How to tie a drug therapy improvement program to physician credentialing

Area of Science:

• Health Informatics
• Pharmacy Practice
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Physician prescribing patterns significantly impact healthcare costs and patient outcomes.
• Effective drug use monitoring is crucial for quality patient care and resource management.
• Integrating information systems with clinical processes can optimize medication management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe the development of a computer program for documenting physician drug use patterns.
• To evaluate the program's impact on medication appropriateness and prescriber credentialing.
• To present the evolution of the program and its associated cost savings.

Main Methods:

• Development of a custom computer program by pharmacy staff and management information system specialists.
• Implementation of the program for documenting physician drug use at a community medical center.
• Analysis of program evolution, cost savings, and cost avoidance related to drug therapy improvements.

Main Results:

• The computer program successfully documented physician drug use patterns.
• Improved appropriate medication use within the hospital was achieved.
• The program was successfully integrated with the prescriber credentialing process.
• Significant cost savings and cost avoidance were realized through improved drug therapy.

Conclusions:

• Computerized drug use documentation systems can enhance medication appropriateness.
• Linking drug use monitoring to prescriber credentialing is an effective quality improvement strategy.
• Investments in health informatics can yield substantial cost savings and improve patient care.