A pharmacy-based referral program to assist low-income Medicare beneficiaries.

OBJECTIVES: The Certified Aging Resource Educated Specialist (C.A.R.E.S.) Program was developed to increase pharmacist awareness of available programs for Medicare patients with limited income and to integrate an efficient referral process into the pharmacy workflow. The objective is to describe the program in terms of pharmacy personnel satisfaction, pharmacy personnel knowledge, and network outcomes including enrollment and referrals.

SETTING: Alabama community pharmacies.

PRACTICE DESCRIPTION: The C.A.R.E.S. Program, a partnership between the School of Pharmacy and the Alabama Department of Senior Services, has recruited pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, and pharmacy students to participate on a voluntary basis since its launch in 2015.

PRACTICE INNOVATION: Pharmacies with at least one pharmacist who completed the comprehensive training program can enroll in the pharmacy network. Enrolled pharmacies receive a referral kit containing referral cards and prestamped envelopes. Pharmacy personnel identify patients who appear to have limited income or fall into the Medicare coverage gap and refer these patients to local Aging and Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs). ADRC counselors contact and screen referred patients for all available benefits, including the Medicare Savings Program and the Low-Income Subsidy.

EVALUATION: One hundred seventy-nine pharmacy personnel have completed the 1-hour introductory continuing pharmacy education, with 99 completing the full 3-hour training. Knowledge was assessed before and immediately after training with an online survey and compared using a paired samples t test.

RESULTS: Mean knowledge scores increased significantly (P < 0.001). Twenty-nine pharmacies have enrolled in the pharmacy network. As a result of this pharmacy referral system, 130 patients have been screened for subsidy programs by ADRC counselors.

CONCLUSION: To our knowledge, this is the first identifiable program connecting local pharmacies and ADRCs, equipping pharmacists with the knowledge and means to provide long-term solutions for patients. Other states might consider replicating this partnership to develop similar programs to benefit Medicare beneficiaries with limited income.