Systematic analysis of outcomes evaluations applied to drug management programs

To evaluate prior analyses that quantify how drug management programs impact health plans and patients with respect to those analyses' effectiveness in measuring program quality.

We examined 77 US studies from 1996 to 2007 that evaluated the respective drug management programs of managed care, indemnity insurance, Veterans Health Administration, and Medicaid health plans. Our review included those studies that assessed the ways in which specific drug management tools and the drug management program overall impacted economic, clinical, and/or humanistic outcomes.

The 77 studies included in our review used 11 types of outcome end points. A total of 52 studies (68%) incorporated an economic end point; of these, 35 (68%) reported economic data only and did not address clinical or humanistic outcomes. Overall, 33 (43%) evaluated clinical or humanistic end points; of these, 17 (52%) also reported on an economic end point.

Although the number of studies evaluating drug management programs has trended upward, only a handful have integrated economic, clinical, and/or humanistic outcomes when assessing the effects these programs have on health plans and patients. The efforts of these researchers to assess the overall quality of drug management programs have fallen short. To ensure that drug management tools have a desired effect on outcomes and medical costs, measures used to evaluate drug management programs must be improved.