IRVINE, Calif. — Cloud-based health solution provider PrescribeWellness reports that community pharmacies are seeing results since adopting its PharmacyGrowth patient engagement tool.

PharmacyGrowth is designed to help pharmacists identify customers who need to visit the pharmacy and then schedule a text message, email or call (recorded in the pharmacist’s voice) requesting they come in. The tool also enables pharmacists, for example, to invite patients to do an in-person plan review, remind them to refill medications, offer a flu shot and manage call bins, among other tasks.

PrescribeWellness said this week that new internal data show pharmacies using PharmacyGrowth have increased their annual prescription volume — to eight times the national average for community pharmacies in 2016 — and boosted patient satisfaction, with online customer review ratings averaging 15% higher than those of pharmacies not using the tool. In addition, pharmacies using PharmacyGrowth average a 4.4 Star network score.

Part of the PrescribeWellness patient engagement suite — which also includes the Patient Engagement Center dashboard and PharmacyNow tasking tool — PharmacyGrowth leverages data analytics and machine learning to automatically deliver timely, relevant communications to patients without interrupting the pharmacy workflow. PrescribeWellness noted that these personal connections lead to better performance on Star Ratings, medication adherence and patient loyalty.

What’s more, PharmacyGrowth helps pharmacy staff understand which patients are impacting Star Ratings and helps pharmacies reduce direct and indirection remuneration (DIR) or other financial penalties related to lack of adherence, PrescribeWellness added. This capability allows community pharmacies to serve more people with a high standard of one-to-one care, the company said.

“As a patient-centric pharmacy, you need tools to help you identify and support all of a patient’s health care needs, and our new data shows that PharmacyGrowth is a powerful and effective tool for community pharmacies to communicate and engage with their patients,” stated Perry Reed, patient communications manager at PrescribeWellness. “Not only does it help patients stay compliant and on their medications for better health, but it also drives refills, prescription volume, loyalty and repeat business.”