by Megan Moyer, senior marketing communications specialist, for the Home Health Care Opportunity blog series

Product selection, size of your department, and patient needs are important considerations when entering or re-evaluating the home health care business. Many independent pharmacies will find success by also offering more than a standard set of products and specialized services.

Use the Specialty Services worksheet to determine which services might be right for your pharmacy. Read the descriptions and check “Yes” or “Explore” for those areas you feel are appropriate for your pharmacy to offer or to explore further. Check “No” when you are certain it is a specialty you will not offer.

Take Action

Making a success of the home health care business is completely scalable for your pharmacy. This blog series is designed to help you choose the right level of involvement, one that suits your community, your patient base, and your pharmacy.

For those items that you checked Explore, make an action plan now to find the resources you need to make a “yes” or “no” final decision. For example, if you checked Yes or Explore for “Provide equipment or product servicing,” you should try to identify one or more product or equipment manufacturers who will work with you to arrange a simple process for repairs and adjustments. If you checked Yes or Explore for “Participate in third party/Medicaid or Medicare reimbursements,” your business partners may have programs and information available to help you navigate the world of accreditation, billing, and reimbursements.

Just like operating a pharmacy, home health care is a business that stretches across multiple types of organizations and providers of products, equipment, service, and support. Make it a goal to seek out partners who can help you and your pharmacy.