Dr. Hedva Barenholtz Levy

Amy DeWein, RPh, and Hedva Barenholtz Levy, PharmD, CGP were featured on October 22 in the St. Louis Dispatch about their consulting practices examining medication regimens for private clients.

Hedva Barenholtz Levy, PharmD, BCPS, CGPPharmacotherapy Specialist

About Dr. Levy
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Hedva Barenholtz Levy
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How does Dr. Levy's service differ from that of a retail pharmacist?

Dr. Levy's services are provided in addition to the role of the client's retail pharmacist and physician. Tailored, individualized services for each client are held in a private, unhurried atmosphere. Dr. Levy provides pharmaceutical care to her clients, focusing on all aspects of medication use--from drug selection, to client education, to monitoring for desired and undesired effects of drugs. Dr. Levy works with the client and/or his physician to facilitate communication and enhance care.
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Material for PharmaNotes is researched and written by Hedva Barenholtz Levy, PharmD, BCPS.

To contact Dr. Levy please click here.

Chair Hedva Levy said the task force discussed senior care pharmacy practice outside the nursing facility.Topics included:
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Senior Care Pharmacy Task Force, left to right: Dianne Tobias (past president), Ken Tuell, Jane Lee, Hedva Levy (chair), Linda Williams (staff liaison), Penny Shelton (board liaison), Diane Layton, Mary Ann Zagaria, Phylliss Moret (staff liaison), Amy DeWein

One pharmacist who has a private practice for clients referred by her region's AAA is Hedva Barenholtz Levy, PharmD, BCPS (at www.hblpharm.com).Based in St. Louis County, just outside of St. Louis, Levy provides 45-minute to hour-long, one-on-one medication reviews with older adults at senior centers.The center or the AAA makes the appointments, and she is paid by the AAA.The federal government provides about $5 million annually for medication management services to the more than 400 AAAs nationwide, says Levy, who had been volunteering with the AAA before being asked about a year ago to perform these consults for a fee.She spends about 20 hours a week on such medication reviews, offering an initial consultation, a written summary of her comments, and subsequent follow-ups by phone after doctor visits or to answer clients' questions.If a client requests it, she may send her comments to the client's physician or call the physician for clarification of a medication issue.
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Consultant and senior care pharmacists need to educate their clients and their clients' families about the value of medication management services so that they view the legitimacy of the fees for these services as they do the fees charged by other professions, such as law or accounting, Levy says.Senior care pharmacists generally bill at $60 to $80 per hour, depending on the geographic region, Levy says.Judy pays pharmacists $50 for a patient visit, regardless of length.A visit can range from 30 to 90 minutes, depending on the client's issues, she says.
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If one medication is stopped as a result of a pharmacist's evaluation, the cost of consultation can be recouped in as little as two months, says Levy.