MEDICATION THERAPY MANAGEMENT IMPROVES HEALTH CARE UTILIZATION AND COSTS FOR EMPLOYERS

Author(s)

Pinto SL, Partha G, Jania AUniversity of Toledo, Toledo, OH, USA

OBJECTIVES: To determine the health care utilization and potential cost savings for an employer-sponsored medication therapy management (MTM) program METHODS: A prospective, pre-post longitudinal study. Employees included in the study were Lucas County employees and their dependents who had diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia, or a combination of the three. The MTM services were provided by independent pharmacists from seven sites in Northwest Ohio. Variables measured included social measures (alcohol consumption, tobacco consumption, exercise, caffeine consumption) and process measures (specialty physician visits, sick days, emergency room visits, flu shot, hypoglycemic events, and self-monitoring of blood glucose). Difference in disease-related spending, pre-and post joining MTM program were analyzed for employees who improved, did not improve or showed negative improvement at their final recorded visit for process measures. Data was analyzed using SPSS v17.0 and Microsoft Excel.  RESULTS: There was an overall trend of improvement in both the social and process measures being measured. All three specialty physician visits have increased: podiatrist visits by 24%, ophthalmologist visits by 41%, and dentist visits by 26%. Average cost savings for employees who improved or maintained appropriate utilization, ranged from $931.67 to $1437.77 per employee per two years. Approximately 90% of employees either took less or had the same amount of sick days. Employees who had fewer sick days saved almost $1230.79 per employee while employees who took more sick days spent approximately $2146.51 per employee. Employee utilization of flu shots have been substantial, with 70% getting a flu shot at least once over the 24 months. Alcohol and tobacco consumption decreased by 50% and 55%, respectively. Caffeine use decreased by 26.47%. Reported exercise increased by 39%. CONCLUSIONS: Interaction with the pharmacist has had a positive impact on employees’ outcomes related to social and process measures, which might also be helpful in causing reduction in cost burden to the employer.

Conference/Value in Health Info

2011-05, ISPOR 2011, Baltimore, MD, USA

Value in Health, Vol. 14, No. 3 (May 2011)

Code

PCV80

Topic

Economic Evaluation, Health Service Delivery & Process of Care

Topic Subcategory

Cost/Cost of Illness/Resource Use Studies, Health Care Research, Hospital and Clinical Practices, Treatment Patterns and Guidelines

Disease

Cardiovascular Disorders, Diabetes/Endocrine/Metabolic Disorders, Respiratory-Related Disorders

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