Wellness Wednesday is sponsored by Intermountain Health
Have you ever had a simple medical need but felt like it was too much trouble to make an appointment with your doctor? Wait times to see a family physician in the U.S. averaged three weeks, according to a 2023 consumer study.
But did you know there’s a newer option that can help meet many basic needs without seeing a physician?
While there’s no magic wand to inject more primary care physicians into the system, some highly qualified professionals can now do more than you might think.
Jeff Olson, a pharmacist and pharmacy population health director for Intermountain Health, said pharmacists are well-equipped to help.
“Pharmacists really are medication experts,” Olson said. “They have a four-year professional doctorate program where they really learn and understand medications, how they work in the body, how they can help treat diseases, and so they really are a critical piece of the health care team.”
Intermountain Health has a website featuring its on-demand pharmacy services. Patients can browse a list of medications for basic needs—many of which a pharmacist can provide without a physician’s prescription.
It’s not about avoiding an expert; it’s about relying on a different expert.
“It all is initiated by completing that online form, and then, depending on what you're requesting help with, we'll either send the medication—like I mentioned with naloxone—or you would have a pharmacist reach out to you,” Olson said. “You’d have a consultation with the pharmacist and work together to determine the most appropriate therapy for your condition and your symptoms.”
Other common needs listed on the website include treatments for hair loss, erectile dysfunction, EpiPens, and colon cancer screenings. Some of the most popular requests are for weight loss medication and birth control.
“In some circumstances, like with birth control, what prompted this is we were seeing patients wait six, eight, even 10 months to get in to see their OB-GYN just so they could be evaluated and prescribed birth control,” Olson said. “This breaks that down. You can have your birth control within a few days by using the on-demand service. And not only that, but it frees up that OB-GYN for caring for other people and conditions that really require a physician’s expertise.”
Intermountain On-Demand is available to everyone. There is a small fee for the service, but prescriptions or tests are sent to a pharmacy and charged to insurance.
