From hospital to home: How hospital-owned retail pharmacies support patient care transitions

HN Summary

• Hospital-owned retail pharmacies improve safe transitions from hospital to home through integrated care and medication continuity. 

• They help reduce readmissions and medication-related harm by providing coordinated counselling and follow-up. 

• Despite their value, sustainability depends on financial support and partnerships to maintain patient-focused services.

The days following a hospital discharge can leave patients and their caregivers feeling vulnerable. Adjusting to life outside a clinical setting can mean adapting to new diagnoses, managing changes to medications and establishing new routines. During this critical transition, hospital-owned retail pharmacies, also known as outpatient pharmacies, can be essential in supporting safe, coordinated patient-centric care. 

Medication changes are common during hospitalization, particularly for patients with complex conditions. Without clear guidance and continuity, post-discharge medication adherence can diminish. Hospital-owned retail pharmacies are uniquely positioned to reduce these risks because they are embedded within the hospital environment and closely connected to inpatient care teams and medical records. 

“Our [outpatient pharmacy] team has been critically important to the success of our patients’ care,” says Allan Mills, Director of Pharmacy at Trillium Health Partners. “Because of the intertwined relationship between our medical team and our outpatient pharmacists, one picks up where the other left off. Knowing the care plan for the patient means the outpatient pharmacy team know the outcomes we’re aiming for and can intervene to prevent medication related problems earlier.” This level of integration distinguishes hospital-owned retail pharmacies from communitybased models. Its pharmacists have access to treatment plans and recent medication changes, allowing them to provide counselling that reflects a patient’s full care journey.

For patients, this translates into clearer instructions, fewer surprises at the pharmacy counter and greater confidence in managing medications at home. 

Enabling financial viability 

Continuity of care is a key factor in preventing a return to the hospital. Medicationrelated issues remain a leading cause of emergency department visits and readmissions. By identifying discrepancies early, reinforcing education at discharge and serving as a consistent point of contact, hospital-owned retail pharmacies help reduce pressure on acute care services and support system-wide efficiency. 

Despite their clinical value, hospital-owned retail pharmacies often operate on very narrow margins. Their public service alignment means revenues are typically reinvested into patient care and internal hospital programs rather than distributed externally. While this can strengthen trust with the communities they serve, it also creates financial pressures that can threaten sustainability without the right supports in place.

 Recognizing these challenges, Mohawk Medbuy (MMC), a national not-for-profit shared services organization, collaborated with its member hospitals to develop a program specifically designed to support the financial viability of hospital-owned retail pharmacies. “The program was born out of a real challenge that the hospitals were facing. In general, the hospitals’ retail pharmacies were struggling to remain viable due to operational complexities and cost pressures,” says Ally Dhalla, Senior Vice President, Pharmacy, Government and Clinical Services at MMC. “We saw an opportunity to partner with our member hospitals and create something unique and different that was very patient focused.” 

The goal of the program was to enable predictable, scalable and sustainable pharmacy operations by generating savings that could be reinvested into care. Trillium Health Partners was among the first hospitals to participate. “MMC provided the background work related to the business side of procuring an agreement for distribution at a very fair rate for our medications,” says Eric Post, Manager of Outpatient Pharmacies at Trillium Health Partners. “It really became a partnership that was there to support us, but gave us the autonomy to do what we wanted with our businesses.” Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto also feels the impact of this partnership. “The margins that MMC has been able to negotiate on our behalf have been very advantageous,” says Flay Charbonneau, Pharmacy Manager at Sunnybrook’s Odette Cancer Centre. “The revenues and profits generated accrue directly back to the hospital and are used in numerous hospital programs.” 

Supporting Cancer Patients 

Many hospital-owned retail pharmacies are embedded within cancer centres and specialty clinics, where close coordination with prescribers is essential. Andrea Wist, Ally Dhalla, Senior Vice President, Pharmacy, Government and Clinical Services at MMC Director of Pharmacy at Bluewater Health in Sarnia, helped establish Bluewater’s retail outpatient pharmacy for cancer patients in 2013. She had seen firsthand how care regimens could be delayed when specialized cancer medications were not readily available in the community. “Oral chemotherapy agents can be very expensive, and it was hard for the community pharmacies to stock really expensive meds.” With support from MMC’s pharmacy procurement program, Bluewater’s retail pharmacy was able to staff two drug access navigators, providing crucial help to patients in reducing the out-of-pocket cost for expensive medications. The pharmacy now supports continuity of care for additional patient populations, including mental health outpatients in Sarnia. Wist believes that these services provided by the pharmacy help save time for clinicians such as oncologists and psychiatrists, enabling more time for them to see patients. Across care settings, hospital-owned retail pharmacies are demonstrating their value to the health system. At the heart of it all are the pharmacy professionals whose commitment to care makes the transition from hospital to home easier and more conducive to better outcomes for patients.

By Roxane Belanger.

Roxane Belanger works in Communications at Mohawk Medbuy.

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