VHAN Pharmacy Team Offers Support and Guidance to Boost Medication Adherence
Medication nonadherence continues to be a pressing—though preventable—problem for providers and practices. According to a 2017 study in Annals of Internal Medicine, 20% to 30% of medication prescriptions are never filled, and about 50% of medications for chronic disease are not taken as prescribed. This lack of adherence can be life-threatening for patients—not to mention expensive for providers.
Since 2015, VHAN’s multidisciplinary team of pharmacy experts has offered members assistance in improving medication adherence. These experts provide medication management services to VHAN attributed patients and clinicians and practices across the network. In addition to working with other clinical teams to implement VHAN’s diabetes management strategy, the VHAN Pharmacy Team helps providers manage patients who have difficulty with medication adherence and supports patients during transitions of care.
The team also offers updates and support related to current trends in pharmacy. Earlierthis year, several drug makers announced list price increases for nearly 450 drugs. The increases made it even more difficult for patients to afford their medications, a struggle that undoubtedly reduces medication adherence—an important quality metric across several of VHAN’s payor contracts. To help decrease patient and health system medication costs, the VHAN Pharmacy Team compiled a pocket guide for prescribers on therapeutic alternatives to high-cost medications, which is now available on the VHAN Hub. In the coming months, the team will issue monthly reports to highlight additional opportunities to lower drug costs.
Visit the VHAN Hub to download the pocket guide and to find other pharmacy-related resources, including the Diabetes Medication Decision Aid and the Diabetes Care Path. You can also take the Diabetes Medication Quiz Time to earn CME credits. For more information about the Pharmacy Team or to request a consult, please reach out to us at info@vhan.com or through your network contact directly.