Information insomnia

Abstract

How do you know about and keep up with the changes in health care? It seems like every day, there's another news story about something that can affect how health-system pharmacists practice. Accountable care organizations, medical homes, readmission penalties, and Medicaid expansion are just some of these subjects that have recently made the news. There are often no specifics to go along with these headlines, and the proposed rules or guidelines can change frequently. This changing landscape can certainly lead to insomnia for patients as well as health-system pharmacists. ■Work with your colleagues to monitor breaking health care news.■Organize meetings to share information and improve awareness of health care issues. ■Work with your colleagues to monitor breaking health care news.■Organize meetings to share information and improve awareness of health care issues. How can you stay up-to-date? First, seek out individuals in your hospital or health system who handle these new topics. For example, for issues surrounding Medicaid expansions, open up a dialogue with your colleagues in the finance department. You can ask if your state is allowing Medicaid expansions and how the will hospital be affected. What will be involved in a Medcaid expansion? Will the hospital see an increase in patient volume? Changes in reimbursement patterns? Fewer self-pay patients in the emergency department? Another good place for information is the quality department, which is most likely the clearinghouse for "pay for performance" initiatives such as value-based purchasing and readmission penalties. This department can provide information about how the hospital has performed on quality measures and the impact of that performance on Medicare reimbursement. Quality staff can also discuss what measures and action plans may be evaluated and implemented in the future, often providing opportunities for pharmacist involvement. There are many other steps you can take to improve awareness of health care issues. Invite different people within your hospital to come to pharmacy department meetings or arrange quarterly "lunch and learn" activities to keep the pharmacy informed about industry changes. Make health care policy change a standing agenda item for staff meetings and ask pharmacy department staff to research various topics and provide updates. These presentations are also excellent learning activities for students or residents. Take an active role in your local, state, and national pharmacy organizations. National associations constantly send out information about the issues that affect the practice of pharmacy. Set aside time to read these e-mails or visit association websites on a regular basis. If possible, attend meetings or webinars to learn more as well. Don't forget to use traditional news sources to stay up to date with the latest developments. Even if they don't address a policy's specific impact on pharmacy, you will be able to learn what policymakers are discussing and what actions they may take. Some pharmacists may not think that these policy issues are as important as new treatment guidelines or innovative new drugs, but changes in health care can play a significant role in how pharmacists put those new treatment guidelines into practive or use those new medications. The more we know about the changing health care industry, the better prepared we will be to care for patients. A well-informed pharmacist is usually a well-rested pharmacist!