Prescribed Drugs Provider Manual - Iowa Department of Human ...

IowaDepartmentof HumanServicesProvider and ChapterPrescribed DrugsChapter III. Provider-Specific PoliciesPage6DateAugust 1, 2013b. Pharmaceutical and Therapeutics CommitteeThe Pharmaceutical and Therapeutics (P&T) Committee was establishedpursuant to Iowa Code section 249A.20A. The P&T Committee has ninemembers appointed by the Governor for a two-year term. TheCommittee meets three times a year in a public forum.The P&T Committee is charged with developing and providing ongoingreview of the Preferred Drug List (PDL). The PDL is a list of drugs thathave been identified as being therapeutically equivalent within a drugclass and that provide cost benefit to the Medicaid program.The PDL was created in an effort to select medications for use by themembers of Iowa Medicaid that are both clinically sound and costeffective.The Department of Human Services is attempting to containMedicaid drug expenditures while ensuring that members’ access toeffective drug solutions are preserved.The P&T Committee’s focus is maximizing the initial utilization of themost cost-effective clinical choices available. All drug manufacturershave been given the opportunity to state the therapeutic benefit of theirdrugs and to reduce the net cost to the state through a supplementalrebate program. The Committee has:♦ Reviewed each product within a therapeutic class for:• Pharmacology,• Indications,• Comparative clinical trials, and• Adverse effects and safety.♦ Evaluated relative cost of each product.♦ Compared products within the same class to identify the mostclinically effective, cost efficient product in each class.By first considering the therapeutics and then the cost, the P&TCommittee ultimately decides which drugs to recommend to the IowaMedicaid program as “preferred.”The P&T Committee holds public meetings, with public notice of itsagenda and opportunity for public comment. The web site for theCommittee is www.iowamedicaidpdl.com.