CASE STUDY
www.cps.com
“CPS’ emphasis on local care was a big deciding factor for me,” he says. “But so was
their approach. They spent a day and a half with me and others on the leadership team
to ensure buy-in and gain a thorough understanding of our health system's operations
and priorities.”
THE APPROACH: DELIVERING A LOCAL CARE MODEL
SOMC is CPS’ longest-running specialty pharmacy client. With CPS, team members
are on site, which means medical staff members and patients talk to their neighbors
to help them navigate the complex specialty pharmacy landscape. “As far as patients
and medical staff members are concerned, CPS pharmacists and liaisons are SOMC
staff,” says Phillips. “This is exactly what I wanted — specialty pharmacy staff building
relationships with patients and medical staff members, giving patients familiar people
to reach out to for help.”
“[CPS] Pharmacists and liaisons assist physicians and patients in managing all of their
prescriptions. It is a holistic approach and includes all of the patient’s medications.
The CPS team contacts the patient and manages new and refill prescriptions
proactively,” explains Phillips.
In 2023 alone, SOMC provided $2.4M in financial assistance for its patients. “CPS’
patient-centered approach to specialty pharmacy is truly making a difference at SOMC,”
says Phillips. Medical staff members and patient satisfaction scores are 100% and 96%,
respectively, for 2023. “That, to me, is a clear demonstration of our success,” he adds.
“When specialty pharmacy staff can talk to patients or colleagues about their kids, their
job, or even the county fair, they put patients at ease and trust pharmacy staff to care
for them.”
THE COLLABORATION: WORKING TOGETHER FOR
ADDED VALUE
One of the aspects Phillips appreciates most about CPS is that they are a true teammate
for the long run. “Over the years, our goals and priorities have evolved — and CPS has
been willing to shift right along with us.”
A significant goal for SOMC is to improve patient care through chronic disease
management (CDM). That’s why the health system implemented CPS’ CDM services
in all family practice clinics in late 2021. SOMC also worked with CPS to focus on
medication adherence, which resulted in patient adherence reaching 92% last year.
Since the third quarter of 2023, CPS has been assisting SOMC with its transition of
care processes and the hospitals’ Medicare Star Ratings. The goal is to minimize
readmissions, which can improve patient outcomes while also reducing hospital costs
incurred for inpatient stays and procedures. Through this process, CPS coordinates prior
authorizations for medications given to SOMC patients at the time of discharge and also
submits patient medication counseling documentation in a web-based performance
“
CPS’ patient-
centered approach
to specialty
pharmacy is truly
making a diference
at SOMC.”
Rory Phillips, BSPh, MBA,
CPEL, RPh
Director of Pharmacy &
Respiratory Services
~ Southern Ohio Medical
Center (SOMC)
$2.4M
PATIENT FINANCIAL
ASSISTANCE, 2023
92%
TREATMENT ADHERENCE
96%
PATIENT SATISFACTION
100%
MEDICAL STAFF
SATISFACTION