FORT WORTH, Texas, Aug. 25, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- FDS, Inc., a
leading pharmacy software company, announced today a partnership
with University of Tennessee Health
Science Center (UTHSC) College of Pharmacy to mobilize community
pharmacies as COVID-19 testing sites and to study the impact on
public health.
Recent actions by U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
authorize pharmacists, the nation's most accessible healthcare
provider, to order and administer COVID-19 tests. This, along with
payment recognition by the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid
Services, has made it possible for pharmacists across the country
to increase access to care by offering this service to their
communities during the public health emergency.
"By leveraging the FDS MedBill Clinical product, pharmacists
have a turnkey solution that provides practical education and
training on COVID-19 testing, additional enrollment and
registration assistance to meet compliance and billing
requirements, and access to software that is needed for billing the
medical benefit and for proper documentation of care," said
Jason Ausili, Pharm.D., Chief
Clinical Officer for FDS. "We are excited to help activate an
important channel of COVID-19 testing by providing a complete
solution that drives comfort and confidence in a viable
Point-of-Care Testing (POCT) practice and reimbursement model."
"This partnership will help community pharmacies across
Tennessee, some in rural and
medically underserved areas, provide vital access to COVID-19
testing that may otherwise not exist," said Kenneth Hohmeier, Associate Professor, Director
of Community Affairs, University of
Tennessee Health and Sciences Center. "Our goal is to study
the public health impact of a community pharmacy-based COVID-19
Point-of-Care testing practice and the results may be helpful in
understanding the lasting effects of pharmacist provided care
within communities in need of accessible healthcare."
UTHSC and FDS will collaborate on grant funding requests that
will be used to assemble 50 community-based pharmacy participants
across the state of Tennessee and
underwrite a 12 to 18-month research project aimed at measuring the
impact on public health. Qualifying pharmacy participants will be
provided a turnkey solution to setting up their COVID-19 Testing
practice.
About FDS, Inc.
FDS strengthens the health of
pharmacies and their patients. We empower community pharmacies to
build the clinically-focused New Era Pharmacy, enabling their
business to thrive now and successfully transition to a provider of
community and population health through data insights,
purpose-built technology solutions, and clinical services
enablement. Read more about FDS at fdsrx.com.
About UTHSC College of Pharmacy
As Tennessee's only public, statewide, academic
health system, the mission of the University
of Tennessee Health Science Center is to bring the benefits
of the health sciences to the achievement and maintenance of human
health through education, research, clinical care, and public
service, with a focus on the citizens of Tennessee and the region. The main campus in
Memphis includes six colleges:
Dentistry, Graduate Health Sciences, Health Professions, Medicine,
Nursing, and Pharmacy. UTHSC also educates and trains medicine,
pharmacy, dentistry, and health professions students, as well as
medical residents and fellows, at major sites in Knoxville, Chattanooga, and Nashville. For more information, visit
www.uthsc.edu. Find us on Facebook: facebook.com/uthsc, Twitter:
twitter.com/uthsc, LinkedIn: linkedin.com/uthsc, and Instagram:
instagram.com/uthsc
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SOURCE FDS, Inc.