Community pharmacist led,employer-based wellness services: A pilot study

The emphasis that United States employers are placing on employee wellness continues to grow; however, most attention has been paid to larger firms to gauge return-on-investment from a larger pool of enrollees. With fewer resources available to fund expansive wellness programs, smaller businesses need a cost-effective mechanism to provide such benefits. As the most accessible healthcare provider, community pharmacists are in an ideal position to support certain wellness programs for smaller businesses. This research piloted a community pharmacist-led, employer-sponsored wellness program for a self-insured financial services company in Tennessee. Employees with diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, asthma, or COPD were recruited from the partnering firm to receive live, one-on-one counseling from a community pharmacist over a calendar year. Each session was tailored to individual employee's needs and goals but generally focused on medication adherence, diet, exercise, and health maintenance strategies. Fifteen employees participated in the program, and improvements in clinical measures were not realized over the course of a year. Some, albeit not statistically significant, improvements were seen in self-reported medication adherence and quality of life; however, a trend toward some weight gain was observed. Results suggest that, similar to Medicare beneficiaries, working-age adults with certain chronic conditions may benefit from pharmacist-led MTM programs but deeper investigation is needed.