NCPA highlights role of pharmacy in medication synchronization
ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Pharmacists, patients and payers must work together to take advantage of med sync tools and help alleviate the issue of medication nonadherence, stated B. Douglas Hoey, CEO of the National Community Pharmacists Association, in a statement issued on Thursday.
NCPA cited a 2013 study, entitled Medication Adherence in America: An Annual Report Card, which found that:
Americans over the age of 40 with chronic conditions received only a C+ grade on adherence with 1-in-7 receiving an F.
The leading indicator of whether a patient will adhere to their medication is their personal relationship with the pharmacist or pharmacy staff.
Moreover, separate studies have shown that medication nonadherence costs the healthcare system as much as $290 billion per year by necessitating costlier treatments, which could have been avoided if patients adhered to their medication regimen.
While personal relationships with patients are important, many community pharmacies also offer programs that further promote adherence, including med sync, NCPA noted. Med sync allows pharmacists to work with patients and insurers so the refill date for all of the patient's medications falls on the same day each month, allowing the patient to make fewer trips to the pharmacy, and making it more convenient for them so stay current with their medications.
This program also has the added benefit of allowing patients, or their caregivers, to receive more in-depth consultations from the pharmacist, such as information on proper use of the medication or in mitigating side effects. For example, Simplify My Meds is a med sync program in which many independent community pharmacies participate.
However, barriers to these programs exist, according to NCPA. While federal officials have taken steps to avail Medicare Part D beneficiaries of this service, and four states have enacted legislation affecting commercial plans, not all patients have access to med sync programs. According to NCPA, this is because some commercial plans will not cover "short fills," which would allow pharmacies to fill a prescription for less than 30 days to align future refill dates.
For Medicare Part D plans, three of the five pharmacy quality measures they are evaluated on to determine their "star rating" involve adherence measures. Med sync helps to boost patient adherence, which, in turn, boosts star ratings, which make plans more attractive to seniors. For commercial plans, supporting programs that promote greater adherence can help avoid the more costly treatments associated with nonadherence, NCPA stated.
Pharmacists, patients and payers must work together to take advantage of this service. Just as prescription drugs don't work in patients who don't take them, med sync programs don't work for patients whose insurance companies raise barriers, or for those who do not have a local pharmacy that offers the service, NCPA stated.