Written By: Irene Chia, PharmD – PGY1 Community-Based Pharmacy Resident
Edited By: Gina Luchen, PharmD – ASHP Director of Member Relations
Ever since the spread of COVID-19, many companies have adapted to virtual or remote models of work. This has impacted the type of job offers that attract more applicants – whether they are fully in-person, hybrid, or fully remote work. “Majority of workers with jobs that can be done from home are teleworking, even as more workplaces have become available” (Pew Research Center). Many may prefer remote work not only to be safe from potential infectious exposure but also due to relocation or convenience in balancing work with their personal life. While this may help an employee get more work done and meet deadlines, on the other hand, it may decrease the feeling of personal connections with their co-workers.
Now as the demand of virtual medical care rises, remote healthcare jobs have attracted plenty of attention and particularly in ambulatory care, specialty, and community pharmacy. The following details outline what to consider for a remote pharmacy practice. Note that the below focus on three, high-level operational components, understanding that additional clinical and administrative considerations should be in place.
Design and Structure
Virtual health care often takes form in video or telehealth formats. Whichever is selected, appropriate network and electronic equipment would be necessary to carry out such functions. It is also extremely crucial that devices are programmed to stay HIPAA compliant – laptops, mobile devices, and organization network should be made secure with appropriate authorization access. Since ambulatory care often requires patient or provider communication, software to access electronic health records and communicate with patients would be necessary to keep up to date.
Quality Control
While working from home may improve work life balance, productivity must be consistently measured for remote work models. For example, utilizing metrics to the organization’s advantage may estimate the efficiency of remote vs in-person work. A company may choose to regularly schedule patient appointments or enforce a goal measurement to achieve by the end of the workday. It is important to note that metrics for patient care should be used carefully and with measure, as time estimates don’t always correlate to quality of care. Provider trust is important and measures should account for patient outcomes and satisfaction.
Job Satisfaction
With increasing options and opportunities for pharmacists, remote work may offer many benefits including autonomy and career development. A home environment gives an employee flexibility to manage their time and schedule to what is the ideal working environment tailored to their own interests and personality. As more work transitions electronically, new skills and various tasks arise to improve previous workflows and practices.
As a community-pharmacy resident, I have served patients in both outpatient pharmacy and ambulatory clinics as part of my core learning experiences. For both types of pharmacy, the interpersonal value of seeing patients and colleagues face-to-face is invaluable. However, for telehealth ambulatory care pharmacy, a remote work environment may be advantageous in today’s setting in order to provide quality patient care, improve job satisfaction, and save potential work-related resources. Further, this model could be proven useful to help reduce health disparities and increase access for patients who may not have access to providers or transportation.
References:
- Kupietzky J. Embracing Remote Work In Healthcare Organizations. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinesscouncil/2022/02/07/embracing-remote-work-in-healthcare-organizations/?sh=47267d8b7938. Published February 2, 2022.
- Joy R. 11 Companies That Hire for Remote, Work-From-Home Healthcare Jobs. FlexJobs. https://www.flexjobs.com/blog/post/top-companies-for-remote-jobs-in-healthcare/. Published February 2022.
- Xiong Z, Li P, Lyu H, et al. Social Media Opinions on Working From Home in the United States During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Observational Study. https://medinform.jmir.org/2021/7/e29195/. Published July, 2021.
- Parker K, Horowitz JM, Minkin R. COVID-19 Pandemic Continues To Reshape Work in America. https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2022/02/16/covid-19-pandemic-continues-to-reshape-work-in-america/. Published February 16, 2022.