RxAlly Aims to Empower Pharmacists, Improve Patient Care, and Cut Costs

A new nationwide network of more than 20,000 pharmacies aims to expand the role of pharmacists to reduce medication misuse.

RxAlly, a new alliance of more than 20,000 US pharmacies, has formed with the goal of leveraging pharmacists’ expertise to provide better patient care and reduce health care costs. According to RxAlly, misuse of prescription medicines costs the US health care system hundreds of billions of dollars per year. Pharmacists, as medication experts and the health care providers with whom patients interact most often, are in an ideal position to reduce this misuse, the network contends.

As part of the RxAlly network, pharmacists will step out from behind the counter to play an expanded role in providing individualized care to patients. They will handle medication refills, reconcile prescription and OTC medications, deliver immunizations, monitor blood pressure and other vital signs, emphasize the importance of adherence to medication, provide prevention and wellness education, and tailor treatment programs for chronic disease patients. Pharmacists will also have the opportunity to receive compensation for performing services beyond dispensing medication.

A key part of the network will be its research and education branch, RxAlly Institute. It will track pharmacy performance to ensure that patients are receiving quality service; gather data from participating pharmacies to determine how they can administer better, more efficient care; and offer CE and non-CE training to help pharmacists provide clinical services, including medication therapy management, adherence programs, and patient counseling.

At launch, the network consists of thousands of independent pharmacies, many regional chains (including the members of the Chain Drug Consortium—Bartell Drugs, Discount Drug Mart, Kerr Drug, Kinney Drugs, Lewis, Navarro Discount Pharmacy, Thrifty White Pharmacy, and USA Drug), and Walgreens, which has 7830 retail locations in the United States and Puerto Rico. The network is currently open for applications from independent pharmacies, which can join through participating independent pharmacy organizations. To learn more, go to the network’s website.