|
|
School of Pharmacy's P3 Program Offered to 'Pilot Cohort' of State Employees |
 Some Maryland state employees at the State Center office complex in
Baltimore will have an opportunity during the next 14 months to join a
pilot project of medication therapy management (MTM) services provided
by specially trained pharmacists in what's called the Maryland P3
(Patients, Pharmacists, Partnerships) Program.
The Maryland P3 Program is a partnership of the University of Maryland
(UM) School of Pharmacy,
the Office of Chronic Disease Prevention at the Maryland
Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH), and the Maryland
Pharmacists Association.
According to the School, the services in the past for self-insured
employers have improved health care outcomes and reduced direct health
care costs between $495 to $3,281 for each participant per year. The
health care cost savings were largely due to significant reductions in
employees' hospital visits and emergency department visits.
The new pilot project is available to 5,000 state workers. The School
of Pharmacy will develop, implement, and evaluate the effectiveness of
the comprehensive medication therapy management services. And
pharmacists, as medication experts, are working in collaboration with
the employees' primary care providers to assist employees with proper
use of medications and to help with diagnostic testing, counseling, and
overall disease management.
The Maryland P3 Program began operating in August 2006 after receiving
financial support from the Maryland General Assembly earlier that year.
So far, it has primarily been offered to employees of self-insured,
private companies. Since its inception, the P3 program has enrolled
more than 700 patients at seven companies.
In the new pilot project, the state employees meet with a specially
trained pharmacist for a one-time MTM review in which the employee and
the primary care provider receive a medication list and an
individualized medication action plan. Employees who have or are at
risk of developing cardiovascular disease (hyperlipidemia,
hypertension, obesity, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, or tobacco
dependency) are eligible to participate in a more in-depth,
comprehensive program. In those cases, employees meet with a pharmacist
between four and seven times a year.
The program provides an employee with a careful review of his or her
current medications and over-the-counter supplements to assess safety,
appropriateness, and effectiveness of the drug therapy based on
information received from the employee and health care providers.The
P3 pharmacist also reviews the employee's diet, smoking status, and
exercise regimen, and assesses the employees' medical and medication
histories and their knowledge of and adherence to their current
medication therapy. The pharmacist also identifies potential and
current drug-related problems such as side effects and dangerous
medication interactions, and works collaboratively with employees and
health care providers to set short-term and long-term self-management
goals.
"Those who manage multiple health conditions or receive prescription
medications from multiple health care providers are especially at risk
for dangerous interactions and side effects," says Joshua Sharfstein,
MD, secretary of the DHMH. "The Maryland P3 Program is a proven way to
maximize the effectiveness of medications while improving communication
between patients and their providers."
Magaly Rodriguez de Bittner, PharmD,
BCPS, CDE, director of the Maryland P3 Program and professor and
chair of the School's Department of Pharmacy Practice and Science,
says, "We are extremely pleased to enter into this partnership with the
state of Maryland to provide their employees with this evidence-based
program that has proven to improve health and reduce costs. We look
forward to demonstrating the program's positive results to determine
the potential value-based benefit to the state."
Pharmacists' notes from sessions with the employee will be documented
into ThinkEHRx, a pharmacist-focused case management system provided by
the firm eHealthObjects, ThinkEHRx will house the program's clinical,
behavioral, and medication-adherence data, including recommendations
regarding the standard of care and health care provider referrals. At
the end of each session, the pharmacist's written notes are forwarded
to the employee's physician and/or health care provider to assure
collaboration and continuity of care.
|
| Posting Date: 05/13/2013 |
| Contact Name: Steve Berberich |
| Contact Phone: 410-706-0023 |
| Contact Email: sberb001@umaryland.edu |
|
