2009 Innovator of the Year Honoree: Integrity Home Care Pharmacy

If Integrity Home Care were to add a pharmacy to its services, then it had to offer something no other pharmacy did. Co-owner Greg Horton had an idea what that "something" should be.

Having watched his late father's struggles with declining health, Horton saw the difficulty older people often have keeping straight multiple medications. There's a lot to remember, especially when more than a dozen pills can be involved. Refills for medications that are renewed at different times are a hassle. Pill-bottle tops are tough to open for older hands. Medication can be misplaced or hidden if someone is dealing with deteriorating mental acuity.

Caregivers, whether professional or familial, spend a lot of time sorting out medication issues, says Horton, chief financial officer and co-owner of Integrity Home Care, which launched Integrity Home Care Pharmacy last fall. The pharmacy is owned by Integrity founders Horton, Phil Melugin and Paul Reinert, along with Pharmacist Jim Montgomery, owner of Dan's Discount Drugs, and Sean McQueary. Montgomery's store is next door to Integrity's pharmacy operation.

Inadequate dosing or too much dosing - which can happen when people get confused and take a pill when they've already had one - contribute to health issues that land them in the hospital or a nursing home. Many people who break hips from falls, which can stem from medication mess-ups, never recover enough to return to independent living, Horton says.

Horton and Montgomery started looking for a good system of medication delivery that safely served home-care patients. They found their solution at a Las Vegas trade show in the form of onePAC, a specialty packaging system made by North Carolina-based Parata Systems. Its delivery, however, was designed with nursing homes in mind.

"We took the idea of theirs and we redid it and made it our own and decided to go about it in a different way," Montgomery says. "Parata is interested in how we're doing it. We're their fastest-growing pharmacy."

The onePAC system puts patients' medications in small, individual packets that list the person's name, the medication names, drug descriptions, strengths and dosing times. Vitamins and over-the counter medications can be included, too.

"They can tear off the strip and put it in their purse or pocket, and they don't have to keep track of 10 bottles," Montgomery says.

And because a single pharmacy fills all of a patient's prescriptions at one spot, onePAC cuts the risk of dangerous interactions or duplicate prescriptions from different doctors.

Integrity coordinates refills with all doctors involved with a patient's care.

"We synchronize (the meds) to come due at the same time," Montgomery adds. "That's how we get them packaged together. It's quite a process. It's very labor-intensive. ... This will revolutionize how people take their medication. I think we'll see more of this."

Patients don't have to be Integrity Home Care clients to utilize the pharmacy, Horton says. The only charge in addition to regular co-pays is a $3 shipping charge, which doesn't cover Integrity's cost.

"The passion that drives this isn't necessarily monetary," Montgomery adds. "It's truly allowing patients to stay in their home."