Implementation and evaluation of social determinants of health practice models within community pharmacy.

BACKGROUND: While community pharmacies are an ideal setting for social needs screening and referral programs, information on social risk assessment within pharmacy practice is limited. OBJECTIVES: Our primary objective was to describe 2 social determinant of health (SDOH) practice models implemented within community pharmacies. The secondary objective was to evaluate implementation practices utilizing the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance (RE-AIM) framework. PRACTICE DESCRIPTION: Two pharmacy groups participated in a 3-month study, one in New York (9 pharmacies) and another in Missouri (1 pharmacy). The New York pharmacies implemented an SDOH specialist practice model, in which pharmacy staff members facilitate the program. The Missouri pharmacy implemented a community health worker (CHW) model by cross training their technicians. Each pharmacy developed their program using the Community Pharmacy Enhanced Services Network Care Model. PRACTICE INNOVATION: Both programs expanded the technician role to take on additional responsibilities. The SDOH specialist model partnered with a local independent practice association to create a social needs referral program using a technology platform for closed-loop communication. All workflow steps of the self-contained CHW program were completed within the pharmacy, placing additional responsibility on the CHW and pharmacy staff. EVALUATION METHODS: RE-AIM framework dimensions of Reach, Effectiveness, and Adoption. RESULTS: Social challenges were identified in 49 of 76 (65%) generated SDOH screenings. The most prevalent social needs reported were affordability of daily needs (33%) and health care system navigation (15%). While most pharmacy staff indicated that workflow steps were clearly defined, assessments and referral tools were identified as potential gaps. While approximately 50% of pharmacy staff were comfortable with their assigned roles and in addressing SDOH challenges, physical and mental health concerns required additional education for intervention. CONCLUSION: The successful implementation of community pharmacy SDOH programs connected patients with local resources. Community pharmacies are ideally positioned to expand their public health footprint through SDOH interactions that consequently improve patient care.

Addressing social determinants of health in community pharmacy: Innovative opportunities and practice models.

Social determinants of health (SDoH) account for up to 90% of health outcomes, whereas medical care accounts for only 10%-15%; despite this disparity, only 24% of hospitals and 16% of physician practices screen for the 5 social needs. Community-embedded and highly accessible, pharmacies are uniquely positioned to connect individuals to local community and social resources and thereby address SDoH. In this article, we explore novel community pharmacy practice models that address SDoH, provide real-world examples of these models, and discuss pathways for reimbursement and sustainability. A number of innovative community pharmacy practice models that focus on social issues are currently being explored. These include integrating community health workers (CHWs) or SDoH specialists, wherein CHWs are frontline public health workers who can effectively bridge the health care system and their community, whereas SDoH specialists are pharmacy team members trained with substantial SDoH knowledge and how to use it to connect pharmacy patients to community resources. Three community pharmacy networks have implemented pilot programs using either a CHW or SDoH specialist model. An essential component for program success in all cases has been partnership development and increased interdependence between the pharmacies, local community organizations, and the public health sector. New payment models and financial incentives will be necessary to expand and sustain these programs. A potential Approach may be the use of Z codes, a subset of ICD-10-CM codes specific to assessing SDoH. Although opportunities are developing for community pharmacies to play a major role in sustainably addressing SDoH, additional work is needed before there is a widespread acceptance of pharmacies becoming service referral destinations for patients with social needs. Evaluation of these models on a wider scale will be necessary to fully evaluate their effectiveness, costs, and implementation within different community pharmacy settings.

Stages of Change: Moving Community Pharmacies From a Drug Dispensing to Population Health Management Model.

Given their clinical training and accessibility, community pharmacists are well positioned to support primary care, especially in providing medication management services. There is limited evidence, however, on implementation of community pharmacist-led services in coordination with other health care providers. The aim of this study was to examine the implementation process of community pharmacies in North Carolina participating in a Medicaid population health management intervention. We conducted semistructured interviews with 40 representatives from high- and low-performing community pharmacies from June to August 2017. We analyzed for themes organized around Rogers's Stages in the Innovation Process in Organizations. Community pharmacies employed numerous implementation strategies such as developing relationships with providers and redefining job responsibilities to ensure pharmacists and pharmacy technicians are working at the top of their license. Findings also revealed differences in the implementation process among high- and low-performing pharmacies. Continued research is needed to determine which implementation strategies improve program performance.

