New tool uses pharmacy data to improve adherence

During the 2014 McKesson ideaShare meeting, McKesson Pharmacy Systems and Automations unveiled a new tool using pharmacy data to help improve medication adherence. The new Adherence Performance reporting solution will provide actionable data to identify patients more quickly than pharmacies using a manual method.

The company completed a pilot program using the new tool for some of its pharmacies using its EnterpriseRx program. Over the past few months, McKesson noted that participants were able to implement measurement goals for their adherence programs.

“Stores that currently struggle, and maybe avoid looking for a solution to adherence, find the current solutions to be overwhelming or a financial burden to their business, but this type of solution, which is simple, inexpensive, and doable, helps make their goals a little easier to achieve,” said Hashim Zaibak, RPh, owner of Hayat Pharmacy in Milwaukee.

Brief time, big impact

Zaibak and his staff said they believe the new Adherence Performance solution has made an impact in the short time that they have used it. “We have our own programs we used for adherence, but we had misses because we tried to identify patients manually,” he said.

With the new tool, his pharmacy has been able to help more patients become adherent, which is especially important with the CMS Star ratings, Zaibak noted. “We’ve always known that adherence is important because it’s the right thing for the patient, but now plan bonuses are being impacted significantly by their CMS Star ratings. Pharmacies that perform really well with adherence will continue to be part of certain networks, but those who don’t run the risk of being excluded,” Zaibak said.

This tool provides pharmacies with an adherence rating similar to the CMS Star ratings provided by health plans. This rating will help pharmacies understand their adherence rating by organizing pharmacy management system data and giving pharmacies succinct information on specific patients who should be included in an adherence program.

In its dashboard summary, pharmacies will see their overall adherence rating for all their locations and be able to compare with benchmarking data from the marketplace. The summary will show the organization’s adherence rating trend over time. Adherence data by pharmacy location will provide actionable data to identify those stores that need improvement. Pharmacists will be able to see how many additional patients need to become adherent to increase the rating score. The tool also provides a report for pharmacies to share with health plans to show their current adherence rating and improvement over time.

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