| Company finds clients through social media Neumiller and Swain have developed their clientele using traditional methods.
But in addition to professional referrals and word of mouth, they’re also using Facebook and a website to reach out to potential customers. They maintain a blog on which they answer patient questions.
“I wouldn’t say that what we’re doing necessarily is new, but it’s new in that it’s a private business doing it,” said Swain. “There are a lot of pharmacists doing this as a side thing or who do it for free. But doing this as a business with the website and social media is innovative.”
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SPOKANE, Wash. – Josh Neumiller and Lindy Swain are among the youngest faculty members at WSU Spokane. But their professional interests lie with people a generation or two older.
Both have appointments in the pharmacotherapy department within the College of Pharmacy. Neumiller is an assistant professor and Swain is an instructor. Both focus their clinical work on older people.
Now they are business partners.
Sorting out medications
A year ago, Neumiller and Swain created a consulting company, Pharmacy Advocates. They work with older adults who need help sorting out medication issues.
“We see a lot of older patients who are taking a boatload of medications,” said Swain. “They often think they’re having drug interactions or are overmedicated.”
Swain and Neumiller said they’re often called by the adult children of their clients. They meet with the families and ask about medical histories and the drugs the older adults take. Then they analyze their clients’ cases and offer guidance for managing their prescriptions and over-the-counter remedies.
“We’re not just trying to fix one little problem with a medication,” said Neumiller. “We’re looking at it from more of the whole patient, how these medications interact with their other disease states.
“We look at any changes we can make to keep them functional as long as possible and in their home as long as we can,” he said.
Anticipating insurance coverage
Their patients pay a per-hour consultation fee. Insurance companies don’t yet cover their services, but Swain and Neumiller hope that eventually will change.
But even if insurers don’t consider Pharmacy Advocates’ services valuable enough yet to include in their plans, Neumiller said the feedback from patients has been very positive.
“Particularly if they have a lot of cooks in the kitchen, as we like to say, a lot of people prescribing,” he said. “One physician may not know what the other is doing. And so we serve as a liaison, cleaning up the regimen, letting all of the players know what’s going on. It can make a huge difference in these individuals’ lives.”
Eventually, Swain said, she and/or Neumiller may consider making Pharmacy Advocates their full-time job. But for now, they’ll fit the business in with their teaching and research duties within the College of Pharmacy.