Patient outcomes from implementing an enhanced services pharmacy network.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of implementing a network of community pharmacies on medication adherence, health service utilization, and health care spending. DESIGN: Quasi-experimental difference-in-difference analysis with a nonequivalent control group. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Eligible Medicaid-enrolled patients in North Carolina were attributed to intervention pharmacies between March 2015 and December 2016. A control group was propensity score-matched. Interventions consisted of enhanced services and a more intensive, comprehensive initial pharmacy assessment (CIPA). OUTCOME MEASURES: Outcomes included hospitalizations; emergency department (ED) visits; health care spending for total medical, inpatient, outpatient, and ED services; and adherence to renin-angiotensin system antagonists (RASA), statins, noninsulin diabetes medications (NIDM), and multiple medications for chronic conditions (MMCC). RESULTS: There were 31,509 patients who met eligibility criteria and were attributed to a participating pharmacy. Of these, 3897 received a CIPA. Before matching, patients attributed to participating pharmacies had greater Medicaid enrollment through aged, blind, or disabled status (49.2% vs. 31.5%, P < 0.001); greater case management (10.3% vs. 7%, P < 0.001); and worse rates of chronic disease (P < 0.001). Successful matching removed these differences. Adherence to RASA medications and MMCC increased by 9.5% and 10.3% (P < 0.05), respectively. Adherence did not change for statins and NIDM. The analysis also revealed a slower decline in average total medical spending of 5.7% (P < 0.01) relative to the control group over the same period, owed to a 9.6% (P < 0.001) slower decline in outpatient spending. ED utilization also decreased more slowly relative to controls by 4.8% (P < 0.05) following the intervention. CONCLUSION: The pharmacy intervention resulted in a statistically significant improvement in medication adherence to RASA and multiple chronic medications, but did not change or may have worsened utilization and spending outcomes. More research is needed to explore patient selection and variation in implementation and heterogeneity of treatment effects when evaluating pharmacy interventions.

A Sleeping Giant: Community Pharmacy's Potential Is Unrivaled.

DISCLOSURES: No funding was received for the writing of this commentary. The author has nothing to disclose.

Scaling Community Pharmacy Transformation with the 'Flip the Pharmacy' Implementation Model: Program Origins.

The rising costs of healthcare, increased chronic illnesses, and healthcare provider burnout has led to an environment desperate for scalable solutions to ease practice burdens. With a projected shortage in the number of primary healthcare providers available to provide team-based care, community-based pharmacy practitioners are accessible and eager to assist. In order to provide enhanced patient care services to aid their clinician colleagues, community-based pharmacists will have to transform their practices to support the provision of enhanced services and medication optimization in value-based payment models. The purpose of this article is to define how multiple factors in pharmacy, healthcare, technology and payment models aligned to create an opportunity for the Community Pharmacy Foundation and CPESN® USA to implement a nationwide community pharmacy practice model called 'Flip the Pharmacy'. This new model aims to scale community pharmacy practice transformation and move beyond filling prescriptions at a moment-in-time to caring for patients over time through a 24-month step-wise program paired with in-person pharmacist coaching. Preliminary observations from the first six months of the program highlight community pharmacy as a site of care with community-based pharmacist practitioners providing and documenting targeted patient care interventions.

Accuracy of Prescription Claims Data in Identifying Truly Nonadherent Patients.

