Implications of Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) programs for managed care pharmacy

In the last 2 decades, health care management has been challenged by more aggressive therapy, the increased number of specialty medications, and more stringent guidelines to monitor adverse events or health risk. To promote patient safety, various communication requirements are mandated to increase the risk awareness of patients and physicians. These include black-box warnings, "Dear Health Care Provider" letters, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Talk Papers, MedGuides, and Risk Minimization Action Plans (RiskMAPs).