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Tillamook County accepts $480,000 CCO grant to pilot clinical pharmacist position
Summary
The county accepted a two-year grant agreement with Columbia Pacific Coordinated Care Organization to fund a clinical pharmacist position and pilot a clinical pharmacy program inside county health services; commissioners approved the grant with a plan to monitor sustainability and billing for services beyond the grant term.
Tillamook County on April 2 approved a two-year grant agreement (Grant Agreement No. 500115) with Columbia Pacific Coordinated Care Organization to fund a clinical pharmacist position for the county's Health and Human Services department.
Marlene Putnam, Health and Human Services administrator, told commissioners the grant totals $480,000 and will fund a clinical pharmacist position for a two-year period that runs from contract signature through Dec. 31, 2026. Putnam explained the clinical pharmacist would work inside county clinical settings with care teams to address medication-related issues, improve adherence, reconcile medications and advise on medication selection.
"This person would be placed in our clinical setting and work with our clinical care teams to address patient medication issues, adverse effects, adherence to treatment protocol, to reconcile medications," Putnam said. She added the role is typically a doctorate-level pharmacist position and that the county will recruit and hire the position and work with Columbia Pacific's clinical pharmacy director to set up the program.
Putnam and commissioners discussed sustainability. Putnam said the expectation is that clinical pharmacy services can be billed as clinical visits and covered by insurers, and Columbia Pacific expects the role to become financially sustainable through fee-for-service reimbursement over time. The county will monitor performance, particularly in the first six months, and evaluate long-term sustainability once the program is operating.
Commissioners asked about where the pharmacist would see patients; Putnam said the pharmacist would be based primarily in the main clinic where most patients receive care and would also be available at the county's integrated site as needed.
The board voted to approve the grant agreement; the motion passed on a voice vote. Putnam said the county will proceed with recruitment and will return with updates as the program is implemented.
