Medication Management

VHAN Key Aim

Our vision is to improve the health of the population and decrease the total cost of care by ensuring each medication is indicated, effective, safe and accessible.

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Why Medication Management?

Medication costs (retail and medicine/ pharmacology) account for 30% of the overall total cost of care and are rising each year. Cost drivers include increasing cost and utilization of specialty medications and some traditional medications to treat conditions such as diabetes.

While the cost of medications is an important driver to the total cost of care, medications are also the
most common tool for the treatment of chronic conditions, so it is critical to ensure appropriate use to achieve the best outcomes. Further, the downstream costs associated with inappropriate medication use are also staggering. Medication-related errors are a top preventable cause of serious adverse health events and avoidable readmissions, resulting in poor outcomes and an increasing total cost of care.

Costs of Inappropriate Medication

Preventable
Medication-Related
Errors

Increasing
Use of
Medications

30% of Total
Cost of Care
and Rising

What VHAN Is Doing

In 2020, the VHAN Pharmacy Team worked with approximately 1,400 patients to optimize medications for chronic disease management, transitions of care and polypharmacy. Strategies and successes included the following:

Comprehensive Medication Management

Working with patients to assess their medications to ensure they are indicated, safe, effective and accessible at a reasonable cost

Therapeutic Alternatives Program (TAP)

Decreasing utilization of high-cost, low-value medications to identify savings

Optimized Medications for 1,400 Patients

Identified $4 Million in Potential Savings With TAP

Created Analytics and Reporting Tools

Developed an Opportunity Estimator Tool

Conducted Medication Consults With Patients

The True Value

With the help of the network, Sarah’s A1c levels improved from 13.6% to 7.7%, her chronic pain and fatigue is greatly reduced, and she has not been to the emergency room for an avoidable visit.

Sarah is a 70-year-old former nurse living in rural Tennessee. Struggling to manage complex medical conditions while fighting through impaired cognition and memory loss, Sarah had become a frequent flier at the hospital and had two tackleboxes full of medications.

Read Patient Story

VHAN Key Aims

The topline results we have achieved as a network are not possible without very specific efforts across multiple key areas. Based on the needs of the constituents we serve, VHAN currently has focused improvement and innovation efforts in the following categories: