My friend and colleague Amy Christen recently shared a couple reflections of her career as a pharmacist. It got me thinking about the 20+ years I’ve spent as a pharmacist: About how proud I am to have followed in my dad’s footsteps … about how my pharmacist mindset has stuck with me, even as I’ve transitioned to roles with less clinical, less patient-facing work … about the impact our pharmacists and pharmacy technicians are making in patients’ lives.

October is American Pharmacist Month. October 15 was National Pharmacy Technician Day. So if you’re an organization like Stellus Rx, which employs more than 115 pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, this is definitely a month to celebrate the role that pharmacists and pharmacy technicians play in the health of people throughout our country.

How can pharmacists propel value-based care performance ... all while improving patient health? CEO Tony Willoughby shares insights for what a pragmatic, scalable model looks like.

To realize true, sustainable savings in total cost of care, the healthcare system needs to reconsider the support — or lack of support — it provides throughout patients’ medication experiences and the snowball effect that creates on a lifetime of healthcare costs.

In this interview with Dr. Williams, we explore how her medical group continues to succeed in value-based care through adaptation, innovation and partnership.

In part two of this two-part interview, Dr. Stephen Buksh—a physician at Northeast Tarrant Internal Medicine Associates (NETIMA)— discusses the additional value his practice has received through its work with Stellus Rx, the value of team-based care and how he is able to reframe patients’ minds about receiving more high-touch care.

Working in partnership with Stellus Rx, South Carolina-based Palmetto Primary Care Physicians (PPCP) went from “year after year” of 2- and 3-star performance in HEDIS medication adherence measures to 4- and 5-stars in 90% of medication adherence measures within the first six months of work together.

In this new series from Stellus Rx, we’re exploring the perspectives and insights from our physician partners—healthcare providers who have dedicated their lives toward improving the lives of others. First in the series is Dr. Stephen Buksh, a physician at Northeast Tarrant Internal Medicine Associates (NETIMA), who has been in private practice in the Dallas-Fort Worth area for more than 25 years. In part one of this two-part interview, Dr. Buksh shares some of the common challenges his patients face in their health journeys … how he and his practice have worked to deliver a more connected and relationship-driven care experience … and the value that he and his patients have seen in their collaborative work with the pharmacists at Stellus Rx.

Since 2017, Catalyst Senior Health Network (CSHN) has engaged with Stellus Rx to deploy Stellus Adhere as a fundamental component of the Network’s overall performance strategy. Network members trust Stellus Rx as a partner in identifying and closing medication adherence gaps among upward of 30,000 lives in the network’s Medicare Advantage patient population. Hear from CSHN executives Dr. Matt Weyenberg (Chief Medical Officer) and Tyler Wilson (Executive Director, Medicare Programs) share their insights on the partnership.

Even as value-based care finds its footing and expands further, team-based approaches to care delivery and incorporating pharmacists as crucial connections are already bearing results—helping provider organizations achieve 5-star CMS ratings for medication adherence, driving down costs, and driving up the quality of life for patients. Tony shares his thoughts on the expanded--and often under-appreciated--role that pharmacists can play in the health of patients and the delivery of care in value-based care models.