Pharmacy expands

"Our staff does a marvelous job," said Keith Person, pharmacist with Bigfork Valley Pharmacy, "especially since we operate like several different pharmacies."

Although the new retail floor space has over-the-counter medications, health and beauty supplies and some special items like greeting cards and flower arrangements - behind the counter it's also a busy place. Prescriptions are being filled not only for Bigfork Valley patients, but also for the public through counter and mail sales, and for customers to pick up in Northome, Big Falls and Floodwood.

It's recognition of a fact of rural life: using professional services often means long drives. With daily courier service between Bigfork Valley and Scenic Rivers Health Systems clinics, patients can pick up their prescriptions locally in Northome, Big Falls or Floodwood as well as Bigfork. And except for a rare delay for clarification of a prescription, "no one," Pearson pointed out, "is more than 24 hours away from a medication."

Seasonal and tourist populations can also use the pharmacy to refill prescriptions from their family doctor. A Bigfork Valley pharmacist will take care of the necessary authorizations when the customer brings in the empty bottle.

To fill in excess of 300 prescriptions a day, Pearson has a staff of four pharmacy technicians and two relief pharmacists, and plans to add another full time pharmacist. A pharmacist personally checks each prescription, but at Bigfork Valley, Pearson believes there is another important part of the job - talking with patients.

The new pharmacy space was designed with this in mind. A separate window allows a patient to speak privately with the pharmacist, and for cases where confidentiality is even more important, there is a private consulting room.

Talking with the pharmacist helps the patient understand his medications, interactions with other drugs he may be taking and possible side effects. New this year is a program that takes this to another level with those Medicare patients designated as "high risk" because of the type of medication prescribed or because multiple diseases are being treated. Pharmacists will be assigned patients to contact for a "medication therapy management" review paid for by Medicare.

The purpose of the review, said Pearson, is to improve outcomes and reduce side effects by looking at all the medications in use by a single patient. It's a procedure that has been commonly done in nursing homes, he said, and now will be used in a wider population. A medication therapy management program can be requested by anyone, however. Although not covered by drug copay plans, the cost may be covered under a major medical plan.