Content about Managed Care Pharmacy

SAN DIEGO — Improving adherence to generic statin drugs for high cholesterol can reduce the costs of health care in a way that adherence to branded statins historically couldn't, according to a new study.

DEERFIELD, Ill. — Walgreens unveiled the results of research, conducted by the drug store chain, that demonstrated how its approach to community pharmacy ultimately helped improve outcomes through cost savings, pharmacist-led face-to-face patient counseling and specialized services for disease management.

New research results, presented by Walgreens at the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy's 24th Annual Meeting and Expo last week in San Francisco, included:

The $290 billion that poor medication adherence costs the U.S. economy every year cuts across every imaginable disease state, but one in which it can be particularly problematic is mental health.


ST. PAUL, Minn. — A point-of-sale safety check may reduce the risk of patients unsafely receiving a drug for Type 2 diabetes that may increase their risk of heart attack, according to a new study conducted by pharmacy benefit manager Prime Therapeutics and scheduled for presentation at the 23rd annual meeting of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy in Minneapolis.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT During the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy 2010 Educational Conference held Oct. 13 to 15, CVS Caremark shared data to further demonstrate ways to curb drug costs. This is important because what these studies, and others like it, continue to illustrate is that there are a variety of ways to reduce prescription drug costs beyond simply cutting prices to levels that could compromise a pharmacy's ability to deliver the high-quality service necessary to achieve better health outcomes.

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT'S IMPORTANT The fact that CVS Caremark presented research highlighting the benefits that pharmacy benefit management tools can have on improving medication adherence is important on several different levels.

(THE NEWS: CVS Caremark research highlights methods for improving medication adherence. For the full story, click here)

WHAT IT MEANS AND WHY IT’S IMPORTANT One of the chain pharmacy industry’s top advocates is pushing hard to thaw the frozen, century-old public perception of community pharmacists as little more than pill dispensers. And she’s getting a receptive hearing about pharmacy’s critical role among business and healthcare leaders, consumer advocates and the mainstream media.