The Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute awarded its first Rx Benefit Innovation Awards to recognize creative approaches to drug benefit program management during its eighth annual Drug Utilization Management Conference in April.

ePocrates of San Mateo, Calif., was recognized for providing formulary information to prescribers in an electronic format. Medco Health Solutions of Franklin Lakes, N.J., and Prescription Solutions of Costa Mesa, Calif., were recognized for their programs to increase the prescribing of generic drugs.

"ePocrates, Medco Health Solutions, and Prescription Solutions are working with employers to improve the quality and decrease the costs of prescription drug benefit programs," says Michael H. Deskin, founder and president of the Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute (PBMI). "The efforts of these companies to increase generic prescribing and provide plan-specific formularies to prescribers are providing more cost-effective drug therapy to millions of Americans."

Programs Change
Prescribing Patterns
The award-winning programs are designed to change physician behaviors to ensure the most cost-effective drugs are prescribed for members of prescription drug programs.

• ePocrates RXTM software for handheld personal digital assistants (PDAs) provides drug monographs and health plan formularies to prescribers at the point of care where it is most needed; before prescriptions are written.
• Medco Health Solutions' Generics First^® program and Prescription Solutions' Generic Sampling Program increase the prescribing of generic drugs through physician education, pharmacist-to-physician visits, and provision of generic drug samples.

Click here to see case studies for each company's award-winning programs on line. 

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