ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., June 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Medco Health
Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: MHS) today announced it has brought its
groundbreaking SOCRxATES® community pharmacy program to
State of New Mexico employees and
their dependents. SOCRxATES is a care improvement program
that enables community pharmacists to identify and assist patients
with chronic medical conditions and gaps in care, such as
medication non-adherence. Medco launched its first
SOCRxATES demonstration project in Illinois in December
2009.
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Medco is collaborating with the University
of New Mexico College of Pharmacy, New Mexico Pharmacists
Association and the State of New Mexico General Services
Department, Risk Management Division, New Mexico Retiree Health
Care Authority, New Mexico Public
Schools Insurance Authority and Albuquerque Public Schools on the program.
"The SOCRxATES program addresses several vital aspects of
real healthcare reform. It transforms traditional competitors
into collaborators; creates a partnership across private business,
public employers and local colleges of pharmacy; and leverages
advanced pharmacy technology to efficiently identify and
effectively close gaps in care for patients who are suffering
chronic and complex conditions – patients who account for 96
percent of all drug costs and 75 percent of all medical spending,"
said Dr. Glen Stettin, Medco's chief
medical officer. "We're receiving positive feedback in
Illinois, and we are excited to
work with our partners to bring this innovative program to
New Mexico."
Medco research revealed more than 1,800 state employees,
retirees, and their dependents with chronic or complex conditions
may not be taking all the medicines they need to stay healthy or
following their doctor's instructions. Medicines that aren't taken
can't be effective -- placing employees' health at risk, and
unnecessarily burdening taxpayers with higher medical costs.
According to a study published in the New England Journal of
Medicine, an estimated one-third to one-half of all patients in
the U.S. do not take their medications as prescribed by their
doctors; for patients with diabetes, cardiovascular disease and
pulmonary conditions, non-adherence to essential medications is
approximately 50 percent. Non-adherence has been shown to
result in $100 billion each year in
excess hospitalizations alone.
Medco and the University of New
Mexico trained approximately 40 community pharmacists to
participate in SOCRxATES and learn the most effective means
to identify and address underlying patient barriers to close these
gaps in care.
New Mexico's SOCRxATES
program is providing gaps-in-care alerts in six therapeutic
categories -- cardiovascular, diabetes, pulmonary,
immunology, women's health and neuroscience. One example of
an alert: a patient at high risk for a heart attack is not taking
cholesterol medication as often as prescribed by his or her
physician. Medco has enhanced the program since the
Illinois demonstration project,
with the addition of two more therapeutic categories and eight more
gap-in-care alerts.
Medco analyzes prescription drug records daily to identify
patients with potential adherence and omission of care gaps.
Since March of 2011, the company has been transmitting
electronic alerts to the trained SOCRxATES pharmacists when
potential adherence gaps or omissions are identified. The
SOCRxATES pharmacists can then contact the patient to
discuss the alert and an action plan to close the gap in care.
The SOCRxATES pharmacists document the intervention
result and action plan they create in collaboration with the
patient, caregiver, and/or physician. Pharmacies are
compensated for their participation in the program for each gap in
care addressed through counseling.
"This initiative recognizes the value provided by community
pharmacists and creates an opportunity to set a new standard for
high-quality, personalized patient care, while helping our valued
community pharmacies remain competitive in the marketplace.
It's a win for all involved," said Dale Tinker, Executive Director of the NM
Pharmacists Association.
Continued Stettin: "Medco's aim is improving care for its
members with chronic medical conditions whether they use the Medco
Pharmacy or a partnering community pharmacy. The
SOCRxATES pharmacists have an important role, and we are
proud to support them with the information and technology they need
to help these patients."
About Medco
Medco Health Solutions, Inc. (NYSE: MHS) is pioneering the
world's most advanced pharmacy® and its clinical research
and innovations are part of Medco making medicine smarter™
for more than 65 million members.
With more than 24,000 employees worldwide dedicated to improving
patient health and reducing costs for a wide range of public and
private sector clients, and 2010 revenue of $66 billion, Medco ranks 34th on the 2011 Fortune
500 list and is named among the world's most innovative, most
admired and most trustworthy companies.
For more information, go to http://www.medcohealth.com.
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" as that
term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995. These statements involve risks and uncertainties that may
cause results to differ materially from those set forth in the
statements. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed, and
actual results may differ materially from those projected. We
undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking
statement, whether as a result of new information, future events,
or otherwise. Forward-looking statements in this press release
should be evaluated together with the risks and uncertainties that
affect our business, particularly those mentioned in the Risk
Factors section of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and
Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
SOURCE Medco Health Solutions, Inc.