Cost-savings from subsidized pro-active pharmacist interventions.

Area of Science:

• Health Economics
• Pharmaceutical Policy
• Clinical Pharmacy Practice

Background:

• Drug plan administration sought to optimize costs through pharmacist interventions.
• A pilot project explored a reimbursement model incentivizing pharmacists for cost-saving recommendations.
• Pharmacists were to suggest lower-cost therapies with equivalent health outcomes to physicians.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the feasibility and desirability of a reimbursement model for proactive pharmaceutical interventions.
• To assess the impact of pharmacist-led interventions on drug expenditures.
• To determine if cost savings from proactive interventions justify a new reimbursement structure.

Main Methods:

• A pilot project was conducted by a drug plan administrator.
• Pharmacists recommended lower-cost, equivalent therapies to physicians.
• Drug plan costs were estimated using time-series forecasting and compared to actual costs during the intervention period.

Main Results:

• Some cost savings were observed from reactive pharmacist interventions.
• Proactive interventions, aimed at influencing physician behavior, did not significantly alter drug expenditure patterns.
• The overall effect of proactive interventions on drug spending profiles was negligible.

Conclusions:

• The pilot project's findings do not strongly support the widespread implementation of this reimbursement model.
• Further evidence is needed to justify a reimbursement structure for proactive pharmacist interventions.
• The current model showed limited effectiveness in generating significant cost savings through proactive measures.