National Nurses Month: How Pharmacy Nurses Care for Patients with Rare Diseases
May is Nurses Month, a time to honor our nurses who help make better tomorrows possible for our patients. As clinical caregivers, our more than 50 nurses nurture our patients, help them navigate the healthcare system, and provide a caring face for those going through challenging times.
At AllianceRx Walgreens Pharmacy, our nurses play important roles as members of our patients’ care team:
Care Management Nurses
Care management (CM) nurses are clinically trained licensed practical nurses with experience in areas such as long-term care, medical/surgical, home health, perioperative care, case management and in-office oncology care. AllianceRx Walgreens Pharmacy’s CM team provides disease management assessments and education for patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), chronic inflammatory disease (CID) and oncology. These assessments focus on interventions for depression, fatigue, adherence and symptom flares. Assessments are completed on a 4- to 6-month schedule depending on disease type.
CM team members also provide direction, including a need for clinical follow-up, referrals via phone or fax, when issues arise needing further intervention from the patients prescribing physician or by an one of our pharmacists.
Keisha Lewis, RN, is a CM nurse supervisor based in Orlando, Fla. Her team of nurses makes quarterly and semi-annual phone calls to CID, MS and oral oncology patients. During these calls, the CM nurse asks about the patient’s disease and how it is progressing. They also discuss the effectiveness of their medications, perform depression screenings and provide interventions to resolve any flare-ups.
“This is an additional service the pharmacy offers our patients to help ensure our therapies are working effectively,” says Lewis. “Since these diseases are chronic, life-long conditions that can progress over time, we keep an eye on our patient’s symptoms and provide early interventions.” Lewis adds: “Our work does not replace a doctor’s visit, but it does allow our patients to speak with someone who knows when further intervention is needed. It’s about appropriate interventions for the patient and determining what we can do to improve their well-being.”
Fertility Nurses
Fertility nurses at AllianceRx Walgreens Pharmacy offer support programs such as the Fertility Order Review (FOR) program designed to help minimize the anxiety patients may face related to their infertility treatments. These nurses review medications with patients and provide education and injection training. Through our FOR Video Connected Care program, patients can communicate face to face with a fertility nurse in a private setting (i.e., home, office). These face-to-face video appointments provide patients with additional educational resources and support.
“Fertility nurses offer a more personalized pharmacy experience that can calm a patient when it comes to injecting an infertility medication. Plus, with our video technology, we can provide a high-touch option for patients to speak directly with our nurses, and from the comfort of their homes,” says Ann Scalia, BSN, RN, CNOR, director of Clinical Education at AllianceRx Walgreens Pharmacy.
Clinical Education Nurses
Senior Specialist Clinical Education nurses design and implement infertility education programs, tools and training for patients, medical professionals, internal clinicians, team members and payers. They also provide oncology support through fertility preservation and body image programs.
“Our goal is to positively impact health outcomes by providing the most up-to-date clinical information and educational tools,” Scalia adds.
Infusion Care Nurses
Infusion care nurses manage AllianceRx Walgreens Pharmacy’s rare disease infusion patients, perform telephonic clinical assessments, and provide education. They act as the liaison between the specialty pharmacy, prescribers' offices and the nursing network. They manage infused medications which are given via an IV catheter and gravity flow tubing, pump or intravenous push.
“Save one life and you’re a hero. Save a hundred lives and you’re a nurse,” says Shaunte Law Rhames, RN, Infusion Care Supervisor for AllianceRx Walgreens Pharmacy. “I laugh, but it’s true! Nursing is a selfless service that touches countless lives.” Rhames was one of the first infusion care nurses to join the company almost eight years ago.
Utilization Management (UM) Nurses
The nurses on this team work with members of a dedicated health plan. The team reviews clinical criteria and interprets medical policy in order to complete medical prior authorizations. This team is also responsible for reviewing the site of care, where patients are moved from a higher-cost site to a lower-cost alternative.
Recently, AllianceRx Walgreens Pharmacy’s UM nurses began a Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) pilot in partnership with Highmark. Specially-trained nurses reach out to Highmark members who have multiple sclerosis and use AllianceRx Walgreens Pharmacy as their pharmacy to evaluate any challenges they be facing and may qualify for additional support through Highmark clinical team.
Nursing Network Nurses
AllianceRx Walgreens Pharmacy’s nursing network team helps manage our national network of subcontracted nursing providers, who provide high-touch care to our patients. This network team expands our footprint of availability of registered nurses by conducting national provider searches and legal contracting activities. Our nursing network educator manages our online training portal to provide clinical education to thousands of field nurses across the country.
“Ensuring that our patients are seen by nurses who are credentialed and trained to provide our high-tech specialty medications safely in the home setting is paramount,” says Donna Ford, BSN, RN national director of nursing for AllianceRx Walgreens Pharmacy. “These subcontracted agency nurses are an essential extension of us and the services we provide to our patients. They do a great job at upholding our values: care, accountability, respect and trust in their face to-face and hands on encounters with our patients.”
Back to Blog > Blog Stories