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Universal American Corporation (UAM) announced today that the Accountable Care Coalition of the Tri-Counties, a Medicare Shared Savings Program formed with primary care physicians in Charleston, South Carolina, will conduct a pilot with a network of independently-owned pharmacies.
The pharmacies are part of Community PerformanceRx MSO, a nationally-integrated pharmacy management services organization (MSO), and a wholly owned subsidiary of PrescribeWellness.
Primary care physicians of the accountable care organizations (ACO) will collaborate with independent community pharmacies to demonstrate that a comprehensive care model that includes pharmacies drives better patient health outcomes and improves preventive care.
The physicians and pharmacists will share patient data and engage in frequent communication to offer evaluation of polypharmacy risk and predictive outcomes among beneficiaries in the ACO.
Michael Barrett, senior vice president, Southeast Region for Collaborative Health Systems, a subsidiary of Universal American, said: “We are eager to launch a pilot that encourages primary care physicians and pharmacies to work together. The medical community struggles with managing medication from a cost and patient safety perspective.
“We believe these challenges can be addressed through closer collaboration between physicians and pharmacists given the invaluable role pharmacists play in supporting patients’ health.”
Mindy Smith, vice president of Pharmacy Practice Innovation for PrescribeWellness, added: “Pharmacists offer expertise in medication optimization and polypharmacy risk assessment. They also have strong loyalties within their community that can help address patient engagement problems common among the Medicare population.
“As healthcare shifts from fee-for-service to value-based models the focus is on driving higher quality and reducing unnecessary costs. The pilot is an exciting opportunity to leverage the skills and relationships of independent community pharmacies to achieve these goals in partnership with ACO primary care physicians.”
Community PerformanceRx is seeking to build partnerships in a variety of reimbursement models, including risk sharing. The pilot is expected to open the doors to discussions with additional ACOs, Medicare Advantage plans, Medicare Part D plans, Independent Physician Associations (IPAs), collaborative care model commercial plans, self-insured employers, and physician MSOs who are or will be taking pharmacy cost risk.
Universal American Corporation, US, Community PerformanceRx MSO, Accountable care organizations, Healthcare, Risk management, Data
