Daily home delivery of MHSU medication begins
VCH-Vancouver’s Medication Support Program officially launched on January 4, with six partner pharmacies offering home visits to provide eligible mental health and substance use (MHSU) clients with their daily medicine and help with intake.
To qualify for the new program, MHSU clients will need extra support taking their prescribed medications in a safe and consistent manner. A physician’s order for daily dispensing of the medication is also required. Additionally, most clients will need to reside in Vancouver.
“Not many mental health programs offer daily in-home visits with the aim of improving medication compliance,” says Ryan Teraverst, Coordinator, Medication Monitoring Program at Robin’s Pharmacy – one of the six pharmacies participating in the VCH-Vancouver Community-led initiative.
The benefits are big
Home deliveries can positively impact adherence to medication schedules, increase reporting of adverse reactions, more closely monitor clients’ health, reduce medication waste, and open windows for teaching and coaching clients, as well as conducting pharmacist-led reviews and reconciliations of medication.
“With medications being delivered to clients’ homes, there are more opportunities for client engagement around their medicines and the managing of their condition, as well as relationship building between clients and pharmacists,” notes Roy Ang, Program Lead and MHSU Manager.
Teraverst adds, “The trusting and meaningful relationships we have formed with our clients have allowed us to become the first point-of-contact for many health-related issues. Our team is then able to communicate the needs of clients with VCH and affiliated support networks and, ultimately, prevent health-related problems before they occur.”
Our six partner pharmacies
Our partner pharmacies are responsible for ensuring medications are delivered and that clients are administering them safely. Currently, the pharmacies participating are:
- Naz’s/Wellness Pharmacies (two locations)
- Remedy’s Rx (Hastings Street)
- MJ/Everwell Pharmacies (two locations)
- Robin’s Pharmacy (Commercial Drive)
- Pharmasave Health Centre 077 (East Broadway)
- Medicine Shoppe/Pharmacy BC Group (four locations)
“This program puts client care at the forefront, and we’re excited to be part of such a novel healthcare and pharmacy partnership,” says Bob Rai, owner of The Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy. “Through our four locations, we’ll be able to provide VCH MHSU clients enhanced services in the comfort of their own homes.”
Different from IMMP
“It’s important to recognize this program differs from the Vancouver Community Home Health Integrated Medication Management Program (IMMP),” Ang says. “In the new Medication Support Program, MHSU clients aren’t required to have active home support in place because direct service is provided by the partnering pharmacies.”
Clients and their families served
“I am very pleased with their follow-up,” says Mr. A, the father of a young man who has been piloting the program. “They are very accommodating in providing us with medication for the nights that he spends with us, and in arranging delivery if our son isn’t with us.”
Clients currently receiving services from Mental Health teams in Vancouver may be referred to a partner pharmacy by their care team.
The program currently has the capacity to serve 250 clients with opportunities for expansion in the future.