Toree Reynolds,
PharmD, BCACP

From a young age, Toree Reynolds watched her mother serve their town as the local community pharmacist. Watching her mother build relationships with her patients and helping friends and family with their medical questions and concerns inspired Toree’s own path in pharmacy.

Today, Toree is a health-system pharmacist at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN. As a clinical pharmacist in the rheumatology clinic, she helps providers choose the best medication to treat their patients’ conditions and provides thorough medication education.

“Patients don’t understand the role of a clinical or specialty pharmacist, in part because much of what we do is behind the scenes. Yes, you might have an appointment with me where I help you understand the side effects of your medication and discuss your treatment plan. But when you’re not there, I’m still working as part of your care team – making recommendations to your providers, calling insurance companies to figure out prior authorization for a medication, and reviewing your treatment plan to see what adjustments can be made to get you the best possible outcome.”

Patients don’t understand the role of a clinical or specialty pharmacist, in part because much of what we do is behind the scenes.”

Toree is tireless in her approach. Her colleagues understand just how much expertise she brings and the added benefit of having a clinical pharmacist as part of the integrated care team.

“In my clinic, the providers I work with will regularly call me after they’ve finished a visit and think the patient could benefit from working with a clinical pharmacist. They make time to introduce me to the patient, explain that I’m their medication specialist – that I’m a resource the patient can count on for all their medication questions, concerns, and more. And quickly those patients realize the value of having a pharmacist involved in their care.”

As a clinical pharmacist in a specialty pharmacy, one of the biggest services Toree provides to her patients is helping them to not only get the right medications for their condition, but ensuring they can access the medication by addressing the cost burden of medications and finding a treatment plan that they can afford.

Rheumatology medications can be expensive. Our patients often hear the copay and fear that any sort of hope or relief is gone. But I reassure them there are options and there are assistance programs that can make co-pays more affordable. And whenever we can get a patient to a place where their medication is financially manageable – that makes every phone call, pages of paperwork, and every fight with insurance companies worth it. To know I’ve helped someone have a chance for a better quality of life means everything.”

My job is to simplify and reassure them that what we’re doing is going to help them achieve a better quality of life.”

For Toree, a pharmacist should be the person that puts a patient’s mind at ease about medications. Someone who breaks down the complexities of their condition and treatment plan, so that they understand how their medication works and how it’s going to help them.

“When a patient first gets their treatment plan, it can be overwhelming. They’re being told about side effects, adverse reactions, and we are discussing complex disease states. My job is to simplify and reassure them that what we’re doing is going to help them achieve a better quality of life. Many of my patients walk away from our first meeting feeling confident and empowered. I’ve received many calls over the years from patients telling me how much their daily life has changed once they started their medication and how grateful they are for my help.”

As Toree both follows in her mother’s footsteps and finds her own path, she believes that providing patients with peace of mind is what it means to be your pharmacist.