Cost-benefit analysis with return on investment of clinical pharmacists in the Military Health System.

BACKGROUND: The Defense Health Agency comprises more than 700 military medical, dental, and veterinary facilities and provides care to more than 9.6 million beneficiaries. As medication experts, pharmacists identify opportunities to optimize medication therapy, reduce cost, and increase readiness to support the Defense Health Agency's mission. The Tripler Pilot Project and the Army Polypharmacy Program were used to establish a staffing model of 1 clinical pharmacist for every 6,500 enrolled beneficiaries. No large-scale cost-benefit study within the military health care system has been done, which documents the number of clinical interventions and uses established cost-avoidance (CA) data, to determine the cost-benefit and return on investment (ROI) for clinical pharmacists working in the medical treatment facilities. OBJECTIVE: To validate the patient-centered medical home staffing model across the military health care system using the Tripler Pilot Project results to provide a cost-benefit analysis with an ROI. The secondary goal is to describe the interventions, staffing levels, and US Department of Defense-specific requirements impacting the provision of clinical pharmacy. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 3 years of encounters by clinical pharmacists in which an intervention was documented in the Tri-Service Workflow (TSWF) form as part of the electronic health record was completed. The analysis used 6 steps to assign CA intervention types and to prevent duplication and overestimation of the ROI. The absolute number of clinical pharmacists was determined using workload criteria defined as at least 20 encounters per month for at least 3 months of each calendar year. The number of clinical pharmacist full-time employees (FTEs) was determined by dividing the number of total active months by 12 months. Attrition was calculated comparing the presence of a unique provider identification between calendar years. The ROI range was calculated by dividing the CA by the total cost of clinical pharmacists using the variables' raw and extrapolated CA based on percentage of documentation template usage and the active clinical pharmacist calculation (absolute and FTE-based). RESULTS: Between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2019, a total of 1,069,846 encounters by clinical pharmacists were documented in the electronic health record. The TSWF Alternative Input Method form was used by pharmacists to document 616,942 encounters. Forty-three percent of TSWF documented encounters had at least 1 CA intervention. The absolute number of clinical pharmacists associated with a documented encounter in any medical treatment facility ranged from 404 in 2017 to 374 in 2018 and the clinical pharmacist FTEs ranged from 324 in 2017 to 314 in 2019. Annual attrition rates for clinical pharmacists ranged from 15% to 20% (58 to 81 clinical pharmacists) annually. The total CA range was $329,166,543-$534,014,494. The ROI range was between $2 and $4 per dollar spent. CONCLUSIONS: This analysis demonstrated that ambulatory care clinical pharmacists in the Military Health System bring value through a positive ROI. Our study also identified a potential shortage of clinical pharmacists within the Air Force and Navy branches impacting medication management. This can have a negative impact on the readiness of service members, one of the leading priorities of the US Department of Defense.

Use of Pharmacy Quality Measures to Enhance Value-Based Performance Within the Military Health System.

INTRODUCTION: As the healthcare system shifts from fee-for service toward value-driven healthcare, interest has grown in medication-related quality metrics to evaluate quality and value within the healthcare system. While the Defense Health Agency (DHA) has taken steps to align healthcare quality measures across the enterprise, the extent to which DHA utilizes pharmacy quality measures (PQMs) or evaluates the quality of direct and purchased pharmacy care is unknown. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A comparison was made between existing PQMs utilized by DHA and all measures published and endorsed by the Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA), a recognized, PQM standard-setting organization. We also compared DHA PQMs to those used within the Medicare Part D Star Rating Program. RESULTS: DHA has implemented 10 (28%) of the 36 PQA measures available for evaluation as of August 2019. Of the five measures included in the 2020 CMS Part D Star Rating program, DHA has currently implemented four (80%) of the measures. DHA has implemented 3 of the 5 (60%) PQA CMS Display Measures, and 5 of 9 (56%) PQA CMS Patient Safety Report Measures that are not part of the Star Ratings, but that are used to benchmark and provide feedback to health plans. CONCLUSION: Opportunities exist within the DHA to leverage PQMs to evaluate the quality of pharmaceutical care, build trust with beneficiaries by increasing transparency, and maintain parity with the civilian healthcare system. Existing models and commercially available technology could be considered to rapidly operationalize the use of PQMs within the MHS.

Blanchfield Army Community Hospital Polypharmacy Clinic.

The increased use of central nervous system depressants (CNSD) and psychotropics are one of the many factors that contribute to suicidal behavior in soldiers. U.S. Army policy requires medication screening for any soldier prescribed 4 or more medications when at least 1 of the medications is a CNSD or psychotropic. Constant deployments challenged health care provider ability to comply with required screenings, and senior leaders sought proactive intervention to reduce medication risks upon return of the 101 st Airborne Division (Air Assault) from deployment in 2011. A pharmacy-led team established the Polypharmacy Clinic (PC) at Blanchfield Army Community Hospital. Of the 3,999 soldiers assigned, 540 (13.5%) met the initial screening criteria. Success of the pilot program led to the mandatory screening of all other Fort Campbell, Kentucky, brigades. During the first 12 months, 895 soldiers were seen by a clinical pharmacist, and 1,574 interventions were documented. Significant interventions included medication added (121), medication changed (258), medication stopped (164), lab monitoring recommended (172), adverse reaction mitigated (41), therapeutic duplication prevented (61), and drug-drug interaction identified (93). Additionally, 55 soldiers were recommended for temporary duty profiles based on their adverse drug effects. Ten soldiers were recommended for enhanced controlled substance monitoring. Placing soldiers on clinically appropriate medications and removing potentially harmful medications from their possession are examples of how the PC positively impacted the Commanding General's ability to deploy a fully medically ready force. Soldiers consistently remarked favorably on the thorough medication counseling provided at their PC appointments. Innovative notes within the electronic health record summarized relevant findings regarding soldiers' medications, which allowed providers to quickly pinpoint and adjust medication regimens. With each identified high-risk soldier, we decreased the potential for postdeployment medication issues. Additionally, the PC generated over $70,000 in relative value units for the hospital.