How Medication Management is Changing for the Better

How Medication Management is
Changing for the Better
Over 80% of all Chief Medical Information Officers (CMIOs) believe medication management initiatives
are helping reduce the frequency of adverse drug events. These events can have a significant impact on
overall patient safety which, of course, is to be avoided at all costs.
These same officers, however, also state that there is significant work left if the healthcare industry
wishes to create all-inclusive medication adherence and management programs which will have a
positive impact on patient care.
Lots of Potential for Improvement
Despite an 80% agreement rate to the above, only 50% of those same CMIOs stated satisfaction with
current medication management processes. An additional 12% stated they outright disagreed with these
processes, while the remaining 38% fell somewhere in the middle.
A recent study also learned that of those surveyed, an incredibly 71% believed that the lack of
transparency in medication pricing practices was something to be concerned about.
Without obvious (and fair) medication price models, patients are at a serious risk of experiencing
budgetary crisis directly correlating to their physical or mental health. By trying desperately to adhere to
their prescribed regiments patients could end up paying out a sizable portion of their income on
medications they need to survive. Obviously, this is not fair.
Rising Costs of Healthcare
Rising costs have long been a critical issue in the healthcare industry. A study by Best Buy Drugs
published in Consumer Reports found that a quarter of patients are paying more for their medications
than ever in history. In fact, the rising costs were reported to be so bad that 14% of those surveyed
could not even afford to fill those prescriptions. Without an ability to fill them, the medications mean to
increase health and wellbeing are meaningless. The outcome is poorer health and, for some, a high risk
of fatality – such as those requiring insulin, heart medications, etc.
Opioid Epidemic & Patient Safety
Another topic recently uncovered by these CMIOs was a significant gap in patient safety when it came to
the opioid epidemic. According to these Chief officers, there are three things standing in the way of a
safer, more streamline opioid prescription process.
1. 65% believe there is a need for an integrated workflow allowing for easier coordination of the
entire medication management process.
2. 41% stated concern over medication provider’s ability to prevent opioid abuse. This, they state,
is due to an increased difficulty in figuring out who needs the pain killers versus who is simply
trying to get their hands on them.
3. Nearly all participants cited a need for clinicians to have access to Prescription Drug Monitoring
Programs, so they are better unable to understand their patient’s opioid history.

Overview
Medication management has proved to be highly useful in increasing patient safety. There is
considerable room for this to still be improved upon, however. The above-listed results indicate that,
although some areas are falling under great compliance to current federal regulations, other areas still
fall frighteningly short.