Medicare open enrollment started on Oct. 15 and runs until Dec. 7. Is your pharmacy ready to make the most of it?
Medicare Part D covered 34 percent of all prescriptions filled in independent community pharmacies in 2014, according to the 2015 NCPA Digest. And making sure those Medicare patients keep coming to your pharmacy starts by assisting them with enrollment.
During the 53-day open enrollment period, educating patients about their Medicare Part D plan options benefits your pharmacy as well as patients. Your consultations can help ensure patients’ needs are met, and that they still have access to their pharmacy of choice and the services they rely on.
Here’s how you can make the most out of the 2016 Medicare open enrollment period at your pharmacy.
1. Conduct media outreach
To promote Medicare open enrollment, reach out to local T.V. stations and newspapers, and offer to share your expertise.
If you do get asked to do a T.V. segment or participate in an interview for a newspaper, come prepared with information about the importance of reviewing Medicare Part D plan options, events and resources patients can use, and how your pharmacy can help.
Also, be sure to share links to those interviews on your pharmacy’s social media profiles and website.
2. Promote enrollment consultations
Use your pharmacy’s social media, website and newsletter to raise awareness among your patients about Medicare open enrollment and your pharmacy’s consultations.
Since patients eligible for open enrollment and interested in your consultations are older, be sure to also raise awareness about these services with more traditional tools that don’t rely on technology, such as bag stuffers, postcards, and by in-person conversations with eligible patients.
During open enrollment, be sure to work the question, “Have you reviewed your Medicare open enrollment options for 2016?” into your conversation with patients. Train all your employees to offer to schedule a consultation for eligible patients as a part of the normal workflow of dispensing a prescription.
iMedicare, a company that offers a solution to help pharmacists make comparing Medicare Part D plans simple, is offering downloadable marketing materials to help you promote open enrollment, including bag stuffers, stickers, brochures, letters, flyers and more.
3. Target new enrollees
Newly eligible beneficiaries will likely be the most in need of advice, guidance and information, so be sure to especially target this segment of your patients when promoting your consultations.
Set up an alert in your computer system so when patients who are newly eligible come into your pharmacy to pick up a prescription, you can remind them about open enrollment and offer to schedule a consultation to go over their options.
4. Reserve time for consultations
Along with scheduling consultations for individual patients, be sure to set aside some time for walk-in consultations.
For example, make sure you or someone from your staff is available during weekdays from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m. throughout open enrollment, so patients can walk-in any day during that time.
You can also devote an entire day or afternoon to an event where patients can get a consultation.
5. Use resources
Medicare.gov can be difficult to navigate, which makes understanding and comparing coverage options hard for patients. Use all the tools you have available to give patients a complete and easily understandable look at their options.
Check out tools like iMedicare, which help patients directly compare the features of various plan options. If patients aren’t ready to make a commitment to a plan during your consultation, print out information and resources for them to take home to consider.
6. Recommend products and services
Incorporate recommendations for services and add-on products into your pharmacy’s open enrollment consultations.
Chances are a few patients who are new to your pharmacy will come in for a consultation. Once you have them in the door, be sure to offer to transfer their prescriptions to your pharmacy, and recommend any relevant services or products you have.
Don’t miss out on the chance to promote your pharmacy’s other offerings during enrollment consultations.
Make the most of the Medicare open enrollment period by incorporating these tips into your workflow.
