EP313: Partnering Up With Fiercely Local and Fiercely Independent Pharmacies, With Dan Strause and Drew Leatherberry

In Episode 313, recorded live at the Health Rosetta Summit, Stacey Richter talks with Dan Strause of Hometown Pharmacy and Drew Leatherberry of Avergent about a collaboration model pairing local primary care teams with independent hometown pharmacies to deliver advanced, navigated chronic care. WHAT YOU'LL LEARN ✅ Why keeping health care dollars local, rather than siphoned out by national players, matters for communities ✅ How pairing local PCP teams with local pharmacies creates a team-based advanced primary care model ✅ Why pharmacists are uniquely positioned to help patients manage chronic conditions, given how often patients visit ✅ Why pharmacists are motivated to help get patients off unnecessary medications, not just dispense more ✅ How unifying the patient health record across the collaboration supports better navigation and outcomes WHY THIS MATTERS Patients visit their local pharmacy roughly 35 times a year, which makes the pharmacist one of the most underused sources of expertise for managing chronic conditions. Because pharmacists are traditionally paid for the product they dispense rather than for their time and knowledge, this collaboration model between self-insured employers, local PCP teams, and independent pharmacies represents a genuine attempt to realign incentives around keeping patients healthy rather than just filling prescriptions — while keeping health care dollars circulating in the local community. === LINKS === 🔗 Show Notes with all mentioned links: Episode Page 🔗 Healthcare Industry Acronyms and Terms ✉️ Enjoy this podcast? Subscribe to the free weekly newsletter 🫙 Support the podcast with a small donation to the Tip Jar 📺 Subscribe to our YouTube channel 🎤 Listen on Apple Podcasts 🎤 Listen on Spotify === CONNECT WITH THE RHV TEAM === ✭ LinkedIn ✭ Threads ✭ Bluesky ✭ X 00:00 Introduction. 05:02 What has Avergent's collaborative care model accomplished? 06:07 How did Drew and Dan connect? 07:08 "We realized that we were missing out [on] … how … to leverage the experience and the expertise of the pharmacist in driving better patient care."—Drew 07:31 Why would a pharmacy make it their goal to get their patients off their medications? 08:20 "Prescription medicine is the most expensive, most dangerous form of a plant."—Dan 08:39 "We believe we can help people by giving up prescription medicines."—Dan 08:45 Is a pharmacy equipped to create a personal relationship with their patients? 12:50 "It's a spin on traditional navigator-advocate-type roles."—Drew 16:15 What does helping the patient look like through this partnership program? 19:18 "We're really unifying the patient health record … and then … cross-referencing all those different data points … on a micro level [and] a macro level."—Drew 20:53 "Everyone is onboarded into the collaborative care model."—Drew 21:05 How does this collaborative care model cross the spectrum? 22:13 "Pharmacists are one of the unique professions that doesn't get paid for time and knowledge [but rather] because of the product they dispense."—Dan 23:06 "We can see the day where … patients will get a prescription from mail order but still need us."—Dan 25:46 "We would love to get paid to keep you healthy."—Dan 27:15 Why are pharmacists wanting to get patients off prescriptions, and how are they involved? 27:36 "In some cases, we are misapplying expertise that's sitting right in front of our face that can help us deliver a better patient outcome."—Drew