BACKGROUND: Administrative claims data are increasingly used to identify nonadherent patients. This necessitates a comprehensive review and assessment of their accuracy in identifying nonadherent patients. OBJECTIVES: To (a) compare administrative claims-based measures of adherence with nonadherence verified by patient interview; (b) determine if and to what extent patients classified as nonadherent based on prescription claims differ from patients classified as nonadherent based on interventions designed to gather multiple types of medication lists to compare against the prescription fill history; and (c) assess the various patient-reported reasons for nonadherence. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was used to identify patients from the Southern Piedmont Community Care Network of North Carolina who were enrolled with Medicaid between January 1, 2012, and May 31, 2013, and were using prescription medications for 1 or more chronic conditions. Patients with more than a 30-day gap in refill history were identified using prescription claims and were interviewed by pharmacists to assess the reasons for nonadherence. Based on the patient-reported reasons for a gap in refill, patients were classified as interview-verified nonadherent patients or interview-verified adherent patients. The positive predictive value of prescription claims in identifying nonadherent patients was calculated, and descriptive statistics were reported. Characteristics of interview-verified nonadherent patients were compared with adherent patients using t-tests and chi-square statistics. RESULTS: 1,425 patients representing 2,936 patient-class of medication combinations were included in the final analysis. 824 (28.07%) of the 2,936 records that were flagged as nonadherent using claims analysis were confirmed as adherent during patient interviews. The positive predictive value of claims records in identifying nonadherent patients was 0.72. The 2 most common reasons for patients to be misclassified as nonadherent in claims data following self-report were discontinuation of medication on prescribers' directions (21.93%) and having an alternate channel for receiving the medication (6.13%). Among interview-verified nonadherent patients, side effects, patient beliefs, education, and socioeconomic barriers were the most common patient-reported reasons for gaps in refill. CONCLUSIONS: Prescription claims may underestimate adherence in patients. When interviewed directly by a pharmacist, most patients reported discontinuation of medication as per prescribers' directions. To determine the overall validity of prescription claims data, further analysis is required to assess its accuracy in identifying truly nonadherent patients among those who are identified as nonadherent by claims data. DISCLOSURES: No outside funding supported this study. Glassberg and Wei were employees at Community Care of North Carolina when this research was conducted. Trygstad is an employee of Community Care of North Carolina; Robinson is an employee of Community Care of Southern Piedmont, a subsidiary of Community Care of North Carolina. The geographies, health care professionals, and subjects involved in the study were related to the care coordination work that Community Care of North Carolina was charged with implementing through its informatics and subject matter expertise assistance provided to these local entities to augment primary care activities. Farley has received funding from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, American College of Clinical Pharmacy, the National Institutes of Health, and Community Care of North Carolina and has also received consulting funds from UCB. The other authors have nothing additional to report.

The role of network ties to support implementation of a community pharmacy enhanced services network.

BACKGROUND: Limited evidence exists on how to integrate community pharmacists into team-based care models, as the inclusion of community pharmacy services into alternative payment models is relatively new. To be successful in team-based care models, community pharmacies need to successfully build relationship with diverse stakeholders including providers, care managers, and patients. OBJECTIVES: The aims of this study are to: (1) identify the role of network ties to support implementation of a community pharmacy enhanced services network, (2) describe how these network ties are formed and maintained, and (3) compare the role of network ties among high- and low-performing community pharmacies participating in an enhanced services network. METHODS: Using a semi-structured interview guide, we interviewed 40 community pharmacy representatives responsible for implementation of a community pharmacy enhanced services program. We analyzed for themes using social network theory to compare network ties among 24 high- and 16 low-performing community pharmacies. RESULTS: The study found that high-performing pharmacies had a greater diversity of network ties (e.g., relationships with healthcare providers, care managers, and public health agencies). High-performing pharmacies were able to use those ties to support implementation of NC-CPESN. High- and low-performing pharmacies used similar strategies for establishing ties with patients, such as motivational interviewing and assigning staff members to be responsible for engaging high-risk patients. High-performing pharmacies used additional strategies such as assessing patient preferences to support patient engagement, increasing patient receptivity towards enhanced services. CONCLUSIONS: Community pharmacies may vary in their ability to develop relationships with other healthcare providers, care management and public agencies, and patients. As enhanced services interventions that require care coordination are scaled up and spread, additional research is needed to test implementation strategies that support community pharmacies with developing and maintaining relationships across a diverse group of stakeholders (e.g., healthcare providers, care managers, public health agencies, patients).

Lessons Learned from Using Global Outcome Measures to Assess Community Pharmacy Performance.

