating prior authorizations, and assisting with documentation. However, challenges and risks such as cost, transparency, and ethical considerations need to be addressed. The report suggests that AI will augment rather than replace the human element in healthcare.

•    Stabilizing the Pharmacy Workforce: The report notes declining pharmacy school enrollment and unfilled residency positions, which could lead to a significant workforce challenge. Expanding the scope of practice for pharmacy technicians and modifying practice acts may help, as well as ensuring the workforce is prepared for cell and gene therapies.

TouchPoint Medical, as a provider of medical carts, workstations, and automated dispensing cabinets, directly addresses several trends identified in the Pharmacy Forecast 2025 report.

•    Medication Management and Efficiency: TouchPoint Medical's automated dispensing cabinets, such as the medDispense® series, are designed to improve medication management. These cabinets can help healthcare facilities keep their teams efficient and their patients safe. They can be customized to fit various workflows, from single-dose dispensing to bulk storage. The flexibility and security offered by these systems align with the report's emphasis on optimizing medication management processes. The medLogic™ software platform that powers the medDispense® cabinets provides features such as lot number stocking, configurable medication search, and on-demand stock reports, which increase efficiency and flexibility. These features also support the safe and efficient dispensing of medications, including complex and high-cost drugs.

•    Workforce Support: By offering ergonomic workstations and medication management solutions, TouchPoint Medical can help healthcare facilities reduce staff burnout and turnover. The company's focus on creating a positive work environment aligns with the Pharmacy Forecast's emphasis on stabilizing the pharmacy workforce. TouchPoint Medical designs workstations, medical carts, mounting systems, and dispensing cabinets to provide easy access to medication, equipment, and supplies and cultivate a work environment for increased employee satisfaction.

•    Flexibility and Scalability: The medDispense® cabinets are scalable to expand and flex with the needs of a facility and are designed to be interchangeable to allow for a variety of configurations. This flexibility can be helpful to health systems that are adapting to changing financial and regulatory conditions. They offer a range of storage options, from small desktop units to large bulk storage cabinets, which address the varying needs of different healthcare settings. The ability to combine high-security single-dose dispensing alongside bulk storage enhances flexibility for a variety of medication needs.

•    Technology Integration: TouchPoint Medical emphasizes that its hardware solutions are powered by the medLogic™ software platform. This integration is consistent with the Pharmacy Forecast's discussion of incorporating technology to improve efficiency and safety. Features like NurSync® remote medication queuing also tie into the increasing use of technology to improve healthcare workflows. The software is designed to save time and allow staff to focus on patient care.

In summary, the "Pharmacy Forecast 2025" highlights several trends and challenges facing healthcare, including financial pressures, the management of high-cost drugs, a shortage of primary care providers, and the integration of emerging technologies like AI. TouchPoint Medical, through its offerings of automated dispensing cabinets and related products, has anticipated trends and continually responds by providing solutions that enhance medication management, supports the healthcare workforce, and offers flexible and scalable technology for healthcare facilities.