Auto-Fill Programs:
2 Benefits for Hospice Agencies & Patients

One way pharmacy can keep hospice patients, family members, and caregivers satisfied is by making sure standing orders such as medication refills are delivered on a monthly basis and on-time. In many instances I see patients and caregivers calling the pharmacy to request refills for meds that should have been sent over a week ago. This includes treatments for blood pressure, diabetes, and seizures; medications patients need on a daily basis to have control over comorbidities, including both primary and secondary diagnoses. We understand it is difficult for hospice workers and nurses to keep track of all their patient’s medications, which is why we have created a new strategy to tackle this on, the Auto-Fills Program.

Short for Automatic Refills, Auto-Fills insures patients will automatically receive their medications on-time every month, without the hassle of hospice having to fulfill this responsibility. All the hospice needs to do is contact the pharmacy for any changes that are made to the patient’s therapy and of course in the unfortunate event when a patient passes away. Ultimately, Auto-Fills save time/money and, most importantly, improve patient care.

Take for example patient John Doe (Not a real patient). Mr. Doe has End Stage Congestive Heart Failure with chronic symptoms of cough, shortness of breath, edema, tachycardia, and nausea. We had last filled a 1-month supply for him 38 days ago, Mr. Doe has been out of meds for over a week! His son calls the pharmacy Saturday night at 9:00PM (3 hours after we close for Saturdays) and is routed to the on-call Pharmacist. He starts having a heated conversation with the pharmacist: “Why haven’t you sent over my father’s meds? Don’t you know he can die without them? He’s having difficulty breathing, his heart rate is above 100, and he’s extremely agitated!” The pharmacist replies, “I’m so sorry to hear that! I will contact the hospice right away for them to authorize the refills for Mr. Doe.” The pharmacist quickly contacts the hospice and the on-call nurse picks up. The nurse authorizes the refills and a fee of $100 dollars for the after-hours service charge. The pharmacist rushes to the pharmacy and prepares the order for delivery. The driver comes to pick up the medication and, within 20 minutes, he delivers it to Mr. Doe’s home. As he approaches the door, he can hear crying from the inside; as the door is already open, he knocks once and lets himself in. There he sees Mr. Doe lying on the bed and his son in tears, unable to speak from shock. The son finally finds the strength to get up; he turns his head, with bloodshot eyes staring directly into the driver’s eyes and says: “You’re too late, he’s already gone…We don’t need those anymore.” The driver comes back to the pharmacy, drops off the medications and makes a note of what had happened.

What if having the medications there prior to the incident would have saved John Doe? What if they could have lengthened his life by another month, a week, or even just a day? No monetary value can come close to having to spend one last day with a loved one, it’s priceless! In the case of Mr. Doe, Auto-Fills could have lengthened his lifespan and at the very least kept his family from putting the blame on the hospice and/or pharmacy for why he had passed.