Patients Who Fail to Adhere to Recommended Medications: What Is the Solution?

Today's blog features a video from Pharmacy Times where John Rumsfeld, MD, PhD, chief innovation officer at the American College of Cardiology, discusses the vexing problem of patients who fail to fill or take recommended medications.

Check it out HERE! 

Performance Pharmacy Solutions (PPS) is a unique pharmacy benefit procurement platform developed by HORIZON Health Ventures to efficiently and effectively place, manage and oversee our self-funded client's pharmacy benefit management programs. The PPS platform provides turnkey solutions with proven market-leading PBM partners that offer, on average, 10-15% savings.  

Welcome New Hires to the PPS Team!

We'd love to extend a warm welcome to our two new hires, Michelle Christman and Helen Hennessey. Their years of experience and success in this field make them valuable new additions to our growing team. We're lucky to have them join us! 

      

            Michelle Christman, Account Executive
           Based out of Harrisburg, PA

                                                             

              Helen Hennessey, Account Executive
          Based out of Phoenix, AZ

Performance Pharmacy Solutions (PPS) is a unique pharmacy benefit procurement platform developed by HORIZON Health Ventures to efficiently and effectively place, manage and oversee our self-funded client's pharmacy benefit management programs. The PPS platform provides turnkey solutions with proven market-leading PBM partners that offer, on average, 10-15% savings.  

Intermountain Seeks to Cut Opioid Prescribing 40% by End of Next Year

Today's blog features the Modern Healthcare article that mentions Intermountain's plans to cut opioid prescribing by 40% by the end of next year. Their goal is to prescribe 5 million fewer tablets by the end of 2018.

Learn more about this new plan by reading the full article HERE!

Performance Pharmacy Solutions (PPS) is a unique pharmacy benefit procurement platform developed by HORIZON Health Ventures to efficiently and effectively place, manage and oversee our self-funded client's pharmacy benefit management programs. The PPS platform provides turnkey solutions with proven market-leading PBM partners that offer, on average, 10-15% savings.  

Carve-In vs. Carve-Out: What's The Difference?

It used to be that carving-out pharmacy benefits was just for the ‘big guys” and, if you weren't one of them, you had to accept the pharmacy plan that came with your health plan.  That’s not the case anymore. Plans sponsors of all sizes are looking at their pharmacy benefit plans, often carving-out a different option.

Adopting a carve-out strategy offers several significant advantages for the plan sponsor and plan participants. The advantages of choosing a stand-alone Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) include:

• Better control of drug costs and stronger, disease-specific cost- management programs

• Competitive drug pricing with guaranteed financial and operational obligations on the part of  the PBM

• Detailed analyses and reporting to help explain cost drivers and identify savings opportunities

• Greater innovation focused on controlling drug costs 

• Greater proactivity in recommending patient and plan specific solutions that save money and improve the quality of care realized by patients

• Greater flexibility in plan design and clinical program offerings

As with any aspect of business, it is critical to understand the relationship that you are engaged in. And pharmacy is no different. As self-funded plan sponsors, it is critical to understand and capitalize on the contractual relationship between you and your insurance carrier, health plan and/or PBM.

13% of Americans Take Antidepressants

Today's blog features an article recently published by TIME Health that highlights the rising use of anti-depressants.

Alexandra Sifferlin writes, "A new report from the National Center for Health Statistics shows that from 2011 through 2014, the most recent data available, close to 13% of people 12 and older said they took an antidepressant in the last month. That number is up from 11% in 2005-2008."

TIME also reported that clinical depression is estimated to cost the U.S. just about $210 billion in productivity loss and health care needs with a global revenue for antidepressants estimated to reach over $17 billion by 2020. 

To learn more please read the full article HERE! 

Performance Pharmacy Solutions (PPS) is a unique pharmacy benefit procurement platform developed by HORIZON Health Ventures to efficiently and effectively place, manage and oversee our self-funded client's pharmacy benefit management programs. The PPS platform provides turnkey solutions with proven market-leading PBM partners that offer, on average, 10-15% savings. 

4 New FDA Approvals

Today's blog features 4 new FDA approvals courtesy of Pharmacy Times. These new drugs include Benlysta, Lusduna Nexvue, Orencia, and Vosevi.

Learn the specifics on each drug and what they treat by reading the full article HERE!

