Colleen Lindholz is president of Kroger Health, where she leads a team of 22,000 healthcare practitioners serving more than 13 million customers across the United States.
She is credited with leading Kroger’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, specifically promoting vaccine access and combating vaccine hesitancy. To date, Kroger has injected more than 4.7 million COVID vaccines.
The organization rolled out $1 million worth of gifts and groceries for a year to boost vaccination rates. In 2022, Kroger won the American Pharmacists Association’s Immunization Champion Award, in recognition of the high rate of COVID-19 vaccines in their community.
Lindholz is in a unique position to talk about today’s state of health care, which is why Healthcare IT News sit down with her for an interview.
In this discussion, she talks about her beliefs about the need for pharmacy-specific tools integrated into EHRs and population health platforms for more holistic, coordinated care; future role of pharmacist in healthcare; why burnout is a growing problem for pharmacists and the strategies pharmacies can adopt to combat burnout; and the growing role of pharmacists in public health.
Q. You think there is an urgent need for pharmacy-specific tools integrated into the EHR and common health platforms for more holistic, coordinated care. Please explain.
ONE. For decades, acute and post-acute clinicians have had access to EHRs to help coordinate care and make informed decisions that drive positive care outcomes. These tools have been designed for the unique needs of doctors, nurses, etc. – many of them have collaborated with software vendors and designers to create a tool that is just right for them. their needs and workflow.
The pharmacy space lacks the right tools to meet their unique needs. Although pharmacists are a fundamental component of the continuum of care, they were not previously considered caregivers.
The perception is that the pharmacist only dispenses the drug. This perception is incorrect. For example, the COVID pandemic was an important factor in changing minds about the important role pharmacists play. They are trusted, accessible and highly trained care providers who are skilled enough to provide care beyond dispensing medication.
However, for pharmacists to reach their full potential as caregivers, they need to be equipped with tools that fit their unique workflow and allow them to capture the edge. 360-degree view of the patient to assist doctors in overseeing their care.
If pharmacists have patient information at their fingertips, they have the ability to support patients in their community with a variety of population health efforts, such as obesity, smoking cessation, family, chronic illness and other critical care areas.
Q. What do you see as the future role of pharmacists in healthcare and will they leverage technological innovations to increase revenue from the services provided?
ONE. As I mentioned, the COVID pandemic has highlighted the important role pharmacists play – from testing, to vaccination and now to treatment. In addition, state and federal law recognizes pharmacists as caregivers – pharmacists now have the power to prescribe medications for COVID.
Pharmacists must capitalize on this dynamic and demand an expansion of the eligible clinical services offered.
How often do you ask your pharmacist a question about medicine or how to relieve an illness? Usually, pharmacists are not reimbursed for these consulting services. EHRs are designed for pharmacists to provide the same tools as hospitals and doctors’ offices must bill for services rendered.
With the right legislation and tools in place, pharmacists can expand their range of services and become an accessible, affordable clinician who can help diagnose conditions and /or collaborate with the patient’s physician to ensure the patient adheres to their treatment plan.
Q. How is burnout a problem for pharmacists and what are some strategies pharmacists can adopt to combat burnout?
ONE. Like most industries today, staff shortages are the number one cause of burnout. Some ways burnout can be alleviated include:
- Rely on pharmacy technicians to handle dispensing, while more senior/senior pharmacists/PharmDs can focus on advising patients as well as developing leaders across their organization, whether it’s an independent pharmacy or a large retail chain.
- Leverage technologies that meet the unique needs of your pharmacy to eliminate routine tasks or time-consuming tasks such as answering phone calls, working with insurance companies to determine coverage qualified microinsurance, etc.
- Changing the pharmacy to an appointment-based model, patients who come for medical examination and take medicine must make an appointment in advance. This will help manage the number of clients the pharmacist sees each day.
Q. You consider the growing role of pharmacists in public health and providing accessible and affordable care to consumers. Let’s talk about this role.
ONE. Although the average American lives within five miles of a pharmacy, pharmacists remain one of the most underutilized health care resources in their communities. The good news is that we are seeing a shift in pharmacist perception that goes beyond dispensing. Leveraging their exceptional training and education, pharmacists are poised to become the core of public healthcare.
Pharmacists are a trusted source for patients to get information about their medication and how it relates to their medical condition. Expanding the role of these pharmacists to guide the community in other ways is valuable.
To name just a few, education about chronic diseases, smoking cessation counseling, training in adherence to therapeutic diets, promotion of disease prevention are all within the purview of the pharmacist. With such efforts incorporated into the daily workflow, it will promote more accessible and affordable care for the communities they serve.
Finally, the social determinants of health are a major challenge affecting patients today, and pharmacists are uniquely positioned to close the gap in unequal care. At Kroger Health, there are many endeavors that I am proud of, such as promoting the concept of “food is medicine” and making sure a wide range of food is affordable and accessible.
Additionally, I am proud of the efforts our pharmacists have made in increasing access to a COVID vaccine in our community. In fact, they were awarded the American Pharmacists’ Association of Immunization Champion Award in recognition of the high rate of COVID-19 vaccines in our community.
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