Golden Living expands with pharmacy service

Fort Smith-based Golden Living has established a new, in-house consulting pharmacy company that will focus on improving medication safety and patient outcomes, according to a statement from the company.

Golden Clinical Rx Services will use a new clinical pharmacist model “that will make certified geriatric pharmacists (CGPs) part of the interdisciplinary clinical teams that care for Golden LivingCenter patients and will leverage technology to improve patient outcomes,” the statement noted.

The company says the approach is unique for the industry but their pilot programs shows that it helped reduce falls, medication errors and the amount of medication provided.

“Managing medications is a complex process, especially for patients of skilled nursing facilities, many of whom have chronic conditions and are prescribed multiple drugs,” Robert Warnock, senior vice president of Pharmacy Services for Golden Living, said in the statement. “Making pharmacists part of our interdisciplinary clinical teams will better ensure the safe and appropriate use of medications for Golden LivingCenter patients.”

Warnock said the new service will not increase the number of employees at the Fort Smith headquarters. The company now employs about 680 in Fort Smith.

Program managers will use the Amalga Unified Intelligence System created by Microsoft to monitor medications in the Golden Living centers using the new approach.

Microsoft and Golden Living announced Dec. 2, 2009, that they would “collaborate” to provide caregivers to “diverse healthcare information necessary” to assist patients after they leave a hospital.

“While there is an abundance of data in healthcare, there is little ability to compare, contrast and learn from the data, which is saved in separate systems and segregated by incompatible formats,” noted the Dec. 2, 2009 statement from the two companies. “Amalga UIS will help Golden Living combine distinct information from a variety of diverse internal and provider sources, including hospitals, public and private payers, independent physicians, and an array of post-acute services.”

Golden Living employees will use the system to ensure the right medications are used in the correct amounts. The company suggests the program could help reduce drug costs.

The program is scheduled for a three-year rollout, with early implementation taking place in the Atlanta and Pittsburgh regions.

Golden Living — formerly Beverly Enterprises — is one of the largest providers of healthcare services in the nation. The company operate skilled nursing and assisted living facilities, and provide rehabilitation therapy, hospice care, home health services, and healthcare staffing services. There are more than 300 Golden LivingCenters in 21 states and the company’s service operations work with more than 1,000 nursing homes, hospitals and health care organizations in 37 states and the District of Columbia. The company has more than 40,000 employees and a daily patient census of more than 60,000 patients.