Practice Transformation
Safety-net providers worry about loss of 340B discounts
Hospitals and clinics that serve low-income patients say drug manufacturers have threatened their financial stability by dramatically cutting back participation in the 340B federal discount program. “They are killing health centers,” said Jangus Whitner, who runs the pharmacy program for PrimaryOne Health, a multisite community health center. PhRMA spokesperson Nicole Longo disagrees: “There is very little to no evidence that 340B is helping patients access medicines, and that’s a big concern to the industry, because the amount of discounts we provide amount to tens of billions of dollars every year.” (Stateline)
Drones for chemo
In the UK, the National Health Service plans to use drones to deliver chemotherapy drugs. It could cut in delivery times from four hours to 30 minutes. Drones will transport doses from the pharmacy at Portsmouth Hospital University NHS Trust to St Mary’s Hospital on the Isle of Wight, where staff will collect and distribute them. NHS hopes that drone technology will one day enable doctors to make same-day delivery orders for drugs and medical equipment from anywhere in the country. (Bloomberg)
Evidence & Innovation
Breaches in first half of 2022 affect 20M patients
The HHS Office for Civil Rights announced that 338 breach reports were submitted by health care insurers and their business associates through June 30. This is the second-highest number of breach reports filed in the first half of a year, behind 2021’s 368 reports. Modern Healthcare’s analysis of this data reveals that nearly 20 million patients had their personal and health information exposed in those breaches. Nearly 80% of the reported breaches were attributed to hacking or IT problems. The rest related to improper disposal, loss, theft or unauthorized access. (Modern Healthcare)
Catastrophic spending on insulin common
One of every seven people in the United States who filled an insulin prescription in 2017 and 2018 spent more than 40% of their post-subsistence family income on insulin alone, according to research published in Health Affairs. This “catastrophic spending” was 61% less likely among Medicaid beneficiaries than among Medicare beneficiaries, suggesting that factors other than income, such as different types of insurance coverage, contribute. “Drug manufacturers and policy makers must work to make this essential medication more affordable for those who need it,” according to the authors. (Health Affairs; HealthDay)
Policy Solutions
Fendrick: Rethink prior authorization
Policymakers and health plan administrators should revive the core purpose of prior authorization programs, writes A. Mark Fendrick, director of the Center of Value-Based Insurance Design. “Accordingly, the primary aim of ‘next generation’ prior authorization programs should be to deter the use of these wasteful, low-value services and to ensure that prior authorization practices are based on clinical best practices and patient-centered outcomes.” Using prior authorization to reduce unnecessary and potentially harmful services “means that finite dollars saved by decreasing use can instead be reallocated to higher-value services that positively impact beneficiaries’ health outcome.” (Health Affairs Forefront)
In Case You Missed It!
GTMRx SPONSOR/SPEAKER: VIRTUAL NATIONAL PRIMARY CARE TRANSFORMATION SUMMIT JULY 26-29. FREE REGISTRATION FOR CLINICAL PHARMACISTS AND PHYSICIANS ($1095 VALUE!)
GTMRx is a proud sponsor of the Virtual National Primary Care Transformation Summit, which will take place July 26-29, 2022. The event will feature in-depth conversations and discussions with leaders from CMS/CMMI, VillageMD, Aetna/CVS, Humana, United/Optum, Boeing, Google, Walgreens and others involved in primary care transformation. As a sponsor of the event, we have arranged free registration for a number of clinicians to include NPs, PAs, clinical pharmacists, and primary care physicians (regularly an up-to $1,095 value).
If you qualify, you may register using our special link here: https://registration.eventsair.com/2022pctsummit/pct-comp-gtmrx/Site/Register.
Don’t Miss! After registering, be sure to catch our virtual panel discussion on Friday, July 29, 2022 from 11:15am – 11:00am ET. GTMRx Mini Summit 28: Integrating Pharmacists into Advanced Primary Care: A Better Way to Manage Medications
Faculty:
- Katherine H. Capps, Co-Founder, Executive Director, GTMRx
- Julie Ceno-England, MD, Chief Medical Officer, OneOme
- Steven W. Chen, PharmD, FASHP, FCSHP, FNAP, Associate Professor, Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs and Heeres Chair in Community Pharmacy, USC School of Pharmacy
- Michael Hochman, MD, MPH, Chief Executive Officer, Scan’s Homeless Medical Group; Inaugural Director, USC Gehr Center for Health Systems Science & Innovation
- Mitchell A. Kaminski, MD, MBA, Program Director, Population Health, Jefferson College of Population Health
New Episode of Voices of Change Out Now | Alliance for Medication Management: Work in Washington State
An innovative care coordination system is emerging in eastern Washington State. Empire Health Foundation is providing funding to develop and implement a care coordination system that brings pharmacists and care coordinators together to simultaneously address medication related problems and the associated social determinants of health that are impacting the patient’s ability to achieve the intended benefits from their medications. The program is designed to support and supplement the primary care provider’s care plan and identify potential medication related problems, social barriers and behaviors that reduce medication effectiveness.
The program is called Medication Care Coordination or MCC and has been developed as a collaboration between Empire Health Foundation, Aging and Long-Term Care of Eastern Washington (ALTCEW), Rural Resources Community Action (RRCA) and Medication Review, Inc (MRI).
The Washington State University School of Pharmacy is providing academic resources in support of the program and has generated several articles on the findings from early pilots. The Alliance for Integrated Medication Management (AIMM) is providing strategic program design, management development and implementation support to program partners.
Host Katherine (Katie) Capps talks to Jeri Rathbun, Empire Health Foundation; Dr. Bob Crittenden, Health Policy Advisor; and Dr. Candace Anderson, Pharmacists, Medication Review, Inc. Take a listen.
GTMRx Workgroup Update
On June 23, the GTMRx Physician Advisory Group had their fourth meeting featuring a briefing with GTMRx’s ERIC strategic partner James Gelfand, JD, Co-Presisent, ERIC (ERISA Industry Committee). GTMRx has formed a consultative/strategic partnership to drive advocacy to support GTMRx initiatives and goals, focused on enhancing GTMRx opportunities on the demand side (employers as health plan sponsors/ consumer groups).
During the meeting, the group also heard from GTMRx Executive Physician Advisor Michael Barr, MD, MBA, MACP, FRCP, President, MEDIS, about the themes seen across the results from the GTMRx physician survey and how the results support an action-oriented agenda.
GTMRx Webinar: Building, Managing and Sustaining Your CMM Practice June 22
Where is CMM available? What quality measures are being used to evaluate the value of CMM? What do CMM staffing models look like? How mature are CMM practices and what are the various needs based on stages of maturity?
Hear from, M. Shawn McFarland, PharmD, FCCP, BCACP, Veterans Health Administration, on early findings from the GTMRx National Registry of CMM Practices.
Learn from organizations at various lengths of maturity shedding light on the benefits of a more widely adoption of CMM and the challenges of getting there:
- Early stage CMM practice (1-2 years) — Sara Maki, PharmD, BCACP, NorthMemorial Health
- Mid-level stage CMM practice (10+) — Richard Bone, MD, Advocate Medical Group
- Fully mature CMM practice (20+) — Amanda Brummel, PharmD, BCACP, University of Minnesota
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.
