VIable
HLCCompendium
HLCCompendium
You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles
YUMPU automatically turns print PDFs into web optimized ePapers that Google loves.
NDHI<br />
NAT IONAL DIALOGUE FOR<br />
Healthcare Innovation<br />
Medication Synchronization<br />
Organization Overview<br />
• Pfizer is one of the world’s premier biopharmaceutical<br />
companies.<br />
• Pfizer is committed to developing innovative therapies<br />
and supporting medication access for those in need.<br />
Background<br />
Nonadherence to medications puts a significant burden<br />
on the U.S. healthcare system, resulting in an estimated<br />
$105 billion in avoidable costs per year. 1 Poor adherence<br />
often results from patients’ inability to properly<br />
track their prescriptions and dosing schedules. This<br />
problem is exacerbated for patients who must manage<br />
several medications, making adherence particularly<br />
troublesome for patients with chronic diseases. This<br />
population is vast; in 2012, about half of U.S. adults<br />
had one or more chronic health conditions, and 25%<br />
of adults had two or more chronic health conditions. 2<br />
For these patients, even a one-percent increase in<br />
medication use could result in a positive offset in<br />
medical costs. 3<br />
Medication synchronization offers an easy, convenient,<br />
and cost-effective solution to some of the key contributing<br />
factors to nonadherence. Instead of requiring a<br />
patient to refill prescriptions at different times of the<br />
month, the pharmacist can synchronize medications for<br />
pick-up at one time. To do so, the pharmacist utilizes<br />
a partial-refill to manually switch to an appropriate<br />
pick-up date.<br />
Medication synchronization can be enhanced when<br />
paired with an appointment-based model. In this case,<br />
1<br />
Aitken, Murray, and Silvia Valkova. Avoidable Costs in U.S. Healthcare:<br />
The $200 Billion Opportunity from Using Medicines More<br />
Responsibly. IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics, 2013. Web.<br />
2<br />
Falci, Laura, Zaixing Shi, and Heather Greenlee. “Multiple Chronic<br />
Conditions and Use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine<br />
Among US Adults: Results From the 2012 National Health Interview<br />
Survey.” Preventing Chronic Disease 13 (2016): 150501. Web.<br />
3<br />
The Value of Medicines in Offsetting Healthcare Costs. Pfizer,<br />
July 2015. Web.<br />
the pharmacist not only coordinates refill dates, but<br />
when appropriate, may schedule an appointment with<br />
the patient each month. During this time, the patient<br />
can meet with the pharmacist to discuss medications,<br />
related side effects, adherence tips, and any other<br />
health-related issues, such as vaccination, smoking<br />
cessation, and nutritional needs.<br />
Program Details<br />
• Pfizer has been collaborating with organizations<br />
across the healthcare spectrum to promote medication<br />
synchronization, both through legislation at<br />
the federal and state level, and through regulatory<br />
reform.<br />
• The organizations involved in these<br />
collaborations include:<br />
––<br />
Walgreens<br />
––<br />
Pharmacy associations, such as the National<br />
Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations (NASPA),<br />
American Pharmacists Association (APhA),<br />
National Association of Chain Drug Stores<br />
(NACDS) and National Community Pharmacy<br />
Association (NCPA)<br />
––<br />
Medical society groups, such as the American<br />
Medical Association (AMA) and American College<br />
of Cardiology (ACC)<br />
––<br />
Patient groups, such as the American Cancer<br />
Society, the Epilepsy Foundation, and State<br />
Pain Policy Advocacy Network (SPPAN)<br />
• Specifically, key reform efforts aim to:<br />
––<br />
Enable pharmacists to partially fill prescriptions,<br />
unless specifically prohibited<br />
––<br />
Ensure that patients’ out-of-pocket costs are<br />
prorated for partial refills<br />
An Initiative of the<br />
101 |<br />
Medication Synchronization