SCOTTSDALE, Ariz, March 5, 2009 — The Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute (PBMI) has awarded its 2009 Rx Benefit Innovation Awards to four collaborations: the Coal/Energy Coalition with Pro Pharma Pharmaceutical Consultants, Inc., New Mexico Public Schools Insurance Authority with Catalyst Rx, the State of Arkansas Employee Benefits Division with informedRx, an SXC Company, and University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy with the Rhode Island Department of Corrections. The awards were announced today at PBMI’s 14th annual Drug Benefit Conference.
The Coal/Energy Coalition and Pro Pharma Pharmaceutical Consultants, Inc. (Pro Pharma) are recognized for a physician intervention program that improves the quality of pharmaceutical care, while also lowering drug trend. New Mexico Public Schools Insurance Authority (NMPSIA) and Catalyst Rx are recognized for increasing immunizations in rural areas by engaging qualified pharmacists as providers. The State of Arkansas Employee Benefits Division (EBD) and informedRx are recognized for integrating clinical data to improve benefit decision-making. The University of Rhode Island (URI) College of Pharmacy and the Rhode Island Department of Corrections (RIDOC) are recognized for a collaborative management model that increases efficiency, curbs costs and improves Rx care in seven correctional facilities.
“Our 2009 award recipients have differentiated themselves from industry norms with creative new approaches,” says Dana H. Felthouse, MBA, president of PBMI. “Another hallmark of the winners is a passion for collaboration among multiple stakeholders. The solutions are programs that demonstrate success in improving pharmaceutical and health care as well as curbing costs.”
Improved Physician Prescribing
The physician intervention program implemented by Pro Pharma for the Coal/Energy Coalition targets prescribers in seven states that are among the highest utilizers of prescription drugs. Compelling clinical information with patient-specific opportunities to improve pharmaceutical care is a key to engaging physicians. Three-year results show improved quality leads to lower costs. In 2007, the Coalition drug trend was -3 percent compared to 8.3 percent nationally and 16 percent for the coal/energy industry.
Immunization Delivery in Underserved Areas
Catalyst Rx and NMPSIA are addressing a critical need to increase immunizations in rural New Mexico with a new delivery system. Pharmacists who are certified to administer vaccines provide a host of immunizations in their local pharmacies. Online claims adjudication and aggressive outreach to pharmacists and NMPSIA members are keys to success. Since July 2006, pharmacists in more than 120 communities have administered about 29,000 vaccines to more than 15,400 NMPSIA members.
Integrated Data to Improve Benefit Decisions
The Arkansas EBD is committed to enhancing pharmacy and medical benefits to promote healthy lifestyles for state and public school employees. The Integrail Division of informedRx developed a custom data repository that integrates medical claims, pharmacy claims, risk prediction and health risk assessment data. Through user-friendly reports, the EBD accesses the patient-level clinical data to guide EBD’s benefit design decision-making and care management priorities.
New Collaborative Management Model
The URI College of Pharmacy and RIDOC are pioneering a new higher education/state agency management model. URI’s Healthcare Utilization Management Center and RIDOC medical staff together manage RIDOC pharmaceutical services. The Center provides an on-site pharmacist manager and extensive data analysis, reporting, clinical support and utilization management resources. PharmD students are involved in all aspects of the RIDOC program, giving them experience not typically part of pharmacy education. The collaboration has reduced medication waste by nearly 75 percent and stabilized RIDOC’s drug trend in spite of significant drug product cost inflation and increase in inmate census.
The Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute provides research, continuing education, and Web resources that help health care benefit executives work effectively with their pharmacy benefit managers to improve the design and management of drug benefit programs. Learn more at www.pbmi.com.
Offer Opportunity for Planning, Collaboration
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (January 29, 2009) – As part of its 2009 Drug Benefit Conference, the Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute will offer three half-day workshops to help benefits managers and managed care pharmacy professionals deliver high performance drug benefit plans. The workshops will focus on working effectively with pharmacy benefit managers, utilizing technology tools, and optimizing the specialty pharmacy benefit. The workshops will be held Wednesday morning, March 4. PBMI’s Drug Benefit Conference runs from March 4-6 at the Pointe Hilton Tapatio Cliffs Resort in Phoenix.
“PBMI’s interactive workshops provide opportunities to learn from our peers and the industry experts serving as faculty,” says PBMI President Dana H. Felthouse, MBA. “Case study exercises give participants the chance to do some action planning that will translate to their own drug benefit programs.”
In “Drug Benefit Management 201,” workshop participants will learn how to manage PBM performance through key metrics linked to the plan’s most critical utilization trends and cost drivers. The “Specialty Pharmacy” workshop will focus on working across silos to manage high dollar, complex therapies more effectively. In “Technology Tools,” participants will review technologies that improve clinical and economic outcomes, identifying opportunities to integrate technology to improve drug benefit programs.
PBMI’s Drug Benefit Conference offers many more solutions for managing the drug benefit in this challenging economic climate. More than 30 industry experts will share best practices and effective responses to the market forces impacting the benefit. The conference features free continuing education credits for human resource/benefits professionals and managed care pharmacy experts.
The Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute provides research, continuing education and Web resources that help health care benefit executives work effectively with their pharmacy benefit managers to improve the design and management of drug benefit programs. Learn more at www.pbmi.com.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (January 21, 2009) – The Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute’s (PBMI) 2009 Drug Benefit Conference scheduled for March 4-6 in Phoenix offers free continuing education credit for professionals involved in drug benefits.
“The PBMI conference offers a blend of formal and informal training for all of the professional disciplines involved in the design and administration of the pharmacy benefit,” says Dana H. Felthouse, MBA, president of PBMI. “Our 2009 faculty brings some of the best thinking in the marketplace about how to effectively manage drug benefit programs. It’s especially important in today’s economic climate for human resource and pharmacy professionals to have the best information available for drug benefit decision-making.”
The PBMI conference is dedicated to curbing costs and maximizing quality in drug benefit plans. Programming addresses the needs of human resource managers, pharmacy directors, benefits consultants, information technology experts, and attorneys who plan and manage drug benefit programs for employees, retirees, union groups, trusts or health plan members.
Pharmacists
ProCE, Inc. is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education as a provider of continuing pharmacy education. Participants attending one pre-conference workshop and all three conference sessions in the Managed Care Pharmacy Perspectives track may earn up to six contact hours of continuing education credit. Pre-conference workshop topics include Drug Benefit Management 201, Specialty Pharmacy, and Technology Tools. Candidates must complete an online CE program evaluation to receive credit.
HR Professionals
PBMI’s conference has been approved for 17.25 (Specified -Strategic) recertification credit hours toward the Human Resource Certification Institute’s accreditation programs including Professional in Human Resources (PHR®), Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR®), and Global Professional in Human Resources (GPHR®).
Recertification credit also is available for the Certified Compensation Professional (CCP®), Certified Benefits Professional® (CBP), Global Remuneration Professional (GRP®), and Work-Life Certified Professional (WLCP®) designations granted by WorldatWork Society of Certified Professionals.
Attorneys
Health care attorneys interested in obtaining MCLE credit should contact their state bar associations to request credit for attending the PBMI conference.
Conference Agenda, Registration Online
The Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute provides research, continuing education and Web resources that help health care benefit executives work effectively with their pharmacy benefit managers to improve the design and management of drug benefit programs. Learn more at www.pbmi.com.
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., (January 7, 2009) – The Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute (PBMI) has added a general session on PBM contracting to its 2009 Drug Benefit Conference to be held March 4-6 in Phoenix, Arizona. The session is designed to help employers and other purchasers execute contracts that maximize the potential for benefit cost savings. Discounts on conference registration are available until January 16.
PBMI also has added four more employer case studies to the conference agenda, for a total of nine. The case studies, a highly valued feature of the PBMI conference, will illustrate proven solutions to the top drug benefit challenges employers are grappling with today.
“In this current economic climate, drug benefit plan sponsors need the best information available on how to cut costs and still offer a benefit that helps improve the health and productivity of the workforce,” says PBMI President Dana H. Felthouse, MBA. “PBMI’s conference will arm benefits and pharmacy professionals with the knowledge to manage a cost-effective and valuable drug benefit program in these challenging times.”
The conference session on PBM contracting will outline what every purchaser should know about this increasingly complex process. Critical aspects to be discussed include contract definitions, financial and performance guarantees, maximum allowable cost lists for generic drugs, and audit provisions.
Employer case studies focus on:
- Curbing drug expenditures while improving appropriate drug use,
- Managing drug spend in Workers’ Compensation,
- Selecting the best Medicare Part D option to comply with CMS requirements,
- Decreasing costly chronic disease complications through employee health management,
- Implementing data-driven value-based benefit designs, and
- Assessing drug utilization trend in a consumer-driven plan.
In total, the conference offers 10 general sessions, roundtable discussions, and nine breakout sessions with tracks for benefits generalists and managed care pharmacists. There are three pre-conference workshops on drug benefit management, specialty pharmacy and technology tools.
Agenda, Registration Online
A complete agenda, speaker credentials and registration information are available at www.pbmi.com/conference.asp. Low-cost registration options are available for employers, employer coalitions, managed care organizations, unions, trusts and third-party administrators. There are discounts for all registrations received before January 16, 2009.
The Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute provides research, continuing education, and Web resources that help health care benefit executives work effectively with their pharmacy benefit managers to improve the design and management of drug benefit programs. Learn more at www.pbmi.com.
