Practice Transformation
Primary care a hot property for private equity
Private investors, retailers and health insurers are pumping billions into primary care ventures, Bloomberg reports: “A medical profession once defined by solo offices and small partnerships is now dominated by corporate practices and hospital-owned clinics.” US companies focused on primary care raised about $16 billion from investors in 2021, according to an article in the New England Journal of Medicine’s Catalyst. That’s more than four times the amount invested in 2020. The article includes interviews with representatives from primary care organizations that have been backed by private equity for at least five years. (Bloomberg; NEJM Catalyst)
PCPs key to vaccine uptake
We must incentivize and invest in the most trusted COVID-19 vaccine messengers to reach those individuals, according to an opinion piece by the This is Our Shot Foundation. Those messengers? Community health care professionals including primary care doctors and nurse practitioners who are more trusted (for vaccine information) than Presidents Trump and Biden, the CDC and even Dr. Anthony Fauci. Moreover, this level of trust held across all political affiliations and races. Meanwhile, new research published in JAMA Network Open shows a positive link between primary care providers per capita and community vaccination rates.
Editors Note: Vaccine deliveries to some locations, such as large health systems or public health agencies or retail locations, are often prioritized over deliveries to others, such as smaller primary care practices. The reasons are complex and often have to do with decisions made by states and counties or business decisions made by vaccine distributors and suppliers. The federal government and states should work with state and local governments and vaccine distributors to eliminate these disparities in vaccine deliveries in the interests of assuring broad vaccine access. Read more in the GTMRx June 2021 Building Vaccine Confidence Report.- GTMRx report
Evidence & Innovation
Top 10% of antibiotic prescribers account for 41% of prescriptions
The highest 10% of antibiotic prescribers prescribed 41% of total antibiotic prescriptions for Medicare Part D beneficiaries in 2019, according to a review of public data published in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Reports. The antibiotic prescribing rate of these higher-volume prescribers was 60% higher than that of lower-volume prescribers, and nearly half of those high-volume antibiotic prescribers were located in southern states. “This substantial difference in prescribing practices presents opportunities for improved prescribing through antibiotic stewardship activities focusing on these higher-volume prescribers, independent of specialty,” the study authors wrote. (MMWR; CIDRAP)
Policy Solutions
The connection between opioids and sepsis
Patients with opioid use disorder account for about 2% of sepsis patients. That means roughly 30,000 to 40,000 opioid use disorder patients are hospitalized with sepsis each year. Why? People who inject opioids are at risk of infections that can lead to sepsis, including skin infections, soft tissue infections and blood stream infections. Even people who use oral opioids can develop sepsis because overdoses can lead to pneumonia, and pneumonia is a common cause of sepsis. (HealthLeaders Media)
AMA survey: Prior authorizations hurts patients, increases doctor’s burden
Just over a third of physicians reported that prior authorization led to a serious adverse event for a patient in their care. Fully 82% said patients abandon treatment due to authorization struggles with health insurers. Prior authorization is also a hassle, according to survey respondents: Eighty-eight percent described the burden associated with prior authorization as high or extremely high. “Now is the time for employers to demand transparency from health plans on the growing impact of prior authorization programs on the health of their workforce,” AMA President Gerald Harmon, MD, said in a prepared statement. (Becker’s Hospital Review; AMA announcement)
In Case You Missed It!
TIME SENSITIVE- By February 25 sign on to GTMRx’s Letter of Support for the Right Drug Dose Now Act (to be introduced next week)
The GTMRx Institute’s Precision Medicine Enablement via Advanced Diagnostics Workgroup invited congressional staff from the Personalized Medicine Caucus to present on draft PGx legislation underway on two occasions. The Personalized Medicine Caucus, co-chaired by Representatives Tom Emmer (R-MN) and Eric Swalwell (D-CA), engages members in a constructive dialogue about legislative and regulatory policies that can help realize the full potential of personalized medicine. The recommendations that came out of these discussions were put into our Letter to the Personalized Medicine Caucus Co-Chairs—Representatives Tom Emmer (R-MN) and Eric Swalwell (D-CA)—on the Right Drug Dose Now Act.
Some of the GTMRx recommendations to the Caucus included:
- Incorporating comprehensive medication management definition and language.
- Combining PGx testing with the CMM process of care.
- Expanding implementation of EHR guidelines, education awareness campaigns, and reporting.
- Clarifying the definition of adverse drug events.
The legislation is about to be introduced and we need your support!
DON’T WAIT! Sign on to our letter of support for the Right Drug Dose Now Act here.by February 25 at 10:00am EST.
Watch Now! Value-based Strategies: A Better Way to Manage Medications | Hochman, Chen, Capps
Prescription medicine is the most common treatment for medical problems in America, but medication has the power both to heal and harm. Illness and death—resulting from the wrong prescription, the wrong dose, skipped doses or new medication-related issues—cost an estimated $528 billion each year.
Value-based payment models should support a new way to manage medications, particularly for patients suffering with multiple chronic conditions and those who see many physicians. Too often patients are precariously left to self-navigate a system that lacks coordination and communication between providers.
Comprehensive medication management (CMM) is proven solution. During this session you will hear from national experts experienced in advancing comprehensive medication management in primary care and integrating the role of the clinical pharmacist as an integral member of the primary care team. Want to see the evidence: the impact on cost and quality?
GTMRx was a proud sponsor of Health Care Value Week (January 24-28, 2022)
Watch now and find related resources here.
GTMRx Workgroup Update
On February 18, Rick Bone, MD, senior medical director for population health, Advocate Medical Group, spoke to the GTMRx Best Practices and Innovative Solutions Subgroup meeting to inform their work on their ACO stakeholder toolkit. Dr. Bone covered topics such as: ACO quality measures of success, benefits and investment needs for CMM, what a timelines for implementing CMM services in an ACO might look like and more.
GTMRx Workgroup Update
On February 17, Tami Simon, JD, senior vice president, Global Corporate Consulting Business Leader, The Segal Group, Inc., spoke to the GTMRx Employer Advisory Taskforce about key factors driving change in the employer-employee social contract.
In addition, on this call, Anthony P. Morreale, Pharm.D. MBA, BCPS, FASHP, associate chief consultant for clinical pharmacy and policy for the Department of Veterans Affairs Pharmacy Benefits Management in VA Central Office, and M. Shawn McFarland, Pharm.D., FCCP, BCACP, manager for the National Clinical Pharmacy Practice Program and the Clinical Practice Integration and Model Advancement for the Clinical Pharmacy Practice Office of the Pharmacy Benefits Management Services at the Veterans Health Administration, spoke to their article — Legal and Liability Implications of Pharmacogenomics for Physicians and Pharmacists (published in the Journal of Precision Medicine, Dec 2021).
New Podcast Episode: Jessica Lea, PharmD
Host Katherine H. Capps talks to Tria Health CEO, Jessica Lea. As a trained pharmacist, she brings 20 years of knowledge and expertise in managed care and pharmacy benefits and is an advocate for the pharmacists’ role in improving outcomes. Her background in academia and numerous pharmacy achievements continue to fuel her passion of providing patient-centered care that results in optimal health outcomes.
In the episode, she offers guidance to employers as health plan sponsors to develop a “Buy Right Strategy”—an educational outreach program to educate employers about a new process of care to ensure medication are safe, effective and appropriate for their employees.
A Comprehensive Overview of the Institute, It’s Vision, Mission and Leadership
The Get the Medications Right Institute is working to decrease misuse, overuse and underuse of medications and avoid waste by advancing comprehensive medication management to ensure appropriate and personalized use of medications and gene therapies. Learn more in this brochure.
Interested in supporting our work?
Please contact Jeff Hanson (e: [email protected])
Join us to be part of meaningful change
Irma, like many others, struggles as a result of our current trial-and-error approach to medication. That is why we advocate for a new, comprehensive approach to medication use and prescribing. As a non-profit 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4) organization, the GTMRx Institute and Foundation relies on funding from our supporting members. We ask that you consider becoming a Supporting Signing Member so we can continue to provide relevant, timely resources to get the medications right!
If you’re interested in supporting the Institute or Foundation at a higher level, please contact us. Your dollars will bring about meaningful change for people like Irma.
AmazonSmile is an easy way for 0.5% of your qualified purchases go to the GTMRx Foundation at no cost to you. And signing up is simple—go to smile.amazon.com and select “Get the Medications Right Foundation” as your charity of choice. If you prefer to directly donate instead, you can do so here.
Adding the foundation on AmazonSmile will help us continue to provide no cost educational webinars, issue briefs, weekly news briefs and promote the need for transformation of our current system of medication use through social media campaigns.