INTRODUCTION: As value-based and alternative payment models proliferate, there is growing interest in measuring pharmacy performance. However, little research has explored the development and implementation of systems to measure pharmacy performance. Additionally, systems that currently exist rely on process and surrogate outcome measures that are not always relevant to patients and payers. PROGRAM DESCRIPTION: This article describes the process used to design and implement a performance measurement program for a group of enhanced services pharmacies in North Carolina. This program was successful in measuring quality based on medication adherence, hospitalizations, emergency department visits, and total cost of medical care for nearly all North Carolina pharmacies. Measures were scored and combined into a single 11-point composite pharmacy performance score. To demonstrate the measures, we compared performance scores for enhanced services pharmacies (n = 119) to other North Carolina pharmacies (n = 1,616) during the baseline measurement period (March 1, 2015-May 31, 2015). Adherence measure scores for enhanced services pharmacies exceeded those of other pharmacies (P values < 0.0001-0.003), but total scores were not significantly different, with enhanced services pharmacy mean total scores of 6.54 vs. 6.29 for all other pharmacies (P = 0.115). OBSERVATIONS: The program described provides an example of a composite performance measurement system that can be used to support alternative pharmacy payment models and shows that case-mix adjustment is possible for broad outcomes such as those used in this program. The measures used for the program depend on timely feeds of medical claims. Payers and pharmacy networks implementing a similar program may need to explore alternative structure or process measures. IMPLICATIONS: As pharmacy payment models evolve, there may be value in collaboration between academics, pharmacists, and payers to bring different areas of expertise and perspectives into the performance measurement process. This program demonstrates that global outcome measurement is possible over a broad set of pharmacies and invites additional research to explore the validity of this and other methods to measure pharmacy quality and performance. DISCLOSURES: The program described in this article was supported by Funding Opportunity Number 1C12013003897 from the U.S Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The contents provided are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of HHS or any of its agencies. Community Care of North Carolina received the grant and subcontracted with the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy to carry out this project. Shasky, Pfeiffenberger, and Trygstad are employed by Community Care of North Carolina. Urick and Ferreri are employed by the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. Farley was employed by the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy during data collection for this project and reports consulting fees from UCB Pharmaceutical Company unrelated to this project. Pfeiffenberger reports membership on the Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA) task force on pharmacy level measures; Trygstad is a PQA board member; Urick is a member of a scientific advisory committee for PQA.

Payment Reform Meets Pharmacy Practice and Education Transformation.

The pharmacy profession has for the greater part of four decades been associated with dispensing activities and product reimbursement. This has hindered the ability of pharmacists to evolve their roles in their respective sites of care. Payment reform efforts that create an outcomes marketplace offer an opportunity for professional transformation.

Health Information Technology: Meaningful Use and Next Steps to Improving Electronic Facilitation of Medication Adherence.

BACKGROUND: The use of health information technology (HIT) may improve medication adherence, but challenges for implementation remain. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this paper is to review the current state of HIT as it relates to medication adherence programs, acknowledge the potential barriers in light of current legislation, and provide recommendations to improve ongoing medication adherence strategies through the use of HIT. METHODS: We describe four potential HIT barriers that may impact interoperability and subsequent medication adherence. Legislation in the United States has incentivized the use of HIT to facilitate and enhance medication adherence. The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) was recently adopted and establishes federal standards for the so-called "meaningful use" of certified electronic health record (EHR) technology that can directly impact medication adherence. RESULTS: The four persistent HIT barriers to medication adherence include (1) underdevelopment of data reciprocity across clinical, community, and home settings, limiting the capture of data necessary for clinical care; (2) inconsistent data definitions and lack of harmonization of patient-focused data standards, making existing data difficult to use for patient-centered outcomes research; (3) inability to effectively use the national drug code information from the various electronic health record and claims datasets for adherence purposes; and (4) lack of data capture for medication management interventions, such as medication management therapy (MTM) in the EHR. Potential recommendations to address these issues are discussed. CONCLUSION: To make meaningful, high quality data accessible, and subsequently improve medication adherence, these challenges will need to be addressed to fully reach the potential of HIT in impacting one of our largest public health issues.

Improving diabetes medication adherence: successful, scalable interventions.

Effective medications are a cornerstone of prevention and disease treatment, yet only about half of patients take their medications as prescribed, resulting in a common and costly public health challenge for the US health care system. Since poor medication adherence is a complex problem with many contributing causes, there is no one universal solution. This paper describes interventions that were not only effective in improving medication adherence among patients with diabetes, but were also potentially scalable (ie, easy to implement to a large population). We identify key characteristics that make these interventions effective and scalable. This information is intended to inform health care systems seeking proven, low resource, cost-effective solutions to improve medication adherence.

Transitional care cut hospital readmissions for North Carolina Medicaid patients with complex chronic conditions.

Recurrent hospitalizations represent a substantial and often preventable human and financial burden in the United States. In 2008 North Carolina initiated a statewide population-based transitional care initiative to prevent recurrent hospitalizations among high-risk Medicaid recipients with complex chronic medical conditions. In a study of patients hospitalized during 2010-11, we found that those who received transitional care were 20 percent less likely to experience a readmission during the subsequent year, compared to clinically similar patients who received usual care. Benefits of the intervention were greatest among patients with the highest readmission risk. One readmission was averted for every six patients who received transitional care services and one for every three of the highest-risk patients. This study suggests that locally embedded, targeted care coordination interventions can effectively reduce hospitalizations for high-risk populations.

