Health Care Quality Special Reports

Physician, Pharmacist Collaboration Cuts Costs July 2010 Editorial Michael Bihari, MD Pharmacists cannot prescribe and physicians cannot dispense, but there are overlaps in training and scope of practice between the two. As provisions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 are implemented, it will be increasingly important for all members of a health care team to bring their unique skills to support each patient’s ability to manage his or her health conditions. As more Americans become insured, the burden on the health care system, especially in primary care, will be staggering. Already there are too few primary care providers, and those practices will be stretched thin. Patients can be served efficiently by giving them the opportunity to interact with a range of providers trained not only to diagnose and prescribe or dispense, but also to educate and motivate. A clear need for better interaction with patients around appropriate medication use was documented in the 2009 Drug Trend Report released in April from Express Scripts, a pharmacy benefit manager in St. Louis. Changing how Americans use prescriptions could save as much as $163 billion annually, says the report (http://tinyurl. com/3596yln). In a statement, Express Scripts notes that wasteful spending results from three key factors: 1. $106 billion from medical costs of people who do not comply with therapy. 2. $51 billion in missed opportunities related to lower-cost alternatives. 3. $6 billion in missed opportunities related to lower-cost delivery options. Express Scripts has identified five types of consumers with common behavior patterns that, if changed, could improve medical care and reduce health care costs: Active decliners don’t take medications because they feel fine and don’t think the drugs will help. Refill procrastinators take drugs regularly but are slow to refill prescriptions and may .... You must sign-in to read complete article. If you are not registered click here. Username: Forgot it? Password: Financial support for this Website is provided by Premier Healthcare Resource.

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