Performance Pharmacy Solutions (PPS) is a unique pharmacy benefit procurement platform developed by HORIZON Health Ventures to efficiently and effectively place, manage and oversee our self-funded client's pharmacy benefit management programs. The PPS platform provides turnkey solutions with proven market-leading PBM partners that offer, on average, 10-15% savings. 

Type 3 Diabetes: An Alias for Alzheimer's Disease?

Today's blog topic is brought to you courtesy of Pharmacy Times with a very interesting new development. When one sees the term, Type 3 Diabetes, it's easy to associate it with just another form of diabetes. However, this term is actually an alias for Alzheimer's Disease.

Dr. Shivam Patel explains, "Impaired insulin and insulin growth factor (IGF) production seems to play a role in the development of AD. Just like there are insulin genes being expressed in our pancreas, an insulin gene is also expressed in the adult human brain."

Another significant fact presented by Dr. Patel, "A study showed that type 2 diabetes and impaired fasting glucose occur significantly more frequently in patients with AD than in patients that did not have AD. People that have insulin resistance, in particular those with type 2 diabetes have an increased risk of suffering from Alzheimer's disease estimated to be between 50% and 65% higher."

Something to keep in mind. To learn more, please click HERE! 

Performance Pharmacy Solutions (PPS) is a unique pharmacy benefit procurement platform developed by HORIZON Health Ventures to efficiently and effectively place, manage and oversee our self-funded client's pharmacy benefit management programs. The PPS platform provides turnkey solutions with proven market-leading PBM partners that offer, on average, 10-15% savings. 

Generics Still Deliver Value

Today we're sharing an article out of Express Scripts that highlights the value of generic drugs. This medications continue to deliver value at cost-effective prices. According to the Express Scripts Prescription Price Index, the average price for the most commonly used brand-name drugs has increased 208% since 2008, while generic drug prices overall have declined.

Express Scripts writes, "By negotiating with drug makers on behalf of 83 million Americans, we have better leverage to reduce generic prescription drug prices for patients. This contributes to the tremendous amount of competition and pressure among generic pharmaceutical manufacturers to provide better pricing." 

Learn more on this topic by reading the full article HERE! 

Performance Pharmacy Solutions (PPS) is a unique pharmacy benefit procurement platform developed by HORIZON Health Ventures to efficiently and effectively place, manage and oversee our self-funded client's pharmacy benefit management programs. The PPS platform provides turnkey solutions with proven market-leading PBM partners that offer, on average, 10-15% savings. 

Express Scripts Releases 2018 Formulary Exclusion List

Courtesy of the American Journal of Pharmacy Benefits we're highlighting the 2018 formulary exclusion list. Express Scripts just recently released this list, which has proven to be an effective way pharmacy benefit managers control spending on prescription drugs. Although there are many approaches to creating these lists, most choose to cover drugs that result in optimal patient outcomes.

Click HERE to view the list of generic versions of various brand name medications covered on the Express Scripts preferred formulary. 

Performance Pharmacy Solutions (PPS) is a unique pharmacy benefit procurement platform developed by HORIZON Health Ventures to efficiently and effectively place, manage and oversee our self-funded client's pharmacy benefit management programs. The PPS platform provides turnkey solutions with proven market-leading PBM partners that offer, on average, 10-15% savings. 

FDA Approves New Targeted Treatment for Relapsed or Refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia

The FDA just announced that they have approved a new targeted treatment for relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has been approved.

"The drug is approved for use with a companion diagnostic, the RealTime IDH2 Assay, which is used to detect specific mutations in the IDH2 gene in patients with AML." According to the FDA,  AML is a rapidly progressing cancer that forms in the bone marrow and results in an increased number of abnormal white blood cells in the bloodstream and bone marrow. The National Cancer Institute at the National Institutes of Health estimates that approximately 21,380 people will be diagnosed with AML this year; approximately 10,590 patients with AML will die of the disease in 2017.

Learn more about this new treatment by clicking HERE! 

Performance Pharmacy Solutions (PPS) is a unique pharmacy benefit procurement platform developed by HORIZON Health Ventures to efficiently and effectively place, manage and oversee our self-funded client's pharmacy benefit management programs. The PPS platform provides turnkey solutions with proven market-leading PBM partners that offer, on average, 10-15% savings.