A+KIDS, a web-based antipsychotic registry for North Carolina youths: an alternative to prior authorization.

OBJECTIVE: The rise in use of antipsychotics among U.S. children is well documented. Compliance rates with current safety-monitoring guidelines are low. In response, the North Carolina Division of Medical Assistance established the Antipsychotics-Keeping It Documented for Safety (A+KIDS) registry. The initial objectives of the project were to successfully establish a Web-based safety registry and to obtain and evaluate clinical information derived from the registry. METHODS: In April 2011, A+KIDS began asking prescribers of antipsychotics for children age 12 and under to respond to a set of questions regarding dose, indication, and usage history. Antipsychotic registrations were examined by linking North Carolina Medicaid prescription claims to registry entries. Prescribers were classified into different types, and the number of patients and registrations per prescriber were examined. RESULTS: In the initial six months, 730 prescribers registered 5,532 patients, 19% below age seven. By month 6 of the registry, 72% of all fills were registered with the program. Top diagnosis groups for registry patients were unspecified mood disorders, autism spectrum disorders, and disruptive behavior disorders. Top target symptoms were aggression (48%), irritability (19%), and impulsivity (11%). Psychosis accounted for 5% of the target symptoms. Twenty-eight percent of children were receiving no form of psychotherapy. Twenty-five percent of all A+KIDS prescribers were responsible for 81% of the registrations. CONCLUSIONS: The A+KIDS registry initiative has been successful, as measured by rapid uptake, and is providing clinical information not available from claims data alone. Future efforts will allow for detailed examinations of antipsychotic utilization and further safety improvement.

Pharmacist engagement in medical home practices: report of the APhA-APPM Medical Home Workgroup.

OBJECTIVES: To identify factors that have led to successful involvement of pharmacists in patient-centered medical home (PCMH) practices, identify challenges and suggested solutions for pharmacists involved in medical home practices, and disseminate findings. DATA SOURCES: In July 2011, the American Pharmacists Association Academy of Pharmacy Practice & Management convened a workgroup of pharmacists currently practicing or conducting research in National Committee for Quality Assurance-accredited PCMH practices. DATA SYNTHESIS: A set of guiding questions to explore the early engagement and important process steps of pharmacist engagement with PCMH practices was used to conduct a series of conference calls during an 8-month period. CONCLUSION: Based on knowledge gained from early adopters of PCMH, the workgroup identified 10 key findings that it believes are essential to pharmacist integration into PCMH practices.

Evaluation of a self-management implementation intervention to improve hypertension control among patients in Medicaid.

Elevated blood pressure can lead to serious patient morbidity and mortality. The aim of the study was to evaluate the implementation of a tailored multifaceted program, administered by care managers in a Medicaid setting to improve hypertension medication adherence. The program enrolled 558 Medicaid patients. Patients had at least one phone call by care managers. The individually tailored program focused on improving lifestyle and medication adherence. The primary outcome was the medication possession ratio (MPR), calculated using fill history from pharmacy claims. We observed an improvement of medication possession from 55% 9-12 months prior to program enrollment to 77% 9-12 months post initiation of the program. We demonstrated 12 month sustainability and increased MPR. Personal interaction by phone allows the intervention to be tailored to participants' current concerns, health goals, and specific barriers to achieving these goals.

Pharmacist and physician satisfaction and rates of switching to preferred medications associated with an instant prior authorization program for proton pump inhibitors in the North Carolina Medicaid program.

BACKGROUND: Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) are among the highest expenditure drugs covered by health care plans. During fiscal year 2001-2002, Medicaid programs nationwide spent nearly $2 billion on PPIs. Although the costs of individual PPIs vary widely, there is little variation in therapeutic effectiveness. On June 1, 2007, the North Carolina Medicaid program implemented an "instant approval" option simultaneously with a prior authorization (PA) program for PPIs with the goal of managing costs and maintaining high-quality care. Preferred PPIs included generic omeprazole and Prilosec OTC. This instant approval process (IAP) was expected to impose less administrative burden than is typically associated with PA programs by permitting physician and nonphysician prescribers to either write the PA criteria directly on a prescription form or use "MD Easy," a preprinted form that could be faxed by the prescriber to the dispensing pharmacy. A previous study found that from the prescriber's perspective the IAP reduced practice-related administrative burden and was associated with a reduced gap in PPI therapy when compared with traditional PA. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the acceptability and effectiveness of this IAP for PPIs as assessed by the outcome measures of (a) pharmacist satisfaction with the IAP; (b) physician and pharmacist satisfaction with the MD Easy form; and (c) utilization rates for preferred PPIs, comparing medical practices that used the MD Easy form with practices that did not. METHODS: A cross-sectional design was used to assess pharmacist and physician satisfaction. A stratified random sample of 240 pharmacies was selected from 1,561 North Carolina pharmacies with claims in the Medicaid claims data file during state fiscal year 2006. Additionally, a stratified random sample of 240 medical practices was selected from 1,045 primary care practices serving Medicaid beneficiaries during 2006. Surveys were administered to pharmacists using either in-person interviews or self-administered questionnaires and to physicians using a mailed questionnaire with follow-up to nonrespondents. An interrupted time series analysis was used to evaluate the effect of the MD Easy form on switching to preferred PPIs using paid Medicaid claims of surveyed practices from calendar year 2007. Practices that reported both using the IAP and receiving the MD Easy form were defined as MD Easy users. Monthly market share data were analyzed using log negative binomial regression models to account for autocorrelation in the time series data. RESULTS: The pharmacy survey was completed by 202 (84.2%) pharmacies selected for participation. Of 198 permanently employed pharmacists, 140 (70.7%) reported experience with the IAP for PPIs. More than two-thirds (68.6%) of the pharmacist respondents with IAP experience indicated that the IAP is better (34.3%) or much better (34.3%) than traditional PA with RESEARCH respect to overall administrative burden of phone calls, faxes, patient interactions, and doctor contacts. Surveys were completed by 171 (71.3%) of selected physician practices, of which 56 (32.7%) reported experience with the MD Easy forms. Of practices that recalled receiving the MD Easy forms, 52 of 56 (92.9%) reported that the forms "very much" or "somewhat" helped prevent gaps in PPI therapy; 54 of 55 (98.2%) reported that they helped identify patients affected by Medicaid PPI PA; and 100% reported that they helped physicians to follow PA requirements. Immediately after implementation of the IAP and MD Easy form, the observed market share of preferred PPIs increased by 4.1 times (95% CI = 3.57-4.62). From May to June 2007, the preferred PPI market share increased by 64.0 percentage points, from 19.3% to 83.3% (P < 0.001), for practices that reported using the IAP and receiving the MD Easy form (n = 56) and by 55.4 percentage points, from 21.8% to 77.2% (P < 0.001), for practices that either (a) reported not receiving the MD Easy form (n = 25) or (b) reported not using the IAP (n = 84) or (c) did not respond to the survey item asking about the MD Easy form (n = 4). The overall increase in preferred PPI market share after implementation of the IAP was 1.29 times higher for practices that used the MD Easy form than for those that did not based on negative binomial regression modeling; this difference approached statistical significance (95% CI = 1.00-1.68; P = 0.053). CONCLUSION: This study suggests that an IAP for PPIs using either handwritten prescriptions or a preprinted form is an effective alternative to traditional PA. The IAP was associated with an increase in market share for preferred PPIs and was perceived by pharmacists as less administratively burdensome than traditional PA. Additional studies are needed to determine sustainability and the applicability to other prescription drugs.

A physician-friendly alternative to prior authorization for prescription drugs.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if the instant approval (IA) process differs from the traditional prior authorization (PA) process in preferred drug channeling, resultant gaps in therapy, and provider dissatisfaction. STUDY DESIGN: An interrupted time series analysis using pharmacy claims and a retrospective cohort study. METHODS: The study assessed changes in preferred drug use and subsequent cost reductions. A retrospective cohort study determined if the IA process produced fewer gaps in therapy than the PA process. Provider acceptance of the IA process was assessed using a brief survey of 240 randomly selected primary care practices. RESULTS: Market share for preferred proton pump inhibitors quadrupled from a range of 17.6% to 19.3% at baseline to 76% in the first month after implementation of the new IA policy. Most practices (81.1%) reported reduced administrative burden with the IA process. The median gaps between medication fills for patients using IA were approximately one-half those of patients using PA (P <.001) and were one-fourth in a subset of highly adherent, regularly filling patients (P <.001). CONCLUSIONS: Instant approval may be more patient friendly and prescriber friendly than PA as assessed by a proxy measure for access (gap in therapy) and physician-reported acceptance. Despite its ease of use, IA does not seem to reduce switching to preferred drugs.