A reimbursable education service for patients with hepatitis C

To describe a pharmacy's subcutaneous injection education service for patients with hepatitis C. PRACTICE PROBLEM: Obstacles identified in the delivery of the service included the need to increase the pharmacists' level of knowledge regarding hepatitis C, establish methods for consistent education and documentation of patient education sessions, and improve coordination of scheduling appointments, pharmacy workflow, and obtaining documentation from physicians for reimbursement.

In this pharmacist-coordinated hepatitis C education service, policies and procedures were developed and implemented to ensure uniform standards of patient care and to improve pharmacists' knowledge base, patient education, and documentation of services. A one-page, faxable treatment order form was designed to help streamline physician office documentation and workflow. A task flow sheet for each patient case was used to address additional scheduling and workflow issues. Third party payers were billed for every teaching session.

After evaluating the service and implementing several improvements, coordination of patient care became more streamlined. From March 1997 through February 2000, 94 patients received care, with appointments lasting between 45 and 90 minutes. Reimbursement was obtained from third party payers for 19% (18/94) of the teaching sessions. When claims were rejected, patients were billed for the education service.

Pharmacists have an opportunity to provide a reimbursable education service to patients with hepatitis C.