Community

The RWJBarnabas Health Foundational Care Continuum strategy is centered around Transitions of Care.

Transitions of Care is defined as a set of actions designed to ensure the coordination and continuity of health care as patients transfer between different locations or different levels of care within the same location. Locations include hospitals, sub-acute and post-acute nursing homes, the patient’s home, primary and specialty care offices, and long-term care facilities. Transitional care is based on a comprehensive plan of care and the availability of health care practitioners who are well-trained in chronic care and have current information about the patient’s goals, preferences, and clinical status. It includes logistical arrangements, education of the patient and family, and coordination amongst healthcare professionals involved in the transition. The Pharmacy Enterprise has engaged in several activities to aid in the health system’s overall strategy of Transitions of Care such as: patient medication counseling (inpatient and outpatient), home infusion of intravenous medications, and discharge medications filled and delivered to a patients bedside prior to discharge.

The team has increased its presence in the area of care continuum. The following care continuum activities were completed in 2023:

  • Excess of 20,555 medication reconciliations
  • More than 261 discharge counseling sessions
  • More than 12,739 medication histories
  • In excess of 203 transition of care activities
  • Our pharmacy team continued to extend their service outside of the Acute Care Service Line to physician office practices and clinics. In 2023, Embedded ambulatory care pharmacy specialists provided over 8100 medication encounters with more than 3450 individual patients
  • Retail Pharmacy Network Division’s delivery service to patient’s homes provided more than 705 deliveries representing 1,413 prescriptions
  • The Meds to Beds program processed 13,381 prescriptions for 5,403 patients
  • Our RWJBH Home Infusion Division nursing colleagues performed more than 24,707 home infusion visits
  • RWJBH Home Infusion provided 274 hydration only visits on behalf of CINJ and RWJ New Brunswick, generating an additional $197,408 revenue opportunity
  • More than 1,160 ambulatory activities performed by a pharmacist

Past polls have traditionally held pharmacists in high esteem for such characteristics as trust, ethics, and honesty. Creating access to pharmacist’s unique medication knowledge base is a key focus for our community outreach programs. Improving the pharmaceutical care and disease state understanding should never stop at the doors of a hospital or doctor’s office, but should extend into the community. The programs that were completed in 2023 helped to improve medication and disease state knowledge among patients within our community. Patient education is critical to improving their compliance with medications, understanding of disease states, and comfort in communicating with health providers.

The Pharmacy Enterprise provided over 158 community outreach programs in 2023 which included:

  • Adopt-A-Family for Thanksgiving
  • Alma Beatty Health and Wellness Fair
  • Better Breathers Club
  • BizFest and Wellness Expo
  • Brown Bag at Cardiac Rehab
  • Community Coat Drive
  • COVID Vaccine & Testing Clinic
  • Crane’s Mill Assisted Living Facility
  • Flu vaccine clinics
  • Heart-to-Heart American Heart Month Event
  • International Friends Club
  • LiveWell center
  • Middlesex County Fire Academy
  • Monmouth Medical Center Healthcare Explorers Post
  • Newark Hall of Records
  • Older Adult and Falls Prevention Awareness Event
  • School Outreach
  • Stroke Awareness Event
  • Stroke Support Group Medication Counseling
  • Toy Drive Donation
  • The Retail Pharmacy Network Division continues to maintain and expand the Dispensary of Hope program
  • RWJBarnabas Health Infusion and Specialty Pharmacy Services provided free medications to indigent patients for a total of $185,852

340B Drug Pricing Program

The RWJBarnabas Health Pharmacy Enterprise fully participates and remains in compliance with the 340B Drug Pricing Program as a means to help our surrounding communities. The 340B Drug Pricing Program is a U.S. federal government program created in 1992 that requires drug manufacturers to provide outpatient drugs to eligible health care organizations at significantly reduced prices. The intent of the program is to allow health care organizations to stretch scarce federal resources as far as possible, reaching more eligible patients and providing more comprehensive services. The 340B eligible hospitals within RWJBarnabas Health are: Clara Maass Medical Center, Children’s Specialized Hospital, Jersey City Medical Center, Monmouth Medical Center, Monmouth Medical Center Southern Campus, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center, RWJ New Brunswick, the Hemophilia Treatment Center at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center and Trinitas Regional Medical Center.

The Retail Pharmacy Network Division

The Retail Pharmacy Network Division dispensed 3,209 prescriptions under the charity program (Dispensary of Hope) that offers free medications to financially qualified patients.

The Retail Pharmacy Network

The Retail Pharmacy Network in kind dollars, sponsored by the hospital, provides medications to patients in need. Clara Maass Medical Center $23,218, Jersey City Medical Center $61,690, Monmouth Medical Center $29,217, Newark Beth Israel Medical Center $167,852, and Cooperman Barnabas Medical Center $33,161 for a total of $315,138.

RWJBarnabas Health Infusion and Specialty Pharmacy Services Divisions

RWJBarnabas Health Infusion and Specialty Pharmacy Services Divisions provided $316,195 in kind medications to our indigent patients.