Vashon Pharmacy is adding a new clinical office and expanding its healthcare offerings.

The expansion will allow the island’s iconic pharmacy to offer medication therapy management, care for chronic health conditions like diabetes and asthma, and more.

“The aim for us is just to make both acute and chronic health care management more accessible,” owner Tyler Young told The Beachcomber.

The pharmacy’s expanded offerings will likely save a few ferry trips for islanders who need quick help and can’t wait for an appointment at Sea Mar Community Health Centers.

“I am kind of excited for it,” pharmacy assistant Nicholas Kelley said. “I think it will help a lot of people out because trying to get into one of the clinics can be a little tough at times. This will be another resource … at least for basic things.”

The expansion will also open up availability and space for immunizations — demand for which has outstripped what the pharmacy can handle with its current space, Young said.

“It’s become a pretty big portion of our day-to-day business here,” Young said. “A lot of that was spawned by COVID but also (by) the flu and other vaccinations we offer.”

The pharmacy currently has two pharmacists working daily, and the new space will hopefully add space for a third. Down the line, they may even be able to bring a nurse practitioner in to further expand services, Young said.

This newer clinic space will “be more like stepping into the doctor’s office than stepping into a cubby hole,” Young said. “We want it to be both more comfortable for our patients, as well as providing adequate space for the provider.”

Work began the week of June 17, and Young said they hope the project will be fully done by the end of this month.

Bridging the gap

Vashon Island currently has no urgent care service and emergency care requires driving or being taken by Vashon Island Fire & Rescue onto a ferry. When every minute counts, islanders can also receive airlifts to access care, though this is costly.

Already, the pharmacy can treat uncomplicated urinary tract infections, vaginal yeast infections, insect stings, burns, animal bites, and other acute but non-life-threatening health concerns. They also offer travel vaccinations. More complicated health conditions are referred to other healthcare providers.

But now, new credentialing at the pharmacy will help patients there avoid a few more trips off-island for care.

Pharmacists have been recognized as healthcare providers in state law for decades, but before recent changes in state law, they had not yet been recognized by health insurance companies as providers. In other words, they could care for patients — but they couldn’t always bill for that care.

Legislation signed into law by Gov. Jay Inslee in 2015 changed that. Washington became the first state in the country to require that pharmacists be included in health insurance provider networks.

Now, roughly a year of work to get the pharmacists at the business credentialed has paid off, Young said. It means the pharmacy can now bill medical insurance in addition to prescription insurance.

“We have the same skill set that we’ve had forever,” Young said. “It’s getting insurance to pay us — to recognize us as a payable entity.”

Clinical services they could already offer, but now can get paid to do, include medication therapy management and birth control. They can better care for high cholesterol, high blood pressure, diabetes and asthma, too.

“We’ve been able to help patients with that for a long time, but we haven’t been able to get paid for it (until now),” Young said. “It’s never been practical for us to really expand that offering (before).”

They’ll be able to take advantage of those new services once the new clinical space is built.

The financial side of a credentialing move like this doesn’t always work for pharmacies similar to his, Young said, but he believes Vashon needs — and will use — it.

“There’s room for increased interaction with healthcare professionals (on the island),” Young said. “Sea Mar is doing everything they can. They’re booked. Vashon Natural Medicine (is) much the same. I’ve had informal discussions with them. None of them are offended or slighted by what we’re doing. They don’t view it as us taking business away.”

The pharmacy will work with the Vashon Healthcare District to avoid stepping on each other’s toes as much as possible, he added.

“It’s just giving the community another option,” he said. “Somebody can come in here with UTI symptoms or potential strep throat. We can test them, get them a prescription, and get them out the door. They’re here for, we hope, 15 to 30 minutes and they’re done. … I’m a father of four little kids. I know how hard it is, as a parent, to get to a doctor and then get to a pharmacy. … We want it to be easy.”

What the future holds

A more comprehensive change, which might happen “a few years down the road,” would involve constructing a new building in the empty parking lot next door to the pharmacy where most or all of the store’s gift and toy items will go.

That would free up space at the pharmacy’s main building to focus more on clinical service. It would create space for more clinical offices, an overhauled prescription desk, and a dedicated waiting area.

And it would give the pharmacy space to “really ramp up” during vaccination season, Young said.

That project probably won’t break ground until around 2026, Young said, and its scope will be determined in part by the success of the current project to build a new clinical office. The project is far off, and Young said there’s no guarantee it will happen.

“I never want to over-promise,” he said. “I’m not 100% sure I’ll be able to get that done. I think I will, but I don’t want the community to feel [disappointed].”