5 Pharmacy Articles You Need To Read

Today's blog features Express Scripts' 5 pharmacy articles that you need to read. They all cover key healthcare headlines that continue to make a difference in the industry. New gene therapy treatment, healthcare exchange trends and lifesaving clinical support are just a few of the topics covered.

Check out the full list 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. 

2017 Milliman Medical Index on Changes in Healthcare Costs for Employers

Today's blog address an interesting topic about how most healthcare expenses are increasing at the lowest rates in years EXCEPT for prescription drugs. There are many eye-opening findings throughout the Conner Strong and Buckelew article including, "The employee’s share of costs has grown gradually over time. In 2001, the first year measured, employers were picking up just over 61% of the tab. Now, in 2017, employers are paying about 57% and employees are paying the other 43%."

Check out the full article HERE to learn more.

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 Alert: Reduce Risks of Combined Use of Opioid Addiction Medications and CNS Depressants

Today's blog features a recent FDA Alert. FDA officials have recently issued a drug safety communication advising that buprenorphine and methadone should not be withheld from patients taking benzodiazepines or other central nervous system depressants. There needs to be precautions and a treatment plan in place when these medications are used in combination.

Jennifer Barrett writes, "According to the safety announcement, though the combined use of these drugs may increase the risk of serious adverse effects, the benefits of treating opioid addiction can outweigh these risks. The announcement also said that, “excluding patients from medication-assisted treatment (MAT) or discharging patients from treatment because of use of benzodiazepines or CNS depressants is not likely to stop them from using these drugs together.”

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. 

FDA Approves First Once-Daily Single Inhaler Triple Therapy for COPD

Today's blog features the FDA announcement that fluticasone furoate/umeclidinium/vilanterol (FF/UMEC/VI) (Trelegy Ellipta, GlaxoSmithKline and Innoviva), has been approved for the maintenance treatment of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). 

This single inhaler triple therapy is intended for patients with COPD who are on a fixed-dose combination of fluticasone furoate and vilanterol for airflow obstruction. To learn more on this new therapy, 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. 

FDA Update: September 2017

Express Scripts has been tacking a variety of updates that are currently being made to the drug pipeline. The Emerging Therapeutics team took note of a few new drugs, new indication and a new generic approval last month. Click HERE to see the full list!

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. 

2017 National Standards for Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support

Today's blog features important news that The National Standards for Diabetes Self-Management Education and Support (DSMES) have been updated for the first time in 3 years to reflect the latest recommended standards for diabetes care.

Jeanette Y. Wick, RPh, MBA, FASCP writes, "DSMES is designed for health care providers and diabetes educators so they can effectively intervene. The primary focus is helping patients and caregivers learn about their diabetes and develop skills to address elevated blood sugar and its consequences. It describes how to structure education programs in all types of health care organizations, which team members to include, and appropriate curriculum." 

This is very influential program as diabetes affects approximately the 30 million Americans living with diabetes and the 7.2 million of whom are diagnosed. 

To learn more on this topic 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. 

‘Meds-to-beds’ programs aim to prevent re-hospitalization

Today we're bringing you a news-worthy article out of the Washington Post that highlights a new program that will hopefully decrease the re-hospitalization rate of patients.

"Because hospital pharmacies can bill only for medications used on the premises, drugs that will be used at home must come from outpatient pharmacies. While some hospitals have long had pharmacies for patients whose doctors have outpatient offices on the facility’s grounds, others have recently added on-site pharmacies that all inpatients can use at discharge. Many hospitals, including UCLA and UCSF, partner with Walgreens for both discharge counseling and dispensing." 

Learn more about this new program 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. 

Achieving Transparency in Health Care

Today's blog tackles an issue we try to bring to the forefront every day. Transparency is critical to the future of health care, and we believe that it's vital for patients to receive and understand the costs of medical services and prescriptions up front in their treatment.

"Patients are more likely to pay if they understand how much they will owe out of pocket upfront, reducing the amount of uncompensated care the system must swallow. Our goal is to start to inform the patient as soon as possible about how much they’re going to owe and to set the expectation that we are going to try to collect on that estimated amount due. That way, patients can make an informed decision about whether they want to proceed with the healthcare service," Sarah Knodel, Vice President of revenue cycle at Baylor explains. 

This article is a must-read. Find the full version 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.