CVS Caremark announces expansion of Pharmacy Advisor program

WOONSOCKET, R.I. — CVS Caremark has announced the extension of its Pharmacy Advisor program to cover an additional five chronic conditions, including asthma, breast cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, depression and osteoporosis.



The condition-based program alerts pharmacists when patients are not adherent to their medication regimens or have a gap in care, allowing them to intervene with patients and communicate with their physicians in real time.  Before this program extension, the Pharmacy Advisor program had focused on patients with diabetes or cardiovascular conditions, with more than 3.8 million interventions conducted to date.



It is estimated that medication nonadherence costs the U.S. economy nearly $300 billion annually. Studies suggest that poor medication adherence is linked to chronic conditions, and that medication persistence — the length of time a patient continues to take a prescribed drug — tends to be low for those with chronic conditions. Research also suggests that the design of medically appropriate regimens for individual patients can play a role in improving costs and outcomes associated with adherence and that intervention by pharmacists can reduce gaps in care.



"We are delighted to extend Pharmacy Advisor and its benefits to patients managing medications associated with additional chronic conditions," stated Troyen A. Brennan, EVP and chief medical officer of CVS Caremark. "Pharmacists play an important role in the coordination of care for individuals living with chronic conditions and understand how critical medication adherence is in supporting their patients."



In addition to improving medication adherence, Pharmacy Advisor directs members with chronic conditions to existing disease management programs where they can obtain additional support, the company stated.



"Pharmacy Advisor not only improves quality of care for individuals with chronic conditions by providing an additional layer of support, but also addresses the important systemic challenges of healthcare costs related to medication nonadherence," stated Jon Roberts, president of CVS Caremark's PBM business.  "Extending the program to cover a broader range of chronic conditions expands our ability to support even more patients on their path to better health, while reducing the burden of cost associated with medication nonadherence for patients with these conditions."

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