Practice Transformation
Last month’s Minnesota Physician offered a primer on comprehensive medication management, summarizing some of the evidence and explaining how CMM expands the primary care interprofessional team. Pharmacists have long been core members of interprofessional teams in hospital settings; now, they are also moving to ambulatory care settings. The article notes that in Minnesota, more than 150 clinics have pharmacists integrated into the care team. The authors discuss the benefits to patient care as well physician wellbeing. (Minnesota Physician)
South Dakota-based Sanford Health has contracted with Color to help expand and augment Sanford’s Imagenetics clinical genomics program, GenomeWeb reports. The partnership will accelerate the integration of genomic information into Sanford Health’s EHR and into clinician workflows, according to the companies. Specifically, Sanford Health will implement Color’s population-health genetics program and adopt some of its digital health tools to increase adoption, strengthen patient engagement and improve clinical reporting. (GenomeWeb)
Mayo Clinic is creating a library of genomic sequencing data on 100,000 participants to advance research and patient care. For the initial part of the study, participants receive results of screening for three highly actionable hereditary conditions: familial hypercholesterolemia, hereditary breast and ovarian cancer (BRCA1 and BRCA2) and Lynch syndrome, a form of hereditary colorectal cancer. This is just the latest effort by providers to integrate genetic testing into routine care delivery, Modern Healthcare notes. Mayo plans to hit that 100,000 goal within five years. (Modern Healthcare; announcement)
Evidence & Innovation
More than 70% of organizations surveyed that have implemented precision medicine informatics (PMI) initiatives reported that PMI neared, met or exceeded expectations, according to a Journal of Precision Medicine report. There’s a problem, though: Current EHRs don’t effectively support precision medicine at the point of care, according to the report. Among the other findings: Real-world data—already used for disease insights, cohort studies, etc.—will, within the next five years, be used for coverage decision-making, drug safety and efficacy, clinical utility evidence development, regulatory submissions, expansion of drug indications and claims adjudication. (Managed Healthcare Executive; report)
Policy Solutions
The U.S. Supreme Court will take up a case on whether states can regulate certain aspects of prescription drug reimbursement. The case, Rutledge v. Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, essentially pits states (in this case, Arkansas) against pharmacy benefit managers. A federal appeals court previously ruled in favor of PBMs, holding that the ERISA Act preempts states from regulating their rates. (Healthcare Dive)
Will the rule requiring drug companies to disclose the list prices of their drugs in television ads remain blocked? An appeals court heard arguments last week. Three drug companies—Merck, Eli Lilly and Amgen—say the rule—blocked by a federal court in July—is outside the authority of the Department of Health and Human Services. The Trump administration maintains it has the authority under the law to run the Medicare and Medicaid programs efficiently. The Hill reports the court was skeptical, questioning not only the HHS authority to issue the rule but whether disclosing list prices would even be useful to consumers. (The Hill)
February 6, 2020 | 8:30-10:30 am
The Bipartisan Policy Center and the GTMRx Institute will co-host, “Get the Medications Right: Innovations in Team-Based Care.” This event will feature keynote presentations and a panel discussion with leaders—including Katherine Herring Capps, Carolyn Clancy, M.D., Susan Dentzer, M.P.H., Gregory Downing, DO, Ph.D., Michael Evans, RPh, Elizabeth Fowler, J.D., Ph.D., Anand Parekh, M.D., and Dan Rehrauer, Pharm.D.—who have been at the forefront of advancing the appropriate and personalized use of medication and gene therapies. As an organization that actively fosters bipartisanship by combining the best ideas from both parties to promote health, security and opportunity for all Americans and that prioritizes “getting things done” above all else, the Bipartisan Policy Center offers an ideal venue for this important event.
Seating is limited, so please be sure to register to attend. There will also be a live-stream of the event. You can find more information here.
