One-year program results demonstrate the
importance of transitional medication therapy management
SCHAUMBURG, IL and SPRINGFIELD, MA, June
25, 2015 /CNW/ - Catamaran Corp. (NASDAQ: CTRX, TSX:
CCT), a leading provider of pharmacy benefit management (PBM)
services and technology, and Health New England, Inc. (HNE), a
health maintenance organization in Massachusetts, recently announced one-year
results from Catamaran's Hospital Transition Program, which
dramatically reduced HNE's hospital readmission rates and increased
medication adherence.
Prior to implementing Catamaran's Hospital Transition Program,
HNE evaluated its commercial members that were re-admitted to a
hospital within 30 days of discharge and found that 30 percent of
those patients were taking more than six chronic medications
simultaneously. This finding made implementing a program that
promoted medication adherence critically important to helping these
members stay out of the hospital.
HNE and Catamaran collaborated on a program that enhanced data
sharing and communication between the health plan, hospital and
PBM, and enabled a more diligent and comprehensive level of
education, monitoring and intervention where appropriate with
patients once released to the ambulatory setting. One year after
implementing the program, 30-day same-cause readmissions in the
intervention group were more than 70 percent below that of an
equally-matched control group, while all-cause readmissions
decreased by more than 50 percent. Additionally, 44 percent
of the program's intervention calls to patients falling out of
appropriate adherence (more than two days late refilling a
prescription) resulted in a member medication refill within seven
days.
"After examining readmission rates and the number of potentially
avoidable readmissions due to medication discrepancies, we began
brainstorming innovative ways to utilize technology and the
expertise of pharmacists to really make a difference here," said
Gary Tereso, Director of Pharmacy,
Health New England. "By implementing a concentrated program that
provided a full reconciliation of medications for patients
post-discharge, as well as patient counseling and monitoring, we
improved health outcomes and quality of life for our members."
Nationwide research has shown that 20 percent of readmissions
within one year are due to an adverse drug event1 and
that 70 percent of patients have at least one actual or potential
unintentional medication discrepancy upon discharge2.
Elderly patients who experience at least one medication discrepancy
post-discharge are two times as likely to be readmitted within 30
days3.
"The results of our study with HNE over the last year
demonstrate the value of payer and PBM collaboration. Working
together, we reduced medication discrepancies, improved adherence
and ultimately, reduced readmissions," said David Calabrese, MHP, B.S. Pharm, VP and Chief Pharmacy Officer,
Catamaran. "Today's changing market dynamics require PBMs to
embrace a more holistic, yet patient-centric approach in the
delivery of clinical programs and services, and Catamaran is proud
to offer meaningful partnerships like this to our clients."
Importantly, these outcomes improve members' quality of life and
drive meaningful cost savings for the health system, including
oftentimes for members themselves. Catamaran and HNE continue to
partner and are evaluating expansion of the program into further
areas of care. Additionally, the two companies are exploring a
program enhancement that would provide medication reconciliation
for patients upon admission to the hospital.
Catamaran's Hospital Transition Program provides medication
therapy management and medication adherence support to members
discharged from the hospital with one of seven medical conditions
associated with the highest risk for hospital readmission -- heart
failure, myocardial infarction, atrial fibrillation, COPD, asthma,
pulmonary embolism and general depression. Results from Catamaran
and HNE's one-year study were recently featured in Catamaran's 2015
Informed Trends™ report and were presented at the 20th
Annual Pharmacy Benefit Management Institute (PBMI) Drug Benefit
Conference.
About Catamaran
Catamaran, the industry's
fastest-growing pharmacy benefits manager, helps organizations and
the communities they serve take control of prescription drug costs.
Managing more than 400 million prescriptions each year on behalf of
35 million members, our flexible, holistic solutions improve
patient care and empower individuals to take charge of their
health. Processing one in every five prescription claims in the
U.S., Catamaran's skill and scale deliver compelling financial
results and sustainable improvement in the overall health of
members. Catamaran is headquartered in Schaumburg, Ill., with multiple locations in
the U.S. and Canada. For more
information, please visit CatamaranRx.com, and for industry news
and information follow Catamaran on Twitter, @CatamaranCorp.
About Health New England
Based in Springfield, Massachusetts, Health New England
is a non-profit health insurance carrier serving more than 190,000
members. Health New England offers employer groups and individuals
various coverage options in the commercial, Medicaid and Medicare
markets. Visit www.healthnewengland.com for more information.
For further information contact:
Catamaran Media:
Lyndsey
Slawkowski
Zeno Group
Tel: (312) 396-9727
Lyndsey.Slawkowski@zenogroup.com
Catamaran Investors:
Tony
Perkins
Catamaran
Tel: (312) 261-7805
tony.perkins@catamaranrx.com
Health New England Media:
Elaine Mann
Health New England
(413) 233-3176
emann@hne.com
1 Davies E.C., Green
C.F., Mottram D.R., Rowe P.H., Pirmohead M. Emergency
re-admissions to hospital due to adverse drug reactions within 1
year of the index admission. Br J Clin Pharmacol.
2010:70:749-755.
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2 Wong JD et
al. Medication reconciliation at hospital discharge:
evaluating discrepancies. Ann Pharmacother.
2008;42:1373-9.
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3 Coleman E.A., Smith
J.D., Raha D, Min S. Posthospital medication
discrepancies. Arch Intern Med.
2005;165:1842-1847.
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SOURCE Catamaran