At Glens Falls Hospital, we are committed to partnering with our patients and guiding them through every step of their health journey. We are always thinking of new ways to advance our mission: to improve the health of people in our region by providing access to exceptional, affordable, and patient-centered care every day and in every setting. To expand our mission’s impact, we recently opened our new Specialty and Community Pharmacies.
These two pharmacies will work together to provide services far beyond the scope of a typical pharmacy. Through the Community Pharmacy, patients, employees and local community patients can access over-the-counter and commonly prescribed medications. The Specialty Pharmacy will provide additional support for those requiring specialty medications and education around their associated treatment plans.
Specialty medications treating serious, complex conditions require careful handling and patient management. Prior to the launch of our new pharmacies, our patients had to have certain prescriptions ordered from a pharmacy outside of our local area. Through these new pharmacies opening at Glens Falls Hospital, patients will benefit from local onsite, convenient access to specialized medications that are part of their care.
This advanced pharmacy practice and care will be especially important for people living with complex medical conditions, such as patients being treated for cancer. Because limited distribution drugs are often prescribed to individuals with critical conditions, it’s crucial that they can obtain their medications in a timely manner and are properly informed about their therapies. That’s why we are starting this specialty pharmacy program for cancer patients in our nationally accredited C.R. Wood Cancer Center. Within the Albany-Med Health System, Glens Falls Hospital provides extensive oncology services for our region. As a leader in cancer treatment, we embrace the responsibility to provide comprehensive care to the people we serve.
We are confident that the new pharmacies will allow for an even more personalized treatment process, as clinicians will be able to coordinate directly with pharmacists and navigators to ensure that patients understand their medication and therapy every step of the way. As we grow, we plan to extend the program offerings to other service lines such as Neurology, Cardiology, Ear Nose and Throat and more.
This close coordination of care ensures that patients feel informed and connected to their medical care team, from before they begin treatment to after completion of their care or therapies. Specialty pharmacy patients will be automatically enrolled into our disease-specific specialty medication service, called the patient management program (PMP), a free program designed to maximize opportunities for positive outcomes. Patients will benefit from access to a collaborative care team that specializes in their needs and is committed to helping each individual achieve the best possible outcomes for their health. Our dedicated patient care service team will work with insurance companies for prior authorizations on limited distribution drugs to ensure that they are affordable to patients.
The pharmacies will sit side-by-side in the main tower lobby—easily accessible to caregivers, employees, patients, and our expanded community patients. We are honored to serve this region and are excited for the many ways our new pharmacies will advance the affordable, patient-centered care that our community deserves.