August 21, 2024

OnePoint Patient Care Vice President – Client Services Kenny Judd interviewed in Hospice News

Originally published on HospiceNews.com, OnePoint Vice President – Client Services Kenny Judd sat down with Hospice News to discuss discuss the state of hospice pharmacy service nationally, the challenges local providers face in caring for this unique patient population and the role which OnePoint plays in ensuring providers have a reliable, sustainable community-based and hospice-dedicated pharmacy partner to serve their patients.

Read Kenny’s full interview below:

Hospice News: What life and career experiences do you most draw from in your role today?

Kenny Judd: My mom is actually a hospice nurse, which is how I first got introduced to hospice care. Initially, when I heard her say “hospice nurse,” it didn’t fully register with me. But hearing her stories and learning about the patients, families, and caregivers who need care but might be overlooked really resonated with me. After some reflection and understanding, I developed a deep passion for the field.

Now, I hear about these interactions not only from my mom, but also from our hospice partners. They share their daily experiences and the impact of the care they provide on the hospice patient population, and I draw from them constantly in my role today.

What are the most pressing challenges facing hospice providers today?

I think there are challenges related to staffing, retention, and productivity which are top of mind for hospice providers.

We often hear about their difficulty in finding reliable local pharmacies that are equipped to service their hospice patients in terms of inventory, working hours, or even routine delivery.

Ultimately, these pharmacy’s limitations translate directly to wasted time for nurses, who, instead of being at the patient’s bedside, are forced to spend time in their car or on the phone trying to track down medications.

Hospices continue to search for a pharmacy provider to simplify this process. The way OnePoint addresses this need is by being accountable to our hospice partners for every aspect of the pharmacy continuum. While others rely on outsourcing the critical role of the dispensing pharmacy, we continue to invest in opening our hospice pharmacy model in communities across the country.

What we’ve observed with other pharmacy competitors is that PBMs (pharmacy benefit managers) alone can’t fully control pharmacy outcomes; they have fairly stark limitations. For example, a PBM simply can’t reach into a local pharmacy and solve any medication dispensing or systems issues for a nurse.

OnePoint’s vertical integration, incorporating not just PBM, but also our company-owned and operated hospice-dedicated pharmacies and dispensing and delivering medications and e-prescribing, allows us to control all levels of care, from order to delivery. This integration greatly simplifies processes, enhances nurse efficiency, and ultimately improves patient care across the board.

OnePoint’s mission is to make things easier for our hospice partners and their busy clinicians, so they can focus on what matters most: patient care.

How is OnePoint meeting the industry’s need for a more comprehensive hospice pharmacy service?

We originally started with one pharmacy location, and our hospice partners soon asked, “When can you start serving us in this new market?” We’ve now expanded to service all 50 states and are currently working to open five additional pharmacies in the next few months. This expansion has been driven by the market reacting to and requesting our sustainable, reliable, and unparalleled local-level service.

We’ve encountered with increasing frequency what’s been called a “pharmacy desert,” where many local and retail pharmacies are stepping away from hospice services and closing their doors. In contrast, OnePoint recognized the need and responded by deploying more pharmacies and expanding our service to new markets. For instance, one of our newest pharmacies serving Minnesota and the Minneapolis metro region was opened due to a lack of reliable local pharmacy options for hospices.

We are committed to our mission of continuing to expand our local dispensing model across the country.

Through the provider lens, talk about the difference between a local pharmacy and a local hospice-dedicated pharmacy.

We know that hospice pharmacy is unique. It requires an added level of service and much greater sense of urgency. If I were to get my own medications and my doctor called in a prescription to my pharmacy, and they said, “It’ll be ready on Friday or in a few days,” I’d be fine with that. I can pick it up later. However, in hospice care, patients need those medications now, or needed them five minutes ago. Our ability to keep those meds in stock, fill them quickly, and deliver them to patients 24/7 sets us apart and exemplifies our dedication to hospice care.

We strive to understand our hospice partners’ specific needs. While we may think we know what is required, we recognize that no two hospices are the same. We work closely with our partners to identify their unique needs and deploy a model that suits them. This often means opening new pharmacies and providing dedicated local hospice pharmacy services. We handle everything from the PBM to the technology used, including e-prescribing software, clinical resources, and local dispensing and deliveries.

Our vertical integration of pharmacy services enables cost efficiencies. By managing all aspects — from PBM to technology to local pharmacy services — OnePoint eliminates the need for multiple providers, which improves service, generates nurse and staffing efficiencies, and allows our hospice partners to realize cost savings.

What does the future hold for OPPC and its clients?

Hospices continue to ask us to service new markets, and we’re excited to open our next five pharmacies over the next few months. In these markets, hospice needs have been underserved, and there hasn’t been a strong hospice pharmacy model. Opening these pharmacies for patients, clinicians, and hospices who didn’t previously have access to this level of high-touch service is very rewarding.

I’m grateful to be involved in nearly all of these projects firsthand. We anticipate more opportunities in new markets where hospices are eager to see us expand. There are several exciting locations currently, including Minneapolis, which we launched earlier this month, and upcoming expansions in Dallas, Connecticut, Washington, DC, Baltimore, and Boston. We are committed to establishing a strong local hospice pharmacy presence, because that’s what hospices are asking for. There’s been significant demand as we grow nationwide.

Finish this sentence: “In the hospice space, 2024 will be defined by…”

… building efficiencies — which can be done in a lot of different ways.

Some of these efficiencies include affiliations, such as hospices joining forces or forming alliances and combining resources to be more efficient.

Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are happening as well. While M&A is not new, there seems to be a greater emphasis on it now due to the need for efficiency. Hospices are realizing that teaming up can help streamline operations.

Staffing remains a challenge, with fewer clinicians available than in the past. To address this, it’s crucial to make the existing hospice staff more efficient. This includes using technology, like AI, to free nurses from tasks like data entry and charting, allowing them to focus more on patient care. At OnePoint, we aim to provide similar efficiencies. Our integrated pharmacy services mean that hospices work with one dedicated partner, eliminating the need to communicate with multiple places.

Although the term “AI” can be overused, our technology does support our hospice partners by simplifying nurse roles and improving workflow. Our dedication to hospice means that nurses don’t waste time searching for pharmacies or tracking down orders. As a vertically integrated provider, we handle all pharmacy-related needs for our hospice partners and their clinicians. This integration also helps control costs, contributing to overall efficiency.

 

Editor’s note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

OnePoint Patient Care is the nation’s leading provider of community-based hospice pharmacy and pharmacy benefits management (PBM) services offering hospices nationwide flexible and adaptable solutions for their hospice pharmacy needs. Through its Concierge PBM, Next Day Valet mail order and Direct Express local services, OnePoint fills prescriptions, creates custom compounds and formularies, provides home deliveries and manages pharmacy benefits for hospice patients